Dollywood wins national Top Workplaces award for outstanding culture

Dollywood made this year's Top Workplaces USA list, which is determined using anonymous employee feedback.

This is the second year the Top Workplaces USA designation has been awarded by workplace survey firm Energage. East Tennessee company Harper Auto Square appeared on the list last year.

"It's always been our goal to have that loving and caring culture," said Tim Berry, vice president of human resources for Dollywood. "What I like about this process is that you're not asking me what I think, you're asking our employees what they think."

Of the more than 1,100 businesses that ranked in the national competition.

Any organization with at least 150 employees was eligible to make the national list and results were calculated by comparing Energage's anonymous employee surveys against industry benchmarks.

Dollywood is a perennial recipient of the local Top Workplaces designation, given to East Tennessee businesses by Knox News and Knox.biz magazine through a partnership with Energage.

A record 50 businesses received the East Tennessee Top Workplaces designation in 2021.

"The employee experience needs to be on the mission-critical list," Energage CEO Eric Rubino said in a press release. "Leaders who embrace a people-first culture will benefit greatly. By giving employees a voice and showcasing your authentic culture through employer branding, organizations can attract those job seekers who complement their culture."

Dollywood is Sevier County's largest employer with 4,000 staff members. As it prepares for the upcoming season, the theme park is looking add over 500 friendly faces to its team.

"We made our 'Top Workplace' pins and we wear those proudly," said Berry. "We tout it as often as we can with advertisements, messaging and things like that whenever we're talking about this. To have that have that extended nationally, it just means so much more."

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, by Silas Sloan

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

 

Published February 3, 2022