For employers and employees alike, the coronavirus pandemic keeps delivering new complications in South Florida’s workplaces.

After two years of uncertainty over how to control COVID-19, red-flag terms such as the “Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting” (becoming less psychologically invested in work) are growing more prevalent on the employment relations scene. And there’s another new challenge that was absent last year: Rampant inflation. Workers want raises and better benefits to help them keep pace with the surging cost of living.

Now, after clawing their way back toward pre-pandemic business levels, companies find themselves in a new battle to keep employees from heading for perceived greener pastures.

As a result, South Florida employers need to understand that it is even more critical to closely monitor external and internal events, and to respond in kind if they are to retain top talent and keep worker satisfaction at high levels if they want to grow their companies and sustain profitability.

“You’ve got to talk to employees and try to understand,” said Greg Barnett. chief people scientist at Energage, a Philadelphia-area human resources firm that it is partnering with the South Florida Sun Sentinel in an annual Top Workplaces survey of tri-county private and public sector employees.

How did employers do this time around?

For the ninth consecutive year, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Energage intend to find out through the Top Workplaces survey, which is based on employee feedback.

The rules

Starting today through Oct. 28, employees can nominate their own employer or another private- or public-sector organization as a Top Workplace — and tell us why.

Any organization in the public, private, nonprofit or government sectors with 35 or more employees in South Florida is eligible to participate in the forthcoming program.

Employers from large, midsize and small organizations will be surveyed from September through January 2023. Workplaces themselves are evaluated by their employees using a short 24-question survey.

The publication of the results will be next spring at a date to be determined.

The phone number for nominations is 954-666-0786. To place nominations online, go to SunSentinel.com/nominate.

The ultimate test

Nationally, Energage conducted surveys for media in 61 markets in the past year, collecting the observations of more than 2 million employees at 8,000 organizations.

The foundation of the program is a scientific survey of employees who rate their workplace culture. The feedback also gives insights to company managements about what makes their organizations unique. And it gives them a fresh take on how they can improve day-to-day and long-term relationships with employees.

Survey feedback from employees is the sole basis for determining Top Workplaces. And this time around, that feedback is likely to serve as the ultimate test of how effectively employers keep their organizations together in the face of new economic and job market challenges posed by inflation, politics and COVID-19.

Staff writer David Lyons can be reached at dvlyons@SunSentinel.com