Oct. 24, 2003 — Hasn't everyone given thought to what might be the best place of all to work? And probably everybody has a dream job, whether it be at the front of a roomful of people, penthouse office of a corporation, a hammock on the beach with maybe a laptop on your lap, or just the fact that it's only a block-long commute down the road or dress is casual Friday every day.
In the United States, there's a Great Place to Work® Institute. And they've been doing a survey modeled after Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," among employees in Omaha, Neb. And the votes are in and it's official: Carlson Hospitality Worldwide Reservation Sales and Services' central reservations operation in Omaha is No. 1.
And why is this information in a St. Thomas newspaper? Because accepting the award was general manager of the Carlson Omaha operation: Carmen Baker, daughter of Harold and Ivy Baker of St. Thomas.
In receiving the award, Carmen Baker said, "At the Carlson … center we try to create an environment where every person has an opportunity to do their best work every day. That means having a culture where both life and work issues are addressed. In turn, we have engaged employees where every person has the opportunity to give input and to ask 'why?'." The Omaha operation has more than 550 employees.
Minneapolis-based Carlson has, in addition to the reservations center in Omaha, satellite offices in Dublin, Ireland; Sydney, Australia; Mexico City, Mexico; and five offices located in several cities in India, according to the Carlson Web site.
Carlson won in the large employer category of more than 250 employees, a release said, and surpassed, in descending order, Marriott International; Children's Healthcare Services, Alegent Health, and Cox Communiations Omaha, L.L.C.
A hardy traveler from young because her father was in the Air Force, Carmen Baker is the fourth of six daughters of the senior Bakers. All her sisters appear to be achievers as well – there's a director of nursing, a head of marketing, a college registrar in Tortola, a chemical engineer, and a human relations specialist, in addition to Carmen Baker — the general manager of the Best Place to Work in Omaha.
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