Awards event shows Top Companies and biz Empowering Women

Movers, shakers and plenty of party noisemakers helped set the tone for a festive gathering to honor some of the Treasure Valley’s standout businesses and influential women business leaders at the recent Top Companies in Treasure Valley and Empowering Women Awards Luncheon hosted by Idaho Business Review. The Top Companies third annual event, paired with this year’s inaugural celebration of local businesses empowering women, played host to 322 attendees April 4 at The Grove Hotel.

IBR Publisher Cindy Suffa called the merging of the two awards programs a “parallel pairing.”

“Combining a celebration of the top companies focused on creating productive working environments and cultures with businesses that strive to empower and promote the roles and leadership values of women within the business sector seemed like a natural fit,” she said.

 

KeyBank served as a presenting sponsor of the event. Jake Walter, area retail leader for the bank’s Western Idaho Region, moderated a panel discussion focused on exploring inclusion and culture, employee resource groups (ERG) and how companies of all sizes work to recruit and retain valuable employees.

Panelists for the event included Ronda Conger, vice president of CBH Homes, Pat Kelly, executive director of Your Health Idaho, and Sara Newton-Klitz, director of Strategic Workforce Programs for Micron.

Walter singled out “people” as the prime component of successful businesses.

“We all know it is people who truly make the difference in the workplace,” he said. “Small business serves as the backbone of any thriving community. And smart, talented and resilient businesswomen help make Treasure Valley a great place to live and work.”

In addition to serving on the panel, Kelly, a self-described “recovering CFO,” spent considerable time on stage. Your Health Idaho was honored as a Top Company in the category of medium-sized businesses, and was also recognized with 18 other businesses celebrated as Empowering Women honorees.

According to Kelly, creating an inclusive culture and the ability to connect with all “team” members, the term his outfit uses to refer to those who help run the state’s health insurance exchange, are the key factors to producing a thriving work environment.

“Connecting one-on-one is the most critical way to increase retention and to lower turnover,” he said. “Our turnover rate has dropped by 54% in the past 12 months. Connecting says these programs work.”

With only 75 team members, Your Health Idaho remains focused on the concept of “connection,” a vital element for teammates to successfully serve all Idahoans Kelly said.

“Our Net Promoter Score is 68. That puts us in the company of Apple and Starbucks,” he said. “There is something to take away and be said for how we treat every single team member.”

Newton-Klitz highlighted the importance of how Micron fosters a workplace culture anchored in “purpose and values.”

“We want to focus on the entire person, meaning the career well-being, the financial well-being and the social well-being,” she said.

At CBH Homes, Conger shared how the company’s longtime motto, “The only way you get there is together,” remains a driving force for all employees.

“Everything we do is rooted in inclusion. It’s about getting the right people, providing growth and opportunities,” she said. “We want our people to love and be excited about what they do.”