Operation Restoration Named Great Place to Work

Mar 14

Certification based on culture, employee experience and leadership

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Operation Restoration is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work® for 2024. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Operation Restoration. This year, 86% of employees said it’s “a great place to work.”

Great Place To Work® serves as a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.

"Great Place To Work® Certification™ is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work®. She emphasizes that Certification is the official recognition earned by real-time feedback of employees regarding company culture.

“By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Operation Restoration stands out as one of the top companies to work for and provides a great workplace environment for its employees," Lewis-Kulin adds.

Since its launch in 2016 by Founder, President and CEO Syrita Steib, Operation Restoration has grown to quickly become a leading nonprofit organization in New Orleans and a national leader in the legal justice movement advocating for formerly incarcerated people. Programs and services specifically serve justice-impacted women and girls. The organization provides more than 20 education, housing assistance, advocacy, social services and other programs.

“We are honored to become Great Place To Work Certified™ as we consider employee experience a top priority,” says Steib. “Operation Restoration was founded by and for formerly incarcerated women. The majority of our staff has been impacted by the legal system. We owe our continued success to our employees. We celebrate and thank them for their dedication to our mission and for creating a culture to earn this recognition.”

According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, are twice as likely to be paid fairly and have a fair chance at promotion.

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About Operation Restoration

Operation Restoration (OR) supports women and girls impacted by incarceration to recognize their full potential, restore their lives and discover new possibilities. The New Orleans-based nonprofit organization focuses on advocacy, education, economic mobility and true economic equity for staff, clients and the community. Our goal is to remove financial incentives for incarceration/detention and to increase investments in social services, education, and healthcare for all people.

About Great Place to Work Certification™

Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

Operation Restoration Named Great Place to Work

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