All across the state — and nation — businesses are struggling to attract and retain employees. But those companies may be able to learn something from the companies that will be spotlighted here in the days to follow. The 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona earned the most support in voting for the 2022 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest business opinion poll.
READ ALSO: Nominations open for Arizona’s Most Admired Companies of 2022
“We really do put people first,” says Cathy Graham, executive vice president at Desert Financial Credit Union, one of the Best Places to Work in Arizona. “The employment environment is really tough right now with the Great Resignation. So we try to be really purposeful and clear about the organization: where we’re going, what we’re striving for, what success looks like and then connecting the dots. People want to feel like part of something bigger than just the role that they fill every day.”
Enjoy learning more about the 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona. Today, the spotlight is on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
DEDICATION TO DIVERSITY: “Diversity, equity and inclusion as a formal program is relatively new, but it’s always been something that’s really important to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona,” says Greg Wells, chief people officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. “As a whole, our workforce is very diverse — 44% of our employees are minorities, and 70% are female. Our CEO Pam Kehaly is female and more than 70% of our C-Suite are women. But, with the George Floyd tragedy a few years ago, our CEO challenged us as an organization to do better. So we started at the top with our board of directors, from the top-down, coming out with a statement which we call our diversity credo. Discrimination is real and a problem and we need to make sure there’s no place for it in our organization; we see diversity as a business imperative and it’s consistent with our mission to inspire health. Then, our executive leadership C-Suite team came out with a diversity pledge basically focusing on what we’re going to do in the next five years: increase diversity in the talent pool and in leadership development.”
POINTS OF PRIDE: “Caring is one of our values as an organization,” Wells says. “We care about the community — our employees serve on a number of boards — and every employee has a goal to help bend the opioid and suicide curve. We pay our employees to volunteer at organizations that help bend that curve and improve mental health, substance use disorder and diabetes. Working for an organization that cares so intensely and steps up for our members, that cares so much for our community and is involved in making the community and Arizona a better place is a pleasure to work for. The first thing our CEO ever said to me: ‘Customer engagement will never exceed employee engagement.’ That’s a powerful thing and it’s so true. Employee engagement is a great thing to do because it’s also the right thing to do, but it’s also a business practice. Having a CEO that believes in that and having a people-based culture is a privilege.”
100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona
Here are the 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona for 2022, based on public voting for the 2022 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll. Companies and cities are listed in alphabetical order.
ABI Multifamily
ANDERSON Advertising & Public Relations
Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Aker Ink PR & Marketing
Alliance Residential Company
Arizona Central Credit Union
Arizona Complete Health
Arizona Federal Credit Union
Aurora Behavioral Health System
Avison Young
BMO Harris Bank
Banner Health
Bel-Aire Mechanical
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Arizona Properties
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Blue Signal Search
Burch & Cracchiolo
CBRE
CHASSE Building Team
CORE Construction
Cachet Homes
Canyon State Electric
Cawley Architects
City of Chandler
City of Flagstaff
City of Glendale
City of Mesa
City of Peoria
City of Phoenix
City of Scottsdale
City of Tempe
City to City Commercial
Colliers
Corgan
DP Electric
dpa architects
DPR Construction
Delta Dental of Arizona
Desert Financial Credit Union
Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
Dignity Health in Arizona
Great Impact
Gust Rosenfeld
HDA Architects
Haydon Building Corp
HomeSmart
Homeowners Financial Group
HonorHealth
IMPACT Technology Recruiting
Ideation Design Group
Jennings, Strouss & Salmon
Johansen Interiors
K2 Electric
Keap
Kidder Mathews
Kitchell
LAVIDGE
LGE Design Build
Land Advisors Organization
LaneTerralever
LevRose Commercial Real Estate/TCN Worldwide
Marcus & Millichap
Mark-Taylor Companies
Mark-Taylor Residential
Mayo Clinic
McCarthy Building Companies
Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate
Merestone
National Bank of Arizona
OneAZ Credit Union
P.B. Bell
Pacific Premier Bank
Precision Air & Plumbing
ReThinc Advertising
Republic Bank of Arizona
Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans)
Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty
Ryan Companies US
SDB Contracting Services
Speedie & Associates
Sunstate Equipment
TBConsulting
Team Select Home Care
The Brokery
The CORE Institute
Town of Gilbert
Town of Queen Creek
Tri Pointe Homes
TruWest Credit Union
USAA
VIP Mortgage
VIP Mortgage Inc.
ViaWest Group
WaFd Bank Arizona
Wallace, Plese + Dreher
Walton Global
Weitz Company
Western Alliance Bank
Willmeng Construction
Wood, Patel & Associates
