Meet 14 companies that found ways to shine during COVID-19
Just like 2020, the second annual Best Workplaces in NKY, presented by NKY Magazine, proved to be anything but business as usual. These awards typically honor businesses and organizations—both large and small—that demonstrate exceptional qualities that makes this region such a great place to work.
We are still honoring companies for doing that this year, but we also wanted to shine a spotlight on those who did an extraordinary job responding to COVID-19. We asked many of this year’s winners to discuss not only what they did to create a welcoming work environment and culture, but also to share how they remained a Best Workplace during the pandemic. And among 2021’s 14 winners, you’ll find six businesses and organizations that we’ve recognized for going and above in their response.
COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone, but let’s take the time to celebrate the companies that continued to make this region a great place to work.
Nomination Process
For the 2021 Best Workplaces in NKY, a link to a nomination form was emailed to businesses and people throughout the region, inviting them to self-nominate. A form was also posted online so that other businesses could participate. For-profit, nonprofit and government institutions were able to self-nominate. Nominees were asked to provide information on how they responded to changes over the last year, both internally and externally, and to provide details about their workplace. The winners were then selected by committee. If you are interested in nominating your company next year, subscribe to NKY Magazine and its newsletter (both of which are complimentary).
AquiSense
Water purification developer and manufacturer
Location Erlanger
Type Private
Founded 2015
# Emp 15
Arlinghaus Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning
Plumbing, heating and air conditioning services
Location Erlanger
Type Private
Founded 2009
# Emp 70
Camco Chemical Company
Supply chain services company providing turnkey chemical contract manufacturing, warehousing and fulfillment services
Location Independence
Type Private
Founded 1960
# Emp 210
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Public Airport
Location Hebron
Type Government
Founded 1947
# Emp 415+
Covington Latin School
Co-educational college preparatory middle and high school for gifted students
Location Covington
Type Nonprofit
Founded 1923
# Emp 25
Fidant Wealth Partners
Financial planning and advising
Location Crestview Hills
Type Private
Founded 2015
# Emp 21
Last Call Trivia
Entertainment and team building
Location Fort Thomas
Type Private
Founded 2007
# Emp 9
Pediatric Associates, PSC
Primary care office providing pediatric health care to children and young adults
Location Crestview Hills
Type Private
Founded 1992
# Emp 57
Perfetti Van Melle USA
Manufacture, market and distribute candy, gum and mints in the U.S. including Airheads, Mentos, Fruit-tella and more
Location Erlanger
Type Private
Founded 1970
# Emp 430
Redwood School & Rehabilitation Center
Provides educational, therapuetic and vocational services for children and adults with severe and multiple disabilities
Location Fort Thomas
Type Nonprofit
Founded 1953
# Emp 93
Rosedale Green
Skilled nursing facility/senior care
Location Covington
Type Nonprofit
Founded 1962
# Emp 180
Schneller and Knochelmann Plumbing Heating and Air
Residential plumbing, heating and air services
Location Covington
Type Private
Founded 1928
# Emp 76
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of Northern Kentucky
Nonprofit assisting those in need
Location Covington
Type Nonprofit
Founded 1911
# Emp 62
St. Elizabeth
Health care system
Location Edgewood
Type Nonprofit
Founded 1861
# Emp 7,402
Company Innovation of the Year
AquiSense
AquiSense in Erlanger has the world’s leading water purification systems. These systems are used by NASA, Nestle, Boeing, Oasis Water Coolers, Kona Ice and more.
In late March 2020, CEO Oliver Lawal tested positive for COVID-19. However, during his recovery time, a brilliant idea was born to help hospitals. Hospitals were in need of N95 masks and, with the UV light technology Lawal had created, he developed a new device using his technology to disinfect masks.
PearlSurface is the size of a small microwave and can disinfect three masks at once in only 15 minutes. In May 2020, PearlSurface was being shipped in the U.S., Japan, India and Europe. By August 2020, the device was approved as the only UV LED disinfection device available to use with its range of masks and respirators. AquiSense is also pursuing FDA approval.
Lawal was asked why the company response was important and how it contributed to the environment.
Q: Why was it important to your company to respond to the pandemic in this way?
A: AquiSense responded to the pandemic this way because fundamentally we have technology that is effective at inactivating bacterial and viruses. And we realized that it was the right thing to do to apply it to COVID-19.
Q: How did these actions contribute to your company’s workplace and culture?
A: The response from the AquiSense team gave employees a sense of purpose to contribute to the health of our customers and many local hospitals that tested our system for their different locations.
– Shelby Besecker
Best Government Response
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
During COVID-19, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport stepped up in many ways. At the start, CVG re-developed its communication to employees that included direct emails from CEO Candace McGraw. Within the emails, it included video updates that spoke directly to employees and included messages about how to properly wear masks and social distance. The monthly newsletter was also shifted to being bi-weekly. Another way the airport stepped up was performing frequent sanitation of the areas in the airport that were hot spots for travelers. It started using a new two-step product called SafetyNet, a spray that applies electrostatic disinfection and is then finished with an anti-microbial solution. This process disinfects areas for more than 30 days. Along with the sanitizing process, plexiglass barriers were installed so employees could interact with travelers safely.
“Airports are an essential business. CVG remained open and operational during the initial shutdown for people to have the ability to travel by air and for goods and packages to get in the right hands. There was a lot of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that flew through CVG during those first few months. We remained focused on prioritizing the health and safety of travelers and our employees and responded swiftly to implement innovative strategies,” says McGraw.
