Association of Washington Business Names WRPS its Employer of the Year
OLYMPIA. Wash.—An organization that advocates for businesses in Washington state has recognized WRPS as its 2021 Employer of the Year.
It’s one of nine awards the Association of Washington Business (AWB) handed out in Olympia on November 18. WRPS President and CEO John Eschenberg was on hand to receive the award, as well as a second plaque for the Veterans and Families award, for which WRPS was a finalist.
The Employer of the Year award recognizes an employer that has implemented innovative job retention, creation, benefits, and/or compensation plans that foster a thriving work environment. The group highlighted WRPS’ nationally recognized safety record, robust employee benefits package, strong internship program, and commitment to hiring veterans, in addition to its efforts to support charitable and business initiatives in the community.
WRPS was also one of three finalists for the Washington Veterans and Families Award, recognizing employers that have developed and applied hiring and retention best practices for addressing the employment challenges faced by veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses. During its most recent survey, about 14% of WRPS employees are veterans.
“It would be an honor any year to receive this recognition by an institution like AWB, but this year it’s particularly pointed for the challenges we all understand, and for that I’m thankful,” Eschenberg said when he accepted the Employer of the Year award. “We all pay our people as well as we can, afford them great benefits, and seek to hire the best and the brightest. We all do those things. But what sets us apart and what we strive for everyday is how we treat our people. At the end of the day, people just want to be treated well, and they want it to be personal. That’s what we endeavor to do at Washington River Protection Solutions.”
WRPS is a prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection. It is responsible for the safe and efficient management of radioactive and hazardous wastes stored in Hanford’s underground tanks and preparing to deliver the waste to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant for vitrification.