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Leaders who were cited by their employees as a key reason for making their workplace great consistently evoked the same descriptions: humble, approachable, caring, and godly. One such leader, John Howard, president of finalist Howard Publishing, doesn't spend much time in his office. "I walk around all the time and try to find out who has obstacles, and how I can help them," he says.

What often makes the jobs of these leaders easier is the knowledge that they have the "right people on the bus," as expressed by Jim Collins in his business bestseller Good to Great, which has been popular reading in Christian management circles of late. Due to the finalists' stringent hiring practices, their vacancies are often prized opportunities. "It's very difficult to get hired here because of the reputation that Group has in our community. I feel blessed to be one of the chosen ones," says Shari McCartney, distribution clerk at finalist Group Publishing.

Many surveyed employees were grateful for the benefits of working in a Christian environment—for example, the ability to talk freely about their faith at work. But Christian organizations do lag behind their secular counterparts in other areas.

Survey respondents expressed the most dissatisfaction with the training and development opportunities made available to them. Compensation scored the next lowest. "I did not have any official training and have not had a single review in my five years of service," says one surveyed employee. "Also, because of this I have not received any recognition or rewards given for a job well done—not that I expect it, but it would be an incentive to keep improving and adding to my responsibilities."

Employees also want to see higher levels of diversity in their workplaces. Many lamented a lack of women in leadership. While 53.4 percent of survey respondents were women, only 0.8 percent were senior managers. Also, nearly 90 percent of all survey respondents were Caucasian. CMA's Pearson says that the lack of diversity is "an issue of huge concern. If you had told me in 1968 that we would only be this far along, I would not have believed you." In conversations with CEOS of Christian organizations, he is encouraged that they regret the lack of diversity on their teams, "but they don't know how to change it."

Al Hsu, associate editor at finalist InterVarsity Press (IVP), says, "Christian organizations sometimes assume that their workplace environment or culture is basically okay for everyone, without recognizing that people from other backgrounds might not always fit in with 'how we do things around here.' " One of IVP's core values is "Dignity of People and Relationships," which says IVP celebrates each person's contribution of gender, ethnicity, church heritage, and personality. Hsu believes that organizations with a stated commitment to affirm multiethnicity and diversity are more likely to have an environment that attracts nonwhite employees.

In the end, what keeps Christian employees coming to work every morning is their organization's mission. Although those who work in Christian organizations generally get paid less than they would at comparable secular companies, employees who feel valued and who are excited by the goals of their organization more readily accept their compensation. In organizations where people do not feel valued or do not feel committed to the mission, the opposite tends to be true.

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April 2003, Vol. 47, No. 4