SHRM Names Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For (2008 Edition)

For the fifth year, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Great Place to Work Institute have revealed the nation’s top 25 small and top 25 medium-sized employers. This year’s “Society for Human Resource Management 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America” was unveiled in Chicago on June 23 at SHRM’s 60th Annual Conference and Exposition.

“Top U.S. companies succeed by using smart people-management strategies to develop highly productive and satisfied workforces,” said SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger. “Particularly in times of economic instability, knowing how to best manage your employees is an essential part of keeping productivity high and your organization open for business. That s why these winners deserve our applause, now more than ever.” 

The Society for Human Resource Management 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America winners range in size from 50 to 999 workers, with “small” being a workforce of 50-250 and “medium” employing from 251 to 999. This year, 321 companies participated in the selection process. Employee-survey responses (a total of 44,258 this year) counted for two-thirds of each organization’s score. The remaining one-third came from the institute’s evaluation of the company in five areas: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. This year’s top winners are Dixon Schwabl in the small category, and Ultimate Software in medium-sized. 

Dixon Schwabl is an advertising firm from Victor, New York. The tagline “We make it happen” reflects the positive, proactive nature of life at Dixon Schwabl, and they hire people committed to the cause. The design of the facility is aimed to inspire creativity and be conducive to brainstorming and team activities. New employees are placed in rotating teams of five to eight employees who create fun and meaningful monthly events for the entire agency, to keep the creative culture top-of-mind. Team meetings are daily; agency meetings are weekly--so at least six times per week information is routinely shared, both good and bad. 

Ultimate Software is an information technology company based in Weston, Florida. Two of the main themes at Ultimate Software are employee recognition and sports--CEO Scott Scherr sees himself as the “coach” and his employees as “first round draft picks.” This theme plays out at all levels of the organization--from dinner with the senior executive team on a new employee’s first day of orientation, to employee “MVP” jerseys hanging in the custom-designed basketball atrium (dubbed the “UltiCourt”), which was built after an employee suggested it as a way to celebrate reaching the goal of $100 million in revenue. Each MVP employee is nominated by peers for representing “the passion, dedication, personality, attitude and work ethics that everyone at Ultimate should possess” and is awarded two first-class tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. and Mexico, plus $500 cash.

Source: Society for Human Resource Management; www.shrm.org.

Reprinted with permission. © CCH

“Particularly in times of economic instability, knowing how to best manage your employees is an essential part of keeping productivity high and your organization open for business," said SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger.