This year, PE Systems was recognized for something it has worked toward in the past few years and succeeded: being named one of the Best Places to Work in the Miami Valley, as named by the Dayton Business Journal.
The reasons are several, solid, and sustainable. The result is that PE Systems provides a productive, professional, and pleasant place where people want to be part of the team, stay there, and do their best work.
“Our first concern is how we treat our employees,” Scott Murray, Vice President of Dayton Operations, said. “We listen to our employees and respond to them.” He said, for example, suggestions were made about the hiring process and were implemented.
“I have worked at other places where the employees are just a number, and they don’t hear back on an issue. We are very cognizant of our employees and communicate with them very well – and that’s up and down the line.” Murray said each employee has the opportunity to reach out to anyone in leadership.
Speaking of leadership, Murray is frank about his style and philosophy. “The way that I manage folks is I’m very flexible and I want people to have flexibility. I don’t micromanage. Everyone is free to do their job. We allow people to be flexible with their work schedule.”
It was not always that way. Murray said the PE Systems he joined seven years ago operated in what would be considered an old-school fashion. Since then, “we were able to have discussions to make changes. It’s been good overall.” During his tenure, Murray was a champion to modernize the company. He conducted surveys and had discussions with employees to gain feedback on improvements and he worked with leadership to implement changes.
Changes extended to the company’s branding. “In the last couple of years, we updated our logo to make it more modern.” He added, PE Systems is active on social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram – so much so that “we’ve been noticed by prospective employees and other companies. It has helped us develop a robust networking with other companies” that has built some strategic relationships.
Much of this leads to recruiting top talent. “Recruiting and retention are big things for us.”
PE Systems’ efforts with employee satisfaction and retention, good leadership, and competitive benefits are what landed it a Best Place to Work award. “We offer more than most other companies in terms of personal time off and sick leave. We offer two floating holidays in addition to 11 federal holidays, including the newly added Juneteenth. So, you get 13 paid holidays with PE Systems. Other companies only offer seven.”
He added that “on the first day, a new employee gets three weeks of personal time off and one-week sick leave. So, they get a month right away.”
“Our benefits are good – 401k, medical, dental, vision, tuition reimbursement, and employee assistance. Each employee can get four free counseling sessions – and they don’t have to say anything to anybody. It is all anonymous.”
Other benefits to make employees feel appreciated are an annual recognition event – this year it was at the National Museum of the United States Air Force – and free tickets to the Dayton Dragons baseball games.
Next year, PE Systems plans to return to quarterly employee luncheons, which have been absent during the pandemic, and another recognition event to be determined.
One other facet that speaks to PE Systems’ being a Best Place to Work is this: “We are open and flexible in promoting somebody’s professional growth. In other companies, it’s a pain to move someone to another position.” But at PE Systems, “we do that quite often. If someone is doing a good job, we will recognize that and act accordingly, with a promotion or pay raise.”
Tiffany Kearney vouches for PE Systems being a Best Place to Work. “I’ve worked for lots of different government contractors,” said the company’s Human Resource generalist and Assistant Facility Security Officer (AFSO) of the Dayton division. PE Systems “helps their individuals grow from within. They listen to you and understand what your goals are and to get to those goals as quickly as possible. Other companies make promises but do not deliver – I’ve had that happen in the past. PE Systems has really listened to me in the career path that I want to have and followed through.”
Kathern Hotz, the company’s Talent Acquisition Manager, points to the welcoming environment. “There is a family atmosphere here. Everybody takes the time to reach out to help someone. It is friendly.”
As to PE Systems being a Best Place to Work, Murray said from the feedback he’s received, the people here are “happy.”
IF PE Systems sound like a good fit for you, visit our website – pesystems.com – click on “careers” and apply online. Questions? Contact us at Recruiting@PESystems.com.
You can read the Dayton Business Journal Article here: https://bit.ly/3o05TP6.