Merit America named 2023 Top Place to Work by Ragan

Merit America was recently named a 2023 Top Place to Work by Ragan for its commitment to the values that drive its culture.

Ragan’s Top Places to Work Awards celebrates the organizations who champion their employees and have redefined the field with their groundbreaking work. Merit America was chosen from a wide pool of entries to receive recognition as a Top Place to Work in the mid-size organization (100–1,000 employees) category. 

According to Ragan, “Merit America’s values drive ‘how’ it does what it does and serves as the bedrock for its culture—think big and act with conviction, deliver results, win and lose together, learn constantly, care deeply and enjoy the ride.”

“At Merit America, its collective culture is one that is deeply empathetic and passionate about its colleagues, learners and partners — believing fully in their ability to succeed and the company’s ability to assist along the way — all while being fun-loving, healthy and humble, being their authentic selves at work and celebrating successes,” they added.

Merit America’s Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Rebecca Taber Staehelin and Connor Diemand-Yauman expressed their gratitude for the recognition. 

As a career development nonprofit, Merit America provides a pathway for low-wage workers to secure family-sustaining careers in tech.

The culture at Merit America is deeply rooted in open communication and relationship building, which is fostered through virtual all-staff meetings, open office hours, Donut meetings on Slack, regional in-person meet-ups, and all-staff off-site meetings. 

The organization also prioritizes work-life balance by offering a four-day workweek with Fridays off year-round, unlimited vacation time and flexible remote work options.

Merit America’s commitment to equity is reflected in its hiring practices, which prioritize skills over qualifications such as a college degree or years of experience. This approach widens the applicant pool and has resulted in a staff with diverse professional backgrounds, including 67% underrepresented minorities and first-generation college-goers. 

Merit America also upholds transparency in pay, posting salaries for all jobs and ensuring equal pay for all employees in the same role.

“Merit America set themselves apart from an outstanding field of entrants. Their work was exceptional and displayed their innovative strategies for achieving success. Congratulations, Merit America. We look forward to your continued success,” said Brendan Gannon, senior marketing manager for Awards Programs at Ragan Communications.   

To learn more about Merit America, visit www.meritamerica.org.

For more information about Ragan’s 2023 Top Places to Work, visit https://www.ragan.com/awards/winners.

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ABOUT MERIT AMERICA

Merit America is a national nonprofit preparing workers stuck in low-wage roles for family-sustaining careers at scale. Named by the New York Times as “the hybrid future of training programs for the disadvantaged,” we offer fast and flexible training and job search programs that work for working adults, and are aligned to the most in-demand roles in the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy. Founded in 2018, we now serve thousands of working learners across the country, driving an average annual wage gain of nearly $19,000 for those who complete the program. We are on track to support $1B in wage gains by 2025. For more information, visit meritamerica.org.

ABOUT RAGAN COMMUNICATIONS AND PR DAILY

Ragan Communications has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for more than 50 years to internal and external communicators and business executives via its conferences, webinars, training, awards, subscriptions and its membership divisions. Its daily news sites—PRDaily.com and Ragan.com—are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly.