EANJ Members Recognized as Exceptional Employers

Jul 2007

(Livingston, NJ) Four New Jersey employers have been recognized for exceptional workplace practices by the Employers Association of New Jersey (EANJ).  Established in 1916, EANJ has strived to apply the collective experience of its 1,000-plus membership to help employers make sound and responsible employment decisions.  The Harold R. Hawkey Exceptional Employer Awards are an outgrowth of the association's work which encourage excellence and replication of best workplace practices.

The 2007 award recipients for the Exceptional Employer Award are:  MAGYAR BANK, LTS LOHMANN THERAPY SYSTEMS, ORGANON USA and QUALCARE.

Magyar Bank

Magyar Bank was established in 1922 and is headquartered in New Brunswick. It employs about 100 people. Its business strategy is simple, partner with local organizations that focus on enhancing the quality of life and encourage employees to devote time and energy to charitable causes.  When the bank went public in 2006, it established the MagyarBank Charitable Foundation. Through the Foundation, the bank has been able to support 75 local organizations. Another example of “doing well by doing good” is the enormous amount of volunteer work performed by Magyar’s employees. Bank employees have served meals to the needy, read books to children through Read Across America initiatives, and have engaged in innumerable activities through the United Way.

While nurturing a stellar reputation within the community, the espirt de corps created by community volunteering has had a tangible positive impact on the quality of work life at the Bank.  Teamwork has been enhanced at all levels of the organization and within departments.  Less tangible, is a sense of well-being and pride that employees share knowing that their Bank contributes to the well-being of the community.

LTS Lohmann Therapy Systems

LTS was established in 1994 and is a worldwide leader in serving the pharmaceutical industry with products and services and is located in West Caldwell. With its 260 employees in West Caldwell, the company develops and manufactures oral film and specialty laminates, including nicotine patches, for the pharmaceutical industry. The company’s business strategy starts with a facility that requires pharmaceutical FDA-mandated quality and clean-processing capabilities.  Populate that facility with the best available talent and ensure that they understand the nature of the pharmaceutical production, which not only means meeting the highest quality standards, but also treating the customer as the real boss.  In short, customers are not held at arms length. Instead, the company has transformed this relationship into a partnership, which includes many of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical, consumer-healthcare, medical device, and diagnostic companies. Since each employee is responsible for nurturing customer relationships, the company must be able to “walk the walk” when they say employees come first. Every candidate for the job gets an interview with the President. He remains accessible for lunch and town hall-type meetings. Key Performance Indicators for managing the firm’s human resources are tracked monthly.  Voluntary turnover is below 3% per year and absenteeism is less than 5%.

Organon USA

Organon develops, manufacturers and markets prescription medicines. The company employs 1,500 people and it has a major facility located in Roseland.  As a pharmaceutical company, the organization has an obvious commitment to the well being of the wider community. However, its employee relation’s policies are perfectly aligned with this mission. It has initiated a series of programs to promote the health and well being of its employees and their families, including exercise programs, both onsite at the facility and off site as well. The company has focused on healthy lifestyles. Weight Watchers classes are held at the facility and free cholesterol and blood pressure screenings, and smoking cessation programs are made available. Its cafeteria vendor posts the nutritional content of all meals. Junk food has been eliminated in favor of healthy food choices. Lunch seminars are held frequently throughout the year, including hypertension awareness and how to deal with the physical impact of menopause. In recognition of its efforts, particularly in its smoking cessation programs, the American Cancer Society awarded the company a grant to supplement its substantial investment in employee health. 

In addition the company has launched a program to create an ergonomically friendly workplace.  It reports a reduction in chronic physical problems due to ergonomic issues and a dramatic reduction in the use of sick days and disability leaves.

QualCare, Inc.

QualCare is the largest full service provider sponsored managed care organization in New Jersey. It maintains a network of more than 19,000 providers at 31,000 locations, including 88 hospitals. It is located in Piscataway and employs 360 people. In an effort to maintain its own health care plan without increasing costs to employees and to maintain a high level of employee well being, the company has launched the QualCare FIT Program. The purpose of the program is to encourage and educate employees on the importance of living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, to reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses and to increase awareness of how important teamwork can be. The company has a certified personal trainer on site to assess employees and recommend a personalized exercise program which employees can take advantage of at the onsite gym.   Additionally, the FIT Program has a full menu of healthy lifestyle classes for employees to attend which include weight training, nutrition, yoga, aerobics and a variety of lunch and learn health related seminars.  All of this is offered at no cost to employees.

The program required employees to submit a team essay explaining why they wanted to join the Challenge, and their personal goals and objectives they aspired to achieved through the Challenge.  As the team members participate in the various programs, the team earns points. Individual prizes are awarded monthly to FIT Challenge participants who attend the most classes, accumulate the most points, and loose the most weight and inches. At the end of the Challenge, the team who has the most points wins a trip to the Bahamas, with a guest!  While the program is in its early stages, the company reports anecdotal evidence of increased morale, a greater sense of teamwork and personal satisfaction in attaining their goals!