Corp! Magazine - Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies To Work For Put Creativity in Valuing Employees

By Minehaha Forman
August 18, 2011

A hefty slice of our waking adult lives—nearