What makes a happy place to work?
As we were polishing off our Choice Employers special publication last week, I noticed a Forbes.com story on America’s happiest companies.
After proofreading our stories with details about various companies’ benefits and employee perks, it struck me that these local employees have much to be happy about. Let’s start with gainful employment. Of course, there’s more to it when cultivating truly happy and productive employees.
I found similarities in perks among national companies like IBM and Google named by Forbes and Springfield-area firms that treat their employees well. Springfield Business Journal’s Choice Employers publication to be released next week and the Nov. 11 event gives a nod to those companies. Here are some perks from a few more local companies, with connections struck between the firms noted by Forbes.
- Google has on-site oil changes; so do St. John’s Hospital and American National Property and Casualty Co.
- Adobe has social clubs such as knitting and book clubs; so does the Springfield Chase call center, with special attention to race and sexual orientation.
- American Express has telecommuting; Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller has flextime with several professionals working four days a week.
- Google has on-site day care; so does Prime Inc. and ANPAC.
- Adobe has on-site bocce courts; Noble had a rooftop basketball court – now The Summit prep school occupies the space and has rooftop PE classes – and GeoEngineers has a Nintendo Wii in the break room.
- KPMG has a mentoring program; so do KPM and T-Mobile USA.
- Starbucks has health benefits for part-timers; The Track has a $30,000 scholarship program for its largely seasonal employee base.
- PepsiCo offers gardening plots; Pension Consultants had a staff workday at The Kitchen’s garden.
- Google has free meals; Rick’s Automotive buys its staff lunch every other Tuesday, and Reliable Imports & RV provides lunch on Saturdays; Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller and BKD have free drinks and treats during tax season.
- Southwest Airlines has a staff musical; Amberg Entertainment has play days with inflatables.
- Google has pingpong tables; so does downtown design firm One80One, complete with tournaments for bragging rights.
- Southwest Airlines has a staff blog; Rick’s Automotive has biweekly lunch meetings to discuss current issues and spouses are invited when benefits are discussed.
- IBM has employee-introduction events; Dunton & Associates hired a Ph.D. to lead weekly lunch-and-learn sessions for sharing staff celebrations and accomplishments.
- UBS has a nap room; T-Mobile has a quiet room with plush couches.
- UBS has a Friday beer cart; ADsmith Communications has Friday afternoon wine tastings.
Now, that’s a lot of fun at work. And it shows that employee perks in Springfield are on par, in many ways, with the offerings at national and international companies. Maybe the scope is smaller, but it seems the ingredients are there.
Our reporting and research has shown that the most fun companies have management that listens to their employees. It seems listening is half the battle to creating happiness at work.
Beer carts and wine tastings might help, too.
Is it Friday yet? I think I’ll head over to ADsmith. Maybe we can talk there.
Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]
