The National Domestic Violence Hotline Ranks as One of the Best Places to Work in Texas
November 22, 2010 — The National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) received a Top 10 ranking for great places to work in 2010 by the Austin American Statesman and Workplace Dynamics, a company with expertise in employee engagement surveys. The Hotline is the only social services nonprofit ranked in the Top 10.
The Hotline ranked 9th in the Small Business category. The Hotline is located in Austin, Texas and has been the leading voice and only National Hotline in the nation focusing on helping victims of domestic violence. The Hotline is a vital link to safety, answering calls personally, helping victims and survivors of domestic violence see options for next steps and connecting them to immediate sources of help.
The Austin American Statesman says the winners share one important quality: They have earned the admiration and loyalty of their employees, who say they are great places to work. The survey designed and conducted anonymous employee surveys, analyzed the results and came up with a list of the Top 75 Austin-area employers.
Here are some of the comments Hotline employees expressed about working in Austin at the National Domestic Violence Hotline– a life saving service that answered more than 250,000 calls this year and over 2 million calls since its inception in 1996 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
“I’m surrounded by strong, kind-hearted, wise people all day. Everyone has amazing dedication and treats one another with respect. That includes supervisors, team-members, and upper management.”
“I am a survivor, and passionate about making sure that what happened to me doesn’t happen to others, or at least try my very best to ensure the options available to the callers.”
“I believe in the mission and it feels rewarding to me to help others.” The Hotline is open 24/7, 365 days out of the year.
The Hotline receives an average of 22,500 calls a month. Since its inception in 1996 the Hotline has responded to over 2 million callers from around the nation. The Hotline has implemented a Wellness Program for staff to utilize to maximize self care and learn new wellness tools. Some of the features of the Wellness program include monthly wellness sessions facilitated by staff, visual reminders throughout The Hotline room encouraging staff to take care of themselves. To emphasize management’s commitment to employee wellness, The Hotline also added an additional paid 15 minute break as a respite from the intensity of the crisis intervention work.
The Hotline CEO Dyanne Purcell says, “There is no greater honor for a CEO than for the employees of an organization to say the National Domestic Violence Hotline is a great place to work. It’s a challenge worthy of attention to create a workplace that employees praise, especially during a down economy. We are honored our employees find satisfaction in our workplace and believe in our mission, ethics, leadership and values.”