When QIAGEN, an international biotech company with a location in Montgomery County, MD, was a young company over 20 years ago, its employees fostered a culture of service and community.  From that volunteer-focused tradition, QIAGEN developed their community service initiative, a benefit that all QIAGEN employees now receive. Each year, every employee is given 8 company-sponsored hours to devote to a service project of their choice. Tricia Muir, Chair of the Community Service Committee, works with her team to raise awareness about QIAGEN’s community service initiative and to educate employees on the importance of making the most of their volunteer hours.  One way they help employees use this benefit is by bringing the organizations who need volunteers directly to their employees.  Every year, QIAGEN hosts a Volunteer Fair where organizations set up booths for employees to learn about their mission and sign up to get involved.             Here are a few of the top benefits that organizations get from a built-in service program:

1. Volunteering is truly a benefit. QIAGEN employees find that having a day of service built into their year recharges them and gives them new passion and excitement for the work they do within QIAGEN. By giving back to the community, they are better able to give of themselves in their professional and private lives.
2. It creates a culture of service-oriented individuals and teams. This culture supports everyone from the employees, to the company, to the communities that QIAGEN serves. By offering a volunteer day as a benefit, QIAGEN attracts employees that care deeply about the world around them and the work that they do.
3. By offering each employee a day to focus on a community outside of their labs and offices, QIAGEN keeps an eye on the bigger picture of the positive effect that their work and their employees can have on the people and communities around them.

As Tricia puts it, “We’re encouraging our employees to take time out not just for things that are science related, but that are truly driven by the interests of the employee and the needs of the community. By giving back to the community, our employees are re-charging and reconnecting to each other, their communities, and the company.” A company’s culture is a critical factor for attracting new employees, and it’s one of the top things that employees site for job satisfaction.  That’s why we want to showcase how some of the top companies in the BioHealth Capital Region engage their employees and create a meaningful culture at work.

WorkXO is a BioHealth Capital region firm whose mission is to upgrade work

We’ll cover a few other companies in the coming months but for now we’d encourage you to check out QIAGEN and why it’s such a great place to work. https://www.qiagen.com/us/careers/ Author: Liora Knizhnik BioBuzz Community Manager