Conway Regional Health System has been named among more than 40 companies selected as one of the Best Places to Work in Arkansas. The seventh annual recognition program was created by Arkansas Business and Best Companies Group as a way of identifying, recognizing and honoring the best employers in Arkansas as well as how they benefit the state’s economy, workforce and businesses.

This is the third year that Conway Regional has been selected for the honor. Other healthcare systems in Arkansas to be chosen for the 2019 Arkansas Business award are St. Bernard’s Health System in Jonesboro, CHI-St. Vincent Hot Springs, Baxter Regional Medical Center and the Medical Center of South Arkansas. Arkansas Business will host a Best Places to Work banquet on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Embassy Suites.

Organizations making this year’s list of Best Places to Work stand out in their efforts to create an empowered and satisfied workforce.  

“Achieving this designation three years in a row is remarkable and reflects the passion and commitment of our team members,” said Conway Regional President and CEO Matt Troup. “From a leadership standpoint, we are very proud of our team at Conway Regional. It is humbling to receive such an honor, knowing that a great deal of the assessment is based on feedback from our employees. Day in and day out the work in healthcare can be grueling. Our team’s commitment to this work and to Conway Regional illustrates a calling that exists in healthcare to provide high quality care to our patients and to serve our community. It is an honor to serve and lead our team at Conway Regional.” 

During the past three years, Conway Regional has shown an increase in its engagement scores as measured by Press Ganey, an independent, patient experience company in South Bend, Ind.

“Over the past four years, our focus has been on developing a culture among our team that nurtures a sense of family and engagement,” said Conway Regional Health System Chief Human Resource Officer Richard Tyler. “It has been through listening to our staff and physicians, and making them our priority in caring for their needs, that we have been able to develop a culture of engagement that translates to excellent service and quality of care for our patients. We are very proud of our culture and this independent survey process is a validation of the great work happening at Conway Regional.”

Acxiom Corporation and Edafio Technology Partners are the other Conway-based companies joining Conway Regional in the statewide awards circle this year. 

This is the second best places to work award that Conway Regional has won this year. In May, Conway Regional was one of two Arkansas organizations named to the national Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare. The other was St. Bernard’s Health System in Jonesboro.
Conway Regional’s Retention and Recruitment Committee is planning a fall celebration of both best places to work awards Saturday, Oct. 5, and Monday, Oct. 7. Plans call for barbecue, carnival games, food trucks, a photo booth, gifts and other attractions for employees, physicians and volunteers.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Places to Work in Arkansas. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics, while the second consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience.

Seventy-five percent of scoring for the survey is based on employee responses. The survey includes open-ended questions and demographic questions. 

The results were analyzed and categorized according to eight areas of focus, including leadership and planning, corporate culture and communications, role satisfaction, work environment, relationship with supervisor, training development and resources, pay and benefits and overall engagement.