This year's NorthCoast 99 theme, The Hero Within, is captured perfectly by this group of superheroes from Constant Aviation who brought capes to the awards event.

WHAT A CELEBRATION!

On behalf of ERC's Staff, Board, and our NorthCoast 99 Sponsors, thank you for joining us at the 21st Annual NorthCoast 99 Awards Event! We loved celebrating with you and honoring 99 great Northeast Ohio workplaces for top talent.

Congratulations again to this year's Winners!

AWARD LITHOGRAPH ORDERS

Promote your organization as a great workplace by ordering additional, framed NorthCoast 99 lithographs. Every winning organization receives one complimentary award lithograph.

Additional litho orders are accepted until October 11.

ORDER YOUR EXTRA LITHOS TODAY!

WHAT'S NEXT?

There's more coming your way from ERC and the NorthCoast 99 research team! Watch for information in the days ahead on how to order your Top Performer Summary Report, our new Recruitment, Selection, & Onboarding Report, and Diversity & Inclusion Report. Consultative opportunities will also be available to help keep your workplace great.

ERC is pleased to announce that Susan Pyles, Director, Consulting & Member Services, and Tom Ault, Director, Technical Training & Senior Consultant, have been recently certified in Myers–Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) Step II™.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an introspective self-report that indicates different psychological preferences in how people perceive the world around them and make decisions. It is based on four principal psychological functions – sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking.

Each person is said to have one preferred quality from four categories, introversion (I) and extraversion (E);  sensing (S) and intuition (N); thinking (T) and feeling (F); and judging (J) and perceiving (P) – thus producing 16 unique personality types. For example, individuals who take the MBTI assessment and discover that their personality type is ENFJ will learn that they prefer extraversion, intuition, feeling, and judging when interpreting their experiences. It is believed that these preferences underlie an individual's interests, needs, values, and motivation. 

There are two versions of the MBTI assessment – Step I and Step II. MBTI Step I includes 93 questions and generates a report with the participant's personality type. MBTI Step II is an extended version of the Step I questionnaire that provides additional depth and clarification within each of the four original MBTI preference pairs. 

“The MBTI Step II provides a deeper level of understanding for individuals who already know their four-letter type,” said Susan. “It is used when in-depth individual feedback is needed for coaching, counseling, or executive development.”

While the MBTI personality inventory distinguishes 16 types from one another, it offers relatively few clues as to how people of the same personality type may differ. As a result, the MBTI Step II assessment was developed to enable exploration and identification of individuality within each of the 16 personality types.

The MBTI Step II personality inventory includes a four-page Step II Profile and/or an 18-page Step II Interpretive Report. Step II results show respondents their preferences further detailed into five components called facets. 

“Step II results also provide assistance to people who are having trouble identifying their best-fit type,” said Tom. “As part of our training, we assist those who are unsure if their preference ‘fits them’ by encouraging them to reflect on how they take in information and make decisions in life.”

Only a certified and experienced MBTI administrator can deliver the MBTI assessment. If you are interested in bringing the MBTI Step I or Step II assessment and training to your organization, please contact ERC's Chris Kutsko, Vice President, Learning & Development.

Highland Heights, Ohio – ERC is excited to announce our 2019 NorthCoast 99 Winners and Winner Practices Report! Now in its 21st year, NorthCoast 99 is an annual awards program we created and produce to honor 99 great Northeast Ohio workplaces for top talent.

“More than a business award or event, NorthCoast 99 is a yearlong research project ERC established to help employers make a difference in the lives of people working and living in our 22-county region,” noted ERC senior vice president Carrie Morse, who has overseen the program for the last 17 years.

NorthCoast 99 winners participated in a rigorous application process that asked for detailed information on how their organization addresses top-performer attraction, development, and retention in five distinct areas: organizational strategy, policies, and communication; recruitment, selecting, and onboarding; employee well-being; employee engagement and development; and total rewards.

“We’re thrilled to recognize and celebrate this year’s NorthCoast 99 Award winners! With unemployment at a 49-year-low, the benchmarks for attracting, engaging, and retaining employees are higher than ever,” said Kelly Keefe, president of ERC. “Year after year, winning organizations are raising the bar with increasingly progressive and groundbreaking HR practices and benefits that elevate the experience of their employees.”

The 2019 NorthCoast 99 Awards program is sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield; CareerCurve; Cleveland Magazine; ERChealth; Gino’s Awards; Maloney + Novotny; Mark Wayner Creative; Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis; Oswald Companies; Staffing Solutions Enterprises; and Ultimate Software.

About ERC

Founded in 1920, ERC helps organizations make their workplaces great by providing expert people solutions that include training, consulting, research, and HR support services. ERC also sponsors the ERChealth insurance program in Ohio. 

Highland Heights, Ohio – ERC, the human resource organization that provides training, consulting, research, and HR support services locally and nationally, is pleased to announce that Annie Dohnal and Hayley McQuate have both been promoted to the position of Client Service Manager.

 Upon joining ERC in 2014, Annie served as Client Service Associate. In her new role as Client Service Manager, she oversees the coordination of existing member accounts as well as new business development. Annie also organizes netwERC groups and manages the members-only connectwERC online discussion forum.

Hayley has held the position of Client Service Associate since 2017, when she joined ERC. In her new role as Client Service Manager, she oversees the account management of clients, vendors, independent consultants, and trainers. She also administers ERC’s Training Programs, provides instructional design support to trainers, and hosts our webinars.

“We're so proud of Annie and Hayley and look forward to their continued contributions to ERC and our clients," said Sam Marx, Director, Client Service. "They're proven talents and will continue to play a key role in ERC’s growth.” 

