No. 3, 301+ employees: St. John's

With about 9,800 workers, that commitment takes a conscious strategy.

“You can’t compete just on compensation alone, so we’re committed to our workers to constantly review … compensation and benefits, but we have a lot of other enhancements to our benefit package,” says Trisha Holbert, director of human resources.

Those enhancements include telecommuting, which is available to some St. John’s transcriptionists and on-call nurses, and the company’s education-tuition assistance program, used by nearly half the employees, that allows them to take courses directly related to their job.

St. John’s also offers School at Work, through which primarily entry-level workers can take classes on the clock to increase their job skills and prepare them for promotions.

“It’s an investment in them and to help them realize their career goals and personal goals here, instead of having them look elsewhere,” Vice President of Human Resources Jim Brookhart said.

St. John’s also offers incentives to its employees if they make efforts to manage their health, which, in turn, helps keep their health insurance costs down.

For example, employees who take part in a diabetes management program receive $300, and people who exercise regularly or don’t use tobacco can receive up to a 25 percent discount on their health insurance.

This fall, St. John’s launched an on-site concierge service through which employees can take care of errands such as dry-cleaning, vehicle oil changes and movie rentals – often at discounted prices.

“Anything we can do to make life easier for our co-workers so they can take better care of our patients is great,” Holbert said.

Programs such as these often are a result of employee feedback through St. John’s Town Hall meetings, initiated in 2005 and held every six months, and employee satisfaction surveys, conducted annually.

Other incentives at St. John’s include a 401(k) matched-savings plan and up to five weeks of vacation, which can be sold back if unused. Personal and sick days can be traded for vacation.