Orion Associates is Recognized as a “Great Place to Work” in Minnesota Monthly Magazine
Orion Associates was recognized as a
“Great Place to Work” in an article in Minnesota Monthly magazine, in
January 2009. Orion Associates was cited as one of
forty-eight Minnesota companies that offered unique or exceptional
benefits to their employees.
The article’s fifteen benefit categories included a range from “Great
for Health Care” to “Great for Vacations” to “Great for Cool Work
Environment.” Orion Associates was one of three companies
featured in the category of “Great for Volunteer Values.”
The exerpt from the article follows:
Great Places to Work
By Ali Brady, Sara Glassman, Joel Hoekstra, Countney Lewis, and Andrea Wagenknecht
Right now, lots of us are happy just to get a paycheck that doesn’t bounce. But there are dozens of companies in Minnesota that offer employees something more, from generous retirement plans and cool office environs to subsidized child-care and no-cost health care. Here, 48 companies that treat their employees like customers.
You knew times were tough when Google axed the free snack
bars. But with the economy in a nosedive and retail sales
slumping faster than a frat boy post-bender, companies are making
cutbacks. The perks of the 1990s — trips to Fiji for
mail-room clerks, laptops for mascots — are long gone.
Business ain’t bad all over, though. Looking for rays of hope
amid a gloomy forecast, Minnesota Monthly asked consultants, academics,
and workplace experts to name companies that offer benefits that are
unique or above-average or astonishingly generous. Then we
called up the companies to verify the rumors. What we
discovered surprised us. Small and big, these employers cared
about their employees — and they made efforts to keep them humming and
happy. Don’t believe such places exist? Take a
look. Maybe it’s time to dust off that resumé.
Great for Volunteer Values
Orion Associates - Golden Valley
35 Minnesota employees
In the aftermath that followed Hurricane Katrina, Rebecca Thomley, CEO
of Orion Associates, went to New Orleans to aid the Red
Cross. The experience made an impression. “Services
and support were not coming in for the families,” Thomley
says. So, over Thanksgiving weekend in 2005, the company
covered expenses for all thirty-five employees to volunteer in the
devastated city. Closer to home, the company has sponsored
post-emergency trips to Cedar Rapids, Rushford, and Winona.
There is no limit on days off for these trips and employees can also
take an additional two days to volunteer for the nonprofit of their
choice. For those who can’t travel, Orion, which offers
management services to social-service agencies, holds four events
annually, which have included volunteering days for Toys for Tots, MS
Walk, and Habitat for Humanity. Alicia Corbett, a family
coordinator at Orion for six years, has been to New Orleans more than
fifteen times and estimates she’s been out about thirteen working days
each year as a volunteer. Additionally, the volunteer
experiences have made her more sympathetic when working with
clients. “I have more patience now because maybe someone is
going through something we don’t know about,” she says.
Link for Minnesota Monthly:
http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/
