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Choice Employers take care of those who get the job done

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More than a decade in business journalism has taught me that most company leaders attribute their success to the people who work for them, and they have clear ideas about doing what it takes to attract and retain the best possible staff members and keep them engaged.

It’s probably a pretty safe bet that if one were to ask 10 different business owners if they had a great place for employees to work, they’d all respond with a resounding yes. Who, after all, would want to say, “Ah, no, sorry. We have a business, but it’s really not that great a place to work.”

Each annual class of Choice Employers puts 20 companies and their benefits packages in the spotlight. Selection of Springfield Business Journal’s 2010 Choice Employers is based on a scored survey that asks questions about traditional benefits such as salary, raises, health insurance, family-friendly initiatives, corporate culture and – new this year – civic involvement.

Each possible answer is assigned a points value. An essay question regarding any benefits not addressed in the regular questions is used in the event of a tie. Those with the highest scores – verified by Drury University’s Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation – are selected for recognition, which this year is during a Nov. 11 early evening event at 425 Downtown on Walnut Street.

In years past, our Choice Employers awards booklet has featured stories about each company and what it offers to employees. This year, We asked one representative of each honored company to answer a list of questions about everything from corporate culture to employee recognition.  

Reading about these companies’ benefits packages not only sheds some light on best practices, it also can be educational. Regardless of who you are or where you work, employee benefits have some impact on your life.

Here’s a quick peek at some of the things I learned in putting together the question-and-answer profiles.
  • While most companies are keeping a close eye on health reform, most report that it isn’t yet having a direct impact on benefit decisions. As a result, that question was cut from most honorees’ responses.
  • Choice Employers companies aren’t afraid to ask their employees what they want and need in their benefits packages.
  • Corporate culture and family-friendly initiatives, are extremely important when it comes to taking care of employees – and this group of companies gets the job done in style.

Also apparent is the fact that these employers aren’t afraid to dream big. In our line of questions, we added an off-the-beaten-path question about what benefits these folks would like to add if there were no limitations. Some actually sound feasible, such as a Kindle for everybody and an allowance for e-books to foster ongoing professional development, or an office pet. Others, such as exotic tropical getaways – one company wants to buy its own private island – are pretty far outside the realm of possibility, but they’re still fun to ponder.

Perhaps you will decide that your business would stack up well against the competition. If that’s the case, visit sbj.net to go ahead and nominate for Choice Employers in 2011. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating the 2010 class of Choice Employers.

Features Editor Maria Hoover may be reached at mhoover@sbj.net.
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