The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has again been recognized as one of the state’s top workplaces.
The 2024 Top Workplaces rankings resulted from an anonymous employee survey on factors such as job satisfaction, management quality, pay and benefits, and opportunities for growth. Each year since the surveys began in 2013, OMRF has ranked among the state’s top 10 large employers (350-plus employees). The nonprofit biomedical foundation has ranked in the top five for nine straight years.
OMRF placed third among large Oklahoma employers while receiving special recognition for its values, which were a special emphasis at OMRF this year.
The Oklahoman newspaper announced this year’s winners at an event in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, based on results compiled by Energage, a Philadelphia-based research and consulting firm. Earlier this year, the same firm recognized OMRF as one of the nation’s top 10 workplaces of its size.
In their survey responses, employees also cited OMRF’s family atmosphere, supportive and creative culture, workforce diversity and emphasis on work-life balance.
Of its 543 employees, 69 have been at OMRF for at least 20 years, and 19 have worked at the foundation for more than 30 years. That track record of longevity doesn’t happen in a vacuum, said Courtney Stevens Greenwood, OMRF’s vice president of human resources.
“I’m especially proud of the shared sense of purpose that permeates our entire organization,” she said. “There’s a collective sense at OMRF that what each of us does matters.”
Stevens Greenwood cited a foundation-wide effort this year to define OMRF’s values, with employees weighing in through listening sessions and voting. In October, at a breakfast hosted by OMRF President Dr. Andy Weyrich for all staff, the foundation unveiled the values employees had selected, with each receiving a coffee mug emblazoned with the value of their choice.
Mei Cheng, a 20-year employee who works in OMRF’s clinical immunology lab, opted for a mug that read “Compassionate,” explaining: “It’s at the root of everything we do, and it’s at the heart of OMRF’s mission: ‘…that more may live longer, healthier lives.’”
Beginning his 31st year at OMRF, Mike Austin says his co-workers make the difference between a good environment and a great one. “I love providing support for our scientists,” said Austin, who oversees the technicians who service OMRF’s lab equipment.
For Stevens Greenwood, OMRF’s longtime run on the Top Workplaces list validates her team’s efforts at continual improvement.
“We want OMRF to be a place where people feel valued and believe their input matters,” she said. “That’s a continuous endeavor, but the feedback we receive through the Top Workplaces survey helps confirm that we’re on the right track.”
To view open positions at OMRF, visit jobs.omrf.org.
