2008 Choice Employers, 101-300 Employees, No. 3: Penmac

Paula Adams believes a family-run business offers specific benefits to its employees.

"It makes (people) feel warm and fuzzy, because this company is our life," says Adams, who became president of human resources and staffing firm Penmac in 2006. "This is what we do, this is what we know. ... This is my future and if my children are interested, it is my children's future. ...It's more than going to work and drawing a paycheck, and I think employees feel that."

Springfield-based Penmac was founded 20 years ago by Adams' mother, Patti Penny, who began in human resources in 1970 when it was still called personnel. Penmac has grown to include 35 offices in five states - Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Virginia - and more than 600 business clients. Between 1996 and 2006, Penmac's revenues grew to $96 million from $40 million.

Penmac has been recognized and certified as a woman-owned business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. To achieve that recognition, a business must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and the management and daily operation must be controlled by one or more female owners.

"We try hard to listen to people," Adams says. "I want to help them grow. If someone working for us wants to go back to school, we're going to help them with that. You're not just a number, you're a person."

There's no waiting period for the company's 153 employees to participate in the 401(k) plan, and Penmac contributes a 50 percent match up to 6 percent of

contributors' salaries, Adams says. Employee vestment in the plan is scaled,

with each plan participant becoming

fully vested at the five-year mark.

At one year of service, employees receive two weeks of paid vacation; 15 vacation days are earned at five years, and 20 days are available at 10 years. Birthdays are a paid day off, and nonsmokers receive an extra day, Adams says.

Part-time employees receive paid holidays and their birthdays off but not vacation. At the first full calendar year following an employee's first-year anniversary, three sick days are granted, Adams says.

New, full-time employees are eligible for health insurance after 90 days and premiums are paid at 75 percent, founder Penny says. Dental and vision benefits are paid at 50 percent; $20,000 in life insurance is free; and flexible spending accounts are available.

"We want to be more than competitive. We want people to feel they're compensated and are more than a paycheck," Penny says. And that attitude extends beyond employees to the associates Penmac places with local employers.

People who sign up for placement through Penmac and work 30 calendar days can opt for a "bridge plan" that helps out with office visits, prescription and some hospital costs, but it's not major medical, Penny says.

"Everybody wants to know their job is important and valued, and that's the most important thing you can do," she adds.