“Our work over the last year has built on the sense of pride we already had in serving this community. Our employees were able to see, in a bigger spotlight, how critical our daily operations are to keeping the economy of our region moving,” adds McGraw.
– Shelby Besecker
Company Rethinking of the Year
Last Call Trivia
Last Call Trivia traditionally has provided in-person entertainment, primarily for bars and restaurants, that is designed to create teamwork and interpersonal connections. But, with the pandemic, the company had to adapt quickly.
The first step was taking its trivia shows to Zoom, offering shows to businesses across the country. By March 2021, Last Call Trivia had hosted hundreds of virtual trivia shows. The team has also worked on creating an app for players to answer questions so it will minimize contact with the hosts.
We asked Brianna LeCompte, director of business development, about the importance of the company’s response and its effect on its workplace.
Q: Why was it important to your company to respond to the pandemic in this way?
A: First and foremost, safety was the No. 1 priority in our response. By shifting to virtual events in the short-term and developing an app to allow for socially distanced gameplay, we were able to provide Trivia Nights in a safe and responsible way.
Q: How did these actions contribute to your company’s workplace and culture?
A: As a relatively small team (or “flock,” as we call ourselves), each person has the opportunity to directly influence and drive elements of our strategy for the future. We have a bi-weekly meeting over Google Hangouts to ensure that everyone is up to speed on the latest developments. The number of large, strategic adjustments we’ve been able to work towards and implement in a relatively short period of time has been a huge source of pride for our flock.
– Shelby Besecker
Company Response of the Year
Perfetti Van Melle USA
A company responsible for manufacturing and distributing some of the world’s favorite candies, such as Mentos and Airheads, faced great challenges this past year working to stay functional while keeping its 400-plus employees safe.
First, the company implemented enhanced health and safety measures that the local health department commended for being “best in class and a benchmark for other companies.”
Perfetti Van Melle communicated exceptionally with employees throughout the pandemic by adapting office and production meetings to a virtual format and kept employees in contact with each other through video messages and selfies to continue encouraging the frontline employees that weren’t able to work from home.
We asked president and CEO of Perfetti Van Melle, Sylvia Buxton, about how the company responded to the pandemic.
Q: What set your company apart from others in the way you responded to the pandemic?
A: Staying true to our core company values was critical to responding successfully to the unusual and fast-moving challenges of the pandemic. In a crisis it could be easy to lose sight, but two of our values were particularly important in guiding our pandemic response with our employees and community: “Care for Our People” and “Social and Environmental Responsibility.”
Q: How did these actions contribute to your company’s workplace and culture?
A: We kept employees connected and engaged during a very difficult time by finding creative and safe ways to continue with our community and employee programs. It was vitally important to keep our continuity with things that are a regular part of our culture.
– Andy Temmel
Best From-Home Implementation of the Year
Fidant Wealth Partners
Once the first stay-at-home orders came down, Fidant Wealth Partners knew it had to act fast in order to keep its clients at ease while ensuring it could continue day-to-day operations. Fidant took the safe route, having employees work from home, but tried to keep spirits up with games, puzzles, self-care packages and more for employees and clients. This was done by engaging with other small businesses in the community for baked goods, catered lunches and gift cards from local businesses.
Charity Jordan, the business development manager at Fidant, filled us in on other steps the company took in ensuring the safety of their staff.
Q: Why was it important for your company to respond with such a strong work-from-home implementation this year?
A: It was equally important for us to implement a smart work from home policy for the safety and well-being of our employees and our clients. We wanted a smooth transition with minimal disruption to our client commitments as possible. We were thankful for the technology we had access to that allowed us to stay in touch with team members and clients to help them navigate through the uncertainty.
Q: How did these actions contribute to your company’s workplace and culture?
A: Fidant Wealth Partners has a culture of personal accountability and this was evident throughout this past year. We depend on each other through teamwork and collaboration to deliver a world-class client experience and everyone stepped up during this time and lived up to our reputation.
– Andy Temmel
Best Best Nonprofit Response
Redwood School & Rehabilitation Center
The Redwood School and Rehabilitation Center is a nonprofit in Northern Kentucky that provides rehabilitation services to children and adults that focuses on education, therapy and workplace skills.
Redwood focuses on works with its clients to help them achieve independence through education and therapy, but these in-person programs were brought to a halt last March due to mandates from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Redwood wasted no time in implementing a “tele-therapy” program to continue providing speech, occupational and development therapies. The pivot to online services was met with praise from family members of participants.
We asked Brittany Gray, the volunteer coordinator at Redwood, how the changes affected the staff and workplace.
Q: In what way did your response to the pandemic benefit your staff?
A: Redwood provided unemployment information to employees as well as other benefits they could receive while off. Redwood HR walked employees through the UE website and Healthcare website to try and make sure they would be OK financially while off. Redwood brought back employees as soon as possible when Redwood received the PPP loan.
Q: How did these actions contribute to Redwood’s workplace?
A: Redwood implemented a safe health screening process for all staff and clients. Redwood stayed on top of employees that were exposed by having them quarantine and tracking this. Redwood closed the break room but opened the cafeteria for staff to eat in. Redwood bought a EAP program through our health care vendor or all employees to use.
– Andy Temmel