Annie holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology from Wheeling Jesuit University, and Hayley received her bachelor's degree in business administration, with a minor in human resources from Kent State University. 

About ERC
Founded in 1920, ERC helps organizations make their workplaces great by providing expert people solutions that include training, consulting, research, and HR support services. We’re the creators and producers of NorthCoast 99, an annual awards program in its 21st year that honors exceptional Northeast Ohio employers for top talent. ERC also sponsors the ERChealth insurance program in Ohio.

ERChealth, our 20-year-old Ohio health insurance program that has saved over $200 million for 40,000 members, is pleased to sponsor the Crain's Cleveland Business Excellence in HR Awards on August 6, 2019 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown.

Formerly known as the Archer Awards, this program recognizes Northeast Ohio's outstanding human resource executives, teams, and business leaders who are building companies with the best people, talent, development, and culture.

This event highlights organizations in nine categories, including Overall Excellence – HR Executive/Team of the Year, Compensation and Benefits, HR Innovator, Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Experience, and more. According to Crain's, recipients of these awards have gone above and beyond their duties and are making lasting impressions in their field.

"Engaged individuals and high-performing teams are making a difference in workplaces across Northeast Ohio. We're proud to support this event and the HR leaders who work tirelessly to make their organization a destination for top talent," said ERC Senior Vice President Carrie Morse. 

Registration for the Excellence in HR Awards program is available on the Crain's Cleveland Business website. 

ERC Members: Use the promo code: ERC19 to get $10 off your event registration. Hurry! This offer expires at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2019.

Thanks to Crain's Content Studio - Cleveland, ERC President Kelly Keefe participated in this informative Tech Matters article about social responsibility. Read on to find out how companies are integrating innovative technology solutions to help drive corporate sustainability strategies.

We’re excited to announce that ERC President Kelly Keefe has been selected for the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2020! Kelly will join a community of 1,800 leaders who have participated in the program over the past 41 years. 

The mission of Leadership Cleveland is to empower experienced, senior-level leaders with knowledge, skills, and relationships to advance and deepen their community impact.

The program offers many ways to enhance civic understanding and leadership. Through Leadership Cleveland, participants develop a deeper understanding of our city's intricate and complex civic issues, and cultivate collaborative skills and an unparalleled network to help create positive change.

The Leadership Cleveland selection process is highly competitive. Only approximately 65 Northeast Ohio leaders are chosen for this 10-month intensive experience each year. Among other selection criteria, applicants must demonstrate a significant level of volunteer leadership in the community and be a recognized, established leader in their profession.

"Being accepted into this program is a huge honor! I look forward to growing as a leader and exploring ways that my peers and I can use our talents to improve the Cleveland community," said Kelly.

Once again, ERC will sponsor Cleveland's HR Star Conference, and the 21st annual event will take place on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Independence, Ohio. Nearly 625 HR professionals from organizations across Cleveland and western Pennsylvania will gather to discuss leadership, employment law, communication in the workplace, and more.  

As in previous years, four ERC representatives will speak at the Conference on a variety of topics, and for the second consecutive year, our Senior Vice President Carrie Morse will emcee the overall event. Below is a complete listing of ERC's presenters as well as their breakout session topics. 

Carrie Morse, Senior Vice President 
Emcee of HR Star Conference 

Kathleen Buse, Ph.D., Director of Research & The ERC Women's Leadership Institute
Gender & Communication in the Workplace

Tara Motheral, Esq., SHRM-CP, HR Advisor
The Top Legal Compliance Issues for 2019: Including Employee Handbook Updates, Employee Misconduct & Workplace Policies

Chris Powers, Senior Training Consultant, Learning & Development
The ABCs of XYZs: What Each Generation is Seeking from Their Work, Why They Stay, Why They Leave & What Really Motivates Them

Hayley McQuate, Client Service Manager
Session Facilitator 

Meg Matejkovic, Esq., Senior Training Consultant, Learning & Development
Conducting Workplace Investigations: Beyond the Basics

Recruiting and hiring the right people is by far the most important part of any organization's business plan. We know that candidates are not only evaluating the position, and your company culture and benefits package, but also whether Cleveland is the right place for them. 

ERC and Cleveland Magazine are passionate advocates for the great quality of life available here in Northeast Ohio, which is why we are excited to partner and launch our Talent Ambassador Program. This Program is aimed at helping recruiters create an exceptionally talented workforce by providing the tools you need to help candidates fall in love with Cleveland as a great place to work and live.

If you choose to become a Talent Ambassador, you will receive a FREE one-year subscription to Cleveland Magazine. You will also receive the ability to purchase one-year subscriptions for your new-hires at the highly discounted rate of $5. Cleveland Magazine will send a letter to your new team member acknowledging this gift from your organization and welcoming them to our city. To become a Talent Ambassador, contact Alyson Szlamas.

An employee's happiness at home is as important to his or her success as happiness at work. ERC and Cleveland Magazine can help you seal the deal with your top candidates. Become a Talent Ambassador today!

ERC is committed to giving back to the communities we serve.  Today, our staff took time out of the workday to volunteer at MedWish International. We helped repurpose discarded medical supplies and equipment for humanitarian aid in developing countries.

"I was blown away by all MedWish International does as an organization. And also the impact that our organization made by volunteering! I believe that we receive more by giving more," said ERC President Kelly Keefe. "Each day, I truly grow more grateful to be surrounded by such talented, dedicated, and all-around good colleagues."

ERC's heart for service also extends throughout the year. Twice a month, our staff members take turns delivering meals to homebound, disabled, and elderly residents who are unable to shop or prepare meals as part of the Hillcrest Meals on Wheels program.