Almost anyone who has held down a job has found out that satisfaction with one’s workplace can make all the difference in motivation to get up and out the door each workday.
Such may be the case for employees at Nestlé Purina PetCare.
For the fifth year in a row, employees at Purina have rated it the best place to work, according to results from the 10th annual Employees’ Choice Award, a list created by Glassdoor, a fast-growing job site that honored the winners for 2018 in an announcement in early December.
Since 1975, this global leader in pet care has maintained a manufacturing plant in Flagstaff that currently provides work for more than 300 local residents.
The Glassdoor awards program is unique in that results are gleaned solely from the input of employees, who elect to provide feedback on their jobs, work environments and companies.
“Nestlé Purina has received more than 1,000 anonymous reviews from associates across our locations, noting work-life balance, great benefits and culture as reasons they love to come to work every day,” explained Purina Flagstaff Plant Manager Larry Holmes.
Associates could review the company on Glassdoor at any time, but The Best Places to Work rankings were determined using company reviews shared by U.S.-based employees between Nov. 1, 2016 and Oct. 22, 2017, he added.
A premiere manufacturer of pet products for 90 years, Nestle Purina makes some of the most popular dog and cat food and litter brands, such as Purina ONE, Dog Chow, Friskies, Tidy Cats and Pro Plan.
The company employs more than 8,000 associates across the U.S. between its headquarters in St. Louis and 20 manufacturing facilities across the country.
“It’s an honor to be recognized as a best place to work by Glassdoor for the fifth consecutive year,” said Nestlé Purina Chief Human Resources Officer Steve Degnan. “Our passionate associates make the culture at Purina, where we work every day to enrich the lives of pets and the people who love them.” Purina Flagstaff provides a diverse range of jobs. “Manufacturing is at the core of our business and we offer a breadth of opportunities – engineers of every type, technicians, forklift drivers, production operators, packaging experts, accountants, human resources specialists and team leaders, to name a few,” Holmes said.
The company also has invested millions of dollars into capital projects and expansion at the Flagstaff site.
“All of these aspects – both direct and indirect jobs and projects – serve an important role to stimulate the local economy,” he said.
The Flagstaff manufacturing plant is sizable, spanning more than 40 acres and including a distribution center and pet food production facility where some of the most popular pet care brands are produced, Holmes noted.
A fun fact about the plant is that solar panels cover roughly 70,000 square feet of the roof atop the warehouse and offset a portion of the energy used at the facility, Holmes observed.
As a good community partner, Purina has also contributed to a number of local organizations, including making nutrition in pet shelters and rescue organizations a priority.
“In 2017, we donated nearly $275,000 in dog and cat food to pet shelters throughout the region to help pets look and feel their best as they await for their new loving home,” he said. Furthermore, employee and company donations combined for a more than $30,000 contribution to the annual campaign for the United Way of Northern Arizona.
Also, Purina is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education partner in the school system.
“In addition to supporting STEM programs at area schools,” Holmes said, “Purina has ‘adopted’ a local eighth-grade science program to help students get a closer look at the manufacturing field, and we support the annual Flagstaff Festival of Festival and Flagstaff STEM City programs.”
For 2015-2016, Purina was recognized with the STEM City Community Partner of the Year award.
Employee benefits are far ranging at Purina, Holmes explained, and include a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of medical, dental and vision package options for the employee, family members and domestic partners.
Life insurance, disability and employee assistance benefits are offered at no cost to the associate.
Employees are also offered a 401K matching program, along with paid time off. There is also a parental support policy offering up to 14 weeks of paid leave for a designated primary caregiver, and primary caregivers can elect up to 12 more weeks for a potential total of 26 weeks.
“We know that our people are our biggest asset and their well-being is our number one priority,” Holmes concluded. FBN
By Betsey Bruner, FBN
For more information or to receive alerts for job openings at Purina in Flagstaff, visit purinajobs.com/flagstaff.
