When I came to work for Hawkins Companies one of the most shocking realizations I had in my first week was that the average longevity of an employee here was around 10 years. When someone comes to work here, they stay. I firmly believe that turnover rate is one of the most telling signs of whether or not a company focuses on its culture or if its employees are an afterthought. Especially since statistics are indicating that on average a new employee will only stay 3 years; quite a jump from Hawkins’ average. So it was exciting yet not surprising that Hawkins was nominated as one of the Best Places to Work in Idaho.
The “Best Places to Work in Idaho” program began about 11 years ago with the vision of making Idaho a better place to work. The program encourages employers to do right by their employees and focus their culture around employee satisfaction and happiness. The most incredible part of this program and process is the fact that the ranking of employers is based entirely on the feedback of employees, regardless of how the business or employers present themselves; the employees are the only deciding factor. So in my opinion it was made for businesses like Hawkins Companies.
Hawkins understands the value of appreciating your employees, nurturing creativity, and fostering a positive work environment where it’s okay to enjoy coming to work. This is a culture that has been forming for over 40 years, and was started by the company’s owners, Gary and Gail Hawkins. But it’s difficult to project a vision that two people have about how a company should be ran onto an entire team, especially one of our size!
In my very short time of being on the Hawkins’ team, I have heard conversations about company culture, the way management and employees communicate, and how employees interact with each other more than almost anything else. I’ve also seen and heard several conversations and surveys asking for feedback from employees about business and office issues. But what I have noticed the most is the quality of the people here at Hawkins. People are kind, generous, helpful, diligent and very hard working and our culture reflects all of those amazing attributes. Which leads me to believe that the reason Hawkins is ranked in the top 10 places to work in Idaho is because of its people. The reason Gary and Gail are able to continue their legacy of generosity and kindness through a team as large as ours, was because of the people they chose. From managers, to interns and everything in between, Hawkins knows how to find quality people and they are what keep this amazing culture thriving and make this place such an incredible place to work.
Find out how local companies rank by visiting:
Best Places to work in Idaho’s Website
