News

Olivenhain Municipal Water District has been named one of San Diego’s “Top Workplaces” by the San Diego Union-Tribune. The recognition is provided to those San Diego County employers best demonstrating workplace excellence based on anonymous surveys completed by employees.

OMWD employees frequently cited the meaningfulness of their work and OMWD’s spirit of innovation as leading drivers of their job satisfaction. Employees also celebrated OMWD’s high morale, values, ethics, interdepartmental coordination, open-mindedness, work-life balance, and engaged leaders.

“Public agencies need to be particularly cost-conscious, so we can’t rely on generous salaries to drive job satisfaction,” said Christy Guerin, OMWD board director and member of its Personnel Committee. “Instead, we continually challenge our employees to serve our customers in efficient, creative, and cutting-edge ways. Recognizing their achievements in these areas has led to an engaging and fulfilling work atmosphere.”

Such recognition is afforded through the “Better Way” program, which celebrates employees that come up with unique, cost-saving approaches to their jobs.

Another recognition program rewards workplace safety and incentivizes employees to safely perform every job. This program has resulted in nearly 5,000 days without a preventable lost-time injury. OMWD’s commitment to safety ensures employees return home safely to their families while allowing for lower costs associated with workers compensation.

OMWD general manager Kimberly Thorner stated: “Everyone in the organization contributes to our culture of integrity, hard work, camaraderie, innovation, and safety.” She added, “It’s a huge honor to be named one of San Diego’s best places to work, and very satisfying to know that our efforts to maintain the positive relationship between OMWD and its employees continue to pay off.”

This year marked the seventh annual “Top Workplaces” contest among hundreds of eligible employers throughout San Diego County.