Tasty Catering Honored For Workplace Practice That Promotes Employee Involvement

March 7, 2013 - PRLog -- Chicago, Illinois March 7th 2012 -- Tasty Catering (http://www.tastycatering.com), a family-owned corporate catering and events planning company serving Chicago-area corporations and organizations, received the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards’ Best Practices Honor from the American Psychological Association (APA). Tasty Catering was recognized for its work in implementing a successful employee-generated, culture-driven leadership model.

Tasty Catering has shown its commitment to employees by disbanding a thirty-five-year-old command-and-control management style. In its place, management implemented teams of employees that each identified a leader to represent them at company-wide monthly Good to Great planning meetings. Their ideas fostered the creation of company core values—displayed prominently in English and Spanish—that guide employees’ daily work activities. This practice is an example of employee involvement, one component of a psychologically healthy workplace.

Tasty Catering was one of nine organizations to receive the Best Practices recognition in 2013. The organization is a previous winner of the Illinois Psychological Association’s state-level Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award, qualifying it to be nominated for APA’s Best Practices Honors.

“Since we implemented the employee-driven leadership model in 2006, we’ve experienced increased employee entanglement, vastly improved employee retention, steady company growth, and a healthy profit margin,” said Tom Walter (http://thomasjwalter.com/), CEO and Chief Culture Officer at Tasty Catering. “Employees no longer feel managed. Rather, they know exactly what’s expected of them. They take responsibility for their performance and know they can count on their co-workers and leadership to do the same.”

This common understanding and employee responsibility are instrumental in Tasty Catering’s nomination for the Best Practices honor.

“Forward-thinking employers such as Tasty Catering are taking steps to create a positive work environment where employees can thrive,” says David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, head of APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “In turn, employees are more engaged and committed to the organization’s success. This shared responsibility for creating a psychologically healthy workplace promotes an organizational culture that values wellbeing and performance, and delivers results on both sides of the equation.”

The Best Practices Honors is a national recognition that highlights those local Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners with a single program or policy contributing to a psychologically healthy work environment and meeting the unique needs of the organization and its employees. Nominees come from a pool of previous local winners and are selected through a competitive evaluation and judging process.

More information about the Best Practices honorees and APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners is available at apaexcellence.org/media. Organizations interested in learning more about creating a psychologically healthy workplace or applying for an award in their state, province, or territory can visit apaexcellence.org (http://www.apaexcellence.org). The Psychologically Healthy Workplace program is a public education initiative from APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence  

###

About Tasty Catering

Tasty Catering, a suburban Chicago-based corporate catering and event planning services company, has been exceeding the catering needs of Chicago area corporations and organizations for more than twenty years. Known for its commitment to excellence and attention to detail, Tasty Catering is built upon the single premise of providing its customers with exceptional service and quality. Tasty Catering customers include Abbott, American Airlines, CDW, Harris Bank, Mortenson Construction, Navistar, RSM McGladrey, Sherman Hospital, and the University of Chicago.

     Tasty Catering, 2010 Achievement in Catering Excellence (ACE) award winner, 2010 Governor’s Sustainability award winner, 2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics, and 2008 Caterer of the Year, is the "go-to" caterer for Chicago business. Tasty Catering is a WINNER! 2011 NICE Awards -- Best Corporate Event under $25,000, Best Picnic, Best Corporate Event over $75,000, and Best NICE team event recipient. The company has also been recognized as a 2012 Workforce Chicago Award Winner, 2012 Psychologically Healthy Workplace, 2010 Exceptional Workplace by Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces,  a Crain’s Chicago Business Best Place to Work (2012-2010), a Best Place to Work in Illinois for six consecutive years (2012-2007), a Best and Brightest Winning Company (2012, 2010, 2009) and a 2012 Daily Herald’s Reader Choice Award for Best Caterer.

Tasty Catering is also featured in the book, It’s My Company Too!, now available for purchase at Amazon.com. Visit www.tastycatering.com.

About The American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, as well as the world's largest association of psychologists. The APA's membership includes more than 137,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. Through its divisions in fifty-four subfields of psychology, and affiliations with sixty state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations, the APA works to advance the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.