1. When your company participates in the Best Places to Work in Mississippi, you will discover information about your workplace that can lead you to greater business success by understanding the viewpoints of your employees.
2. A strong reputation as a great place to work gives additional confidence to your existing clients and offers you new selling points on drawing new clients and recruiting new employees to your company.
3. A productive workforce leads you to a better bottom line. This program offers an efficient and confidential method for you to achieve the knowledge you need to lead your company forward.
4. You will enhance relations with your employees by having the mutual goal of seeing how your company is doing by comparison to other Mississippi companies. This is a great time to build confidence and camaraderie through a common goal.
5. Your employees will see that you are genuinely interested in their opinions and input about the company. They will feel more validated as important links to your success and increase their sense of pride related to the company and their employment.
6. Your visibility as a leading company among Mississippi`s employers gains you a new level of recognition and respect. Listed companies receive public relations and publicity coverage in the Best Places to Work in Mississippi magazine. Business readers across the state will learn more about your company, its products and services, and see you in a leadership role in improving the state`s workforce relations.
7. Press releases are sent to newspapers throughout the state to announce the winners and provide additional publicity.
8. The Best Places website will keep a year long posting of the winning and listed companies, which can also be accessed by a link from the Mississippi Business Journal Web site: www.msbusiness.com/specialevents
9. This popular website is currently recording over 30,000 page views per week.
10. As you continue to build your workforce, a good performance in the Best Places to Work can help you attract stronger, more qualified candidates.
11. In-depth reports made available by Southern Research Group will arm you for pressing on to greater levels of achievement. Mississippi`s workforce development is an economic necessity for strengthening business in this state.

Your active participation in the Best Places to Work puts you among the elite group that is determined to make a difference to keep more of our workforce in the state; better utilize the workers we have; and capitalize on methods of enhancing future productivity.

How do participating companies receive survey feedback?

Southern Research Group provides all analysis and findings from the surveys submitted by participating companies.

1. All registered companies that participate in the surveys will receive a report.  This report includes their overall and category rankings.  Even if a company does not reach the 50% participation level, they will still receive the report based on their responses.
2. The three top companies from each size category receive a complimentary detailed report, valued at $575.00, that indicates how they scored in comparison to the average of scores from other companies in their size category.
3. Other companies that participate can purchase these reports for an additional $325.00 above their $250.00 registration fee, totalling $575.00. A report of this nature is normally valued at $3000.00 to $3500.00, depending on the number of questions. Southern Research Group is offering it at $575.00 per business, because this is a special partnership formed with the Mississippi Business Journal and Venture Publications for the purpose of the Best Places program.
4. Businesses that would like to have a more detailed report showing how it's own employees view it (with segmented results by demographics) may purchase a more thorough analysis for an addtional $1325.00, (total with registration fee is $1575.00), discounted from the regular price of $4000.00 to $4500.00.
5. After the program results have been completed and released, you may contact Southern Research Group directly to inquire about further personalized consultations for your company. Visit them at www.SouthernResearchGroup.com.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Last year my company participated free of charge.  Why do I have to pay to enter this year?

Last year was the first time Mississippi has offered this program, which has already been proven a popular venture in many other states.  It was a year for introducing this state's companies to a method for gathering valuable information to improve their workforce relations and also to offer public acknowledgement of those excelling in this area.  It was also produced in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  The program partners decided to waive participation fees for the first year.

Feedback results overwhelmingly indicated that the reports were very helpful. Even those companies not qualifying for awards, due to lower participation percentages, did want to receive reports to gain insight from the employees that were able to complete the surveys. 

Any company that devotes the time and resources to having employees take the surveys should receive results.  The only feasible way to make possible the expert analysis by Southern Research Group is for each participant to make the small investment of $250.00 for online survey completion and $500 for paper survey completion. Without operating under the benefits umbella of the Best Places to Work program, a company seeking this information independently would pay charges of several thousand dollars.

___________________________________________________________________

Tell me more about the awards breakfast.

All participants are invited to send representatives to the Best Places to Work Awards Breakfast at  7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at the Mississippi Trademart in Jackson.  This is the kickoff event for the two day Comcast  Mississippi Business & Technology EXPO on January 16-17th.

The 2007 awards breakfast was attended by over 350 executives from companies throughout the state.  There is ample time for networking in addition to enjoying a generous breakfast and entertaining program leading to the awards presentation.  Honorable mentions go to companies qualifying for the lists, and they will be recognized and will receive certificates as one of Mississippi's Best Places to Work.  Three winners in each category will be recognized onstage and receive engraved plaques.

Many companies other than the participants send representatives to this breakfast, so the audience is diverse in its representation of the state's corporate and nonprofit organizations.  Immediately after the breakfast, the EXPO ribbon cutting is held in the adjoining Trademart area, officially opening 200 exhibits with the newest in products, services and ideas for attendees to visit.

YOUR COMPANY IS ALSO ENCOURAGED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXHIBIT IN THE 25TH ANNUAL COMCAST MISSISIPPI BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY EXPO.  For details on exhibiting and to download exhibit registration forms, go to www.msbusiness.com/specialevents .  For information on sponsorships of the EXPO, contact Ron Jones, Publications Director - General Manager, at ron.jones@msbusiness.com or 601-364-1021.

____________________________________________________________________________

For any other general  Best Places or EXPO program questions, please email cindy.calabrese@msbusiness.com.