For Immediate Release
INDIANAPOLIS (May 8, 2015) – Project Lead The Way proudly accepted the honor of the top place to work in Indiana during the annual Best Places to Work in Indiana awards banquet Thursday evening at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. Hosted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Best Places to Work awards honor the top places to work in the state among small, medium, large, and major companies. After two consecutive years of ranking third among medium companies, PLTW snagged the top spot among 24 finalists.
“We are very excited, and I am incredibly proud of our team,” said PLTW President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Vince Bertram. “[Our team members] are deeply committed to our mission, working with students and schools across the country to give them an extraordinary experience. It comes down to people. So this award is for them and the result of their efforts.”
PLTW’s ranking stems from its inclusive, close-knit culture that emphasizes collaboration, an open-door policy with executive leadership, and encourages team members to lead from every position. To strengthen this environment, PLTW invests significantly in its team, evidenced by extensive professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement, generous paid time off, and a flexible schedule with the ability to work from home to promote work-life balance. PLTW offers substantial retirement benefits and free financial advising to team members, pays 100 percent of employee health insurance premiums, and offers group term life insurance and disability benefits, as well as generous parental leave. A recently redesigned office space offers options for standing/ergonomic workstations. Team-building activities include monthly “Lunch on Us!” and “Breakfast with the CEO”, recreational sports leagues, social activities, and school visits to see PLTW students in action, using the curriculum PLTW team members designed.
This year’s Best Places awards recognized 100 companies across four categories from throughout the state for setting the standard with their workplace practices. The awards are handled by the Best Companies Group, which receives thousands of applications from companies in Indiana. A two-part, intensive process follows, during which a Best Companies Group committee evaluates each company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics, along with an employee survey to measure employee experience. The company survey was worth approximately 25 percent of the total evaluation, and the employee survey was worth approximately 75 percent. Over 89 percent of PLTW team members completed the survey. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. [View the 2015 Best Places to Work issue of BizVoice Magazine.]
The Best Places to Work in Indiana awards program was created in 2006 to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in Indiana, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses. For more information on the Indiana Chamber’s Best Places to Work program, go to www.bestplacestoworkIN.com.
About PLTW
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of K-12 STEM programs. PLTW’s world-class, activity-, project-, and problem-based curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development model, combined with an engaged network of educators and corporate partners, help students develop the skills needed to succeed in our global economy. More than 6,500 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently offering PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.
###
Media Contact:
Jennifer Cahill
PLTW Senior Director of Media and Public Relations
(317) 669-0871
jcahill@pltw.org