Forbes, Apparently Unaware of What Cuyahoga County Government Is Like, Names Cuyahoga County a Top Workplace

Top-level administrators are jumping ship at a speed only eclipsed by indictments and subpoenas; Armond Budish has tapped Bill Mason and his long, flowing patronage coattails as his chief of staff; the county jail, subject to a scathing U.S. Marshal’s report and various civil lawsuits, a site where mental and general health was ignored in favor of saving some nickels and dimes, has seen nine deaths in a year; the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office have indicted a whole batch of jail and IT officials; the county’s department of family services is staring down civil lawsuits over lax and inept social workers who likely contributed to the deaths of children; and the county executive himself is essentially a lost and aimlessly wandering Confused Travolta meme come to life.

And yet, Forbes has named Cuyahoga County government a top Ohio workplace for 2019. Which the county trumpeted in a press release yesterday afternoon, prodding Cleveland.com’s Mark Naymik to offer the only proper response: “I’m not sure which one to take less seriously – Forbes Magazine or Cuyahoga County.”

If this is what a top workplace looks like, even the 43rd best workplace in Ohio, as Forbes declared, holy hell and our deepest sympathies for those working away in what would be considered bad workplaces.

The methodology, if one can call it that:

The rankings were derived by surveys administered in a series of anonymous online panels and provide a representative sample of the U.S. workforce. The survey was conducted from October 2018 until February 2019 through Statista, a market research company.

Employees were asked more than 30 detailed questions about working conditions, salary, potential for development and company image regarding their current employer. The rate of agreement/disagreement regarding the statements was measured on a five-point Likert scale. Employees were also asked to rate their willingness to recommend their employers to family and friends on a scale from zero to 10. Participants were then asked to evaluate how they perceived other employers in their respective industries. 

Budish could not have been happier to see an outside organization recognize all the great work his employees are doing.

“We strive to make County government a great place to work, and we are thrilled with this recognition,” said County Executive Armond Budish. “When our employees like their jobs, our customers—the public—get better service.”

Let’s check in with some county employees who enjoyed interacting with customers recently.

Ah yes. Top workplace indeed.

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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2019.