Crown Equipment and Kettering Health Network named to Forbes magazine's 'America Best Employers' lists

A pair of Dayton-area hospitals, a local college and an Auglaize County manufacturer have been named on two different lists issued by Forbes, ranking “best employers.”

In Forbes’ state-by-state ranking of best employers (among those with at least 500 employees), Dayton Children’s was ranked first in Ohio, Sinclair Community College was ranked 16th, Kettering Health 20th and Crown Equipment was 72nd.

According to Forbes, the rankings are based on surveys by Statista of 70,000 workers at companies nationwide, asking them to evaluate their own employer on a variety of conditions, or to evaluate other employers in their state or industry. It is not clear how many surveys came from workers at each employer.

“We are beyond honored to be recognized for the second year in a row as the number one employer in the state of Ohio,” said Debbie Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s. “At Dayton Children’s, we are dedicated to having a culture that supports our employees, that values and respects differences and prizes collaboration. This ranking reaffirms our commitment to go above and beyond to ensure that Dayton Children’s remains the best place to work in Ohio.”

Dayton Children’s, listed with 3,900 employees, is one of 31 independent freestanding children’s hospitals in the country. Serving 20 Ohio counties and eastern Indiana, Dayton Children’s cares for more than 320,000 children each year.

Forbes and Statista also issued a nationwide ranking of “best large employers” for those companies or institutions with 5,000 or more employees. That ranking was also based on employee surveys. Kettering Health was No. 138 on that list, the only Dayton-area company in the top 200.

Kettering Health, which Forbes listed with over 10,000 employees, has 15 area medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, as well as Kettering Physician Network, which includes more than 700 board-certified providers.

“We are honored to be named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Large Employers and recognized as one of the best employers in Ohio,” said Kettering Health’s Chief Administrative Officer Michael Mewhirter. “The high level of care our patients expect from Kettering Health is only possible because of our dedicated employees. This recognition reflects the investments we are continuing to make in our providers and staff and the culture we have built together based on serving our communities with excellence, precision, and faithfulness.”

Cincinnati Children’s, which has over 16,000 employees, was the highest ranking Ohio institution on the nationwide “best large employers” list, ranking 10th in the nation. In the broader “best employers by state” list, which also includes smaller companies, Cincinnati Children’s was fifth in Ohio.

Crown Equipment, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, made Forbes’ fifth annual Best Employers by State list. Crown makes lift trucks and material handling equipment, which is in-demand in the world of e-commerce.

“This recognition reflects our employees’ contributions toward building a culture that makes Crown a great place to work and build a career,” Jim Dicke III, Crown president, said in a statement from Crown. “Our employees are passionate about innovation and committed to the success of our customers and each other. They work collaboratively every day to foster an environment that helps us continue to attract and retain a workforce committed to producing world-class material handling solutions.”

Crown employs 18,100 people globally, with 23 manufacturing plants in 13 locations worldwide. It also operates a service and distribution network that exceeds 500 retail locations in over 80 countries.

In the large employers survey, Forbes said participants were asked if they would recommend their current employers to friends and family (on a scale of 0 to 10), and to cite any other employer they would also recommend.

In the best employers by state survey, in addition to whether they would recommend the company, Forbes said participants were asked to evaluate their employer based on working conditions, diversity, compensation packages, potential for development, company image and more.

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