University is ranked third-highest among colleges in magazine’s survey of 50,000 Americans who work for businesses with at least 1,000 employees.
Further confirming its reputation as a desirable place to work, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) was ranked No. 13 in Forbes magazine’s America’s Best Large Employers survey, which was released Tuesday.
Forbes and market research firm Statista surveyed 50,000 Americans who work for businesses with at least 1,000 employees and asked them to rate their willingness to recommend their employers to friends and family and to nominate organizations other than their own. The rankings reflect the 500 large (more than 5,000 employees) and 500 midsize (1,000 to 5,000) employers that received the most recommendations.
“I am so proud that UMB is being recognized for being among the best places to work in the country,” UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, said. “Our senior leadership team remains committed to maintaining this status and to attracting the best and brightest in their fields to continue our mission to improve the human condition and serve the public good.”
UMB was third-ranked among universities and there were seven in the top 20, including No. 1 University of Alabama-Birmingham, No. 5 Yale University, No. 14 Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, No. 16 University of Arizona, No. 17 University of Michigan, and No. 19 University at Buffalo.
UMB prides itself on its collaborative governance, compensation and benefits, and employees’ confidence in senior leadership. In normal times and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University promotes work-life balance, a family-first philosophy, and the importance of good mental and physical health. “Work-life balance is exceedingly important for all of us,” Jarrell says.
In letters to the community since telework was instituted for many employees in March 2020, Jarrell has reiterated the need for supervisors to be flexible in giving employees the leeway to schedule around family and caregiver demands.
“I understand that many employees are juggling child care and their current job responsibilities during this pandemic,” Jarrell says. “I believe in a family-first approach and want parents and caregivers to know that UMB supports you.”
UMB also promotes diversity as one of its core values with groups such as the Diversity Advisory Council, President’s Council for Women, and the UMBrella Group, which champions the success and professional development of women on campus. The University is in the process of hiring a chief diversity, inclusion, and equity officer/vice president to be part of the senior leadership team.
Employee recognition programs include Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year awards, a Community Service Award, Diversity Recognition Awards, Core Values Awards, an annual scholarship to support staff development, and Founders Week honors for research, education, entrepreneurship, and public service.
Human Resource Services, meanwhile, offers benefits to employees such as the Employee Assistance Program, which features counselors who can provide support to help individuals and groups talk about issues; UMB Guidance Resources, which offers work/academic life solutions, legal advice, financial resources, and more; and a Work Life and Wellness program with initiatives such as Launch Your Life to enhance employee health and well-being.
According to Forbes, the surveys were anonymous so participants could openly share their opinions. Statista asked respondents to rate, on a 0-to-10 scale, how likely they’d be to recommend their employer to others. Statista also asked respondents to nominate organizations other than their own and to identify organizations they would not recommend to others.
UMB has been recognized before in workplace surveys. In 2017, the University was selected as a Great College to Work For by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The national survey lauded UMB in the categories of collaborative governance, compensation and benefits, and confidence in senior leadership.
For the past two years, UMB has been named among the Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs by American College Personnel Association-College Student Educators International and Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine. The honor focuses on workplace diversity, staffing practices, and work environment, examining categories such as family-friendliness, salary and benefits, and professional development opportunities.