(Photo courtesy of OUTSIDE Magazine)
Bend, Oregon brewery is ranked on national list for third year in a row and included in Best Culture Jobs list.
Deschutes Brewery has again been selected as one of OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work. This is the third year running that the craft brewery has received this honor. Each year, OUTSIDE recognizes the top 100 companies in the United States that help their employees strike the ideal balance between work and play. These companies encourage employees to lead an active lifestyle, are eco-conscious, and prioritize giving back to the community.
Deschutes Brewery with 462 employees was also included on OUTSIDE’s Top 10 Best Culture Jobs based on its employee-ownership, community involvement and philanthropy and its proximity to outdoor recreation for employees.
The Best Culture Jobs list noted: Hands-on is the only way to describe Deschutes’ nearly 500 employees, who own 7.9 percent of the company that makes Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale. “We ask everybody to get involved in the company,” says Michael LaLonde, the brewery’s president. “We ask their opinion all the time, encourage them to get involved in different committees, and every year we have a facilitator come in and do focus groups on employees working conditions. Everybody has a voice.”
Whether employees, the majority of whom are based in Bend, lobby for concrete fermenters, can growlers, or new beer styles, Deschutes’ cross-departmental Innovation Team takes their ideas seriously and, if they make sense, implements them almost immediately. Another team guides the company’s philanthropic projects, drawing from a special fund of $335,000 and donations to support roughly 500 nonprofits, like the Deschutes River Conservancy, the Freshwater Trust, and the Deschutes Children Foundation.
The outdoor perks of working in Bend are no-brainers: There are 300 miles of mountain bike trails and skiing or snowboarding nearby at Mount Bachelor. The brewery itself is located on 17 acres along the banks of the Deschutes River, a world-class fly-fishing stream. Employees can head out to the company’s disc golf or cyclocross course, launch a paddleboard, or cast a fly within minutes of walking out the door—then crack a cold one from the monthly case of beer awarded to everyone.
Pat Gerhart, human resources director for the brewery, said, “We are employee-owners at Deschutes, so we work hard to ensure the company’s ongoing success. We balance this with a healthy helping of play as we’re lucky enough to be located in a year-round recreational paradise. Being sustainably minded and giving back to the community are part of our core values as well. ”
As co-owners, Deschutes Brewery employees are committed to using fewer resources and making continuous improvements to reduce their impact on the environment while still making damn tasty beer. Giving back to the community has always been in Deschutes Brewery’s DNA which is why the donate $1 per every barrel of beer sold to nonprofits to help fulfill the goal of building a healthier society (amounting to more than $335,000 in 2015). This year, the brewery created Street Pub to bring its pub experience to communities around the country. One hundred percent of the proceeds from these events helped raise an additional $300,000 for its nonprofit partners.
To find the best places to work in the United States in 2015, OUTSIDE started by creating five company categories that reflect the magazine’s values and focus: Adventure/Travel, Wellness, Culture, Gear, and Media. OUTSIDE then conducted a rigorous vetting process in partnership with the Best Companies Group to assess the policies, practices, and demographics of hundreds of companies. Outside’s Best Places to Work 2015 was driven by employee reviews of their workplaces, taking into account factors like corporate culture, role satisfaction, work environment and overall employee engagement. The Best Places to Work list represents the cream of the crop: companies that are empowering their employees to live bigger, better lives.
“The companies recognized in this year’s Best Places to Work list are the gold standard for stellar work environments that seek to empower their employees both in and out of the office,” said OUTSIDE Online Editor Scott Rosenfield. “The new categories in this year’s list serve to highlight outstanding workplaces in distinctive fields—making it all the easier for our readers to find their dream jobs.”
The complete list of Best Places to Work winners is featured online at www.outsideonline.com/dreamjobs.
