Best Places to Work
FPUA Voted The Best Place to Work in St. Lucie County
We all know some Not-So-Great Places to Work. It doesn’t take a national survey to articulate those factors that lead to burnout and dissatisfaction. Long hours for little pay. All work and no play. Sacrificing health and family time for the sake of the company. Feeling inconsequential, even invisible. The list goes on and on.
But at Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA), this year’s “Best Places to Work” winner, in the “Over 250” Employee category, couldn’t be more different than that—and they, like the rest of the county’s winning workplaces, are evolving.
“Things like work-life balance and wellness were not really being talked about ten years ago, whereas today, employees make job decisions based on those things,” says Lois Wolfe of FPUA, HR Manager for FPUA, “This is the first time FPUA has received this award.
“As the economy improves and employees have more options, they’re more honest and critical. They’re starting to hold the organization more accountable for creating a great workplace for them,” Wolfe says. “It’s vital for organizations to focus on creating a culture where employees can thrive and grow. FPUA takes pride in working hard to maintain a culture where employees feel valued and appreciated, hence the receipt of this prestigious award that holds our organization out as one of the “Best”.”
To measure engagement, The St. Lucie County Human Resource Association commissioned Personnel Dynamics Consulting of Fort Pierce, to calculate teamwork, trust in senior leaders, retention, employee development spending, feeling valued, job satisfaction, insurance packages and retirement plans; a total of 37 different measurements to determine the St. Lucie County’s Best Places To Work award.
The Best Places to Work Program was developed in St. Lucie County by Gerry Hoeffner, owner of Personnel Dynamics Consulting and a member of the St. Lucie County Human Resource Association. Over the past eleven years the program has garnered national attention educating employers by recognizing the best HR practices in business communities throughout the U.S. It provides an opportunity for employers to compare their companies to other similar in size in the metropolitan area and is a valuable tool for human resource strategic planning.
Fort Pierce Utilities Authority is a municipal utility whose mission is “to provide our customers with economical, reliable and friendly service in a continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in our community.” Fort Pierce is one of more than 2,000 communities in the United States served by a community-owned electric utility, and one of very few who also provide water, wastewater, natural gas, and Internet services. Public utility systems are owned by the people they serve. All benefits from our locally controlled utility remain right here in the community. Additional information is available at www.fpua.com
