Author: staff
“I’ve been in multiple games, a lot of games being down big, seeing things happen that are possible,” he said. “That’s pulling out victories. All it takes is parts of the game to buckle down and stick together. For me that’s just keeping that calm, not getting rattled and sharing whatever experience I can to keep us together as well.”
Vice Chairman and President David Pinkerton, right, with Vice President and Director of Human Resources and Training Patricia “Pat” McNulty at Lakeside Bank on S. Michigan Avenue on August 31, 2021, in Chicago. Workplace culture has been key to Lakeside’s ability to attract and retain talented staff, said Pinkerton. (John Konstantaras/for the Chicago Tribune)
Jenny Halladay, a manager and people and culture business partner, joined CoinFlip’s human resources group in June after earning a master’s degree in learning and organizational change from Northwestern University. She describes the CoinFlip experience as a “whirlwind.” A millennial in her 30s (“I’m at the upper end of the age range of our population,” she notes), she is energized by the pace. In her first few months, “the job hasn’t evolved, it’s expanded,” she says. “For me, any area I want to explore and build, I can do that.”
Michelle Solaria, from Elk Grove putts as, from left, Robert Watson, of Palatine, Andy Haugh, of Kenosha, and Marty Sovich, of Chicago, watch during a golf outing for Rivers Casino employees at the Indian Boundary Golf Course on Aug. 30, 2021. (John Konstantaras/for the Chicago Tribune)
Tigi Tasso, director of training, said there were a few weeks early on in the pandemic when the agency was unsure of what direction to take. “That gave us time as agents to really regroup and to say, OK, let’s make sure our skill sets are good,” she said. “So we took a lot of time in that downtime to improve skills. And as soon as they said we are an essential business, we had such high demand at that point because so many people, when they stayed at home in their homes, they looked around and were like, well, now that I’m spending so much time here, it doesn’t really work for me.”
Rachel Molter, a client partner who is part of the company’s Global Business Group, joined Facebook Chicago 6½ years ago, when, she noted, there were just under 50 people working at the office, a fraction of the 500 staff members they currently employ. Initially, she was hired to help facilitate relationships and advertising with consumer packaged goods companies; but soon transitioned to her current role, working with some of the largest advertisers on the platform.
As an example, staff wanted an easier way of communicating when a listing needed to be changed in its system. The original process was tedious, required multiple people to complete the action and could take days to resolve, so based on staff feedback, changes were made that cut the processing time to under three hours, she said.
To determine the winners, Energage conducted a scientific survey. The Tribune did not pay Energage. The Tribune used advertising to seek nominations. In total, 4,702 companies were invited to participate, compared with 3,323 in 2020. Of those, a record-breaking 295 companies completed the survey (185 last year), allowing Energage to identify the top organizations, divided into three categories: small (fewer than 250 employees), midsize (250-999) and large (1,000 or more), the same divisions as previous surveys. The surveyed companies collectively employ 159,903 people in the Chicago area, of which 140,199 received surveys and 80,917 responded.
Compass, Facebook Chicago and Realtor John Greene took the top spots for large, midsize and small Chicagoland workplaces, respectively, according to rankings released by Energage on behalf of the Chicago Tribune. For the past 12 years, Energage, formerly Workplace Dynamics, has been ranking workplaces in the Chicago area and the nation through employee surveys, assessing everything from work-life balance to confidence in company leadership.
“I know I reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA, who I was put in contact with after,” Beach said last week during an interview on Canada’s The Sports Network. “I believe two different people talked to Don Fehr. And for him to turn his back on the players when his one job is to protect the players at all costs, I don’t know how that can be your leader. I don’t know how he can be in charge.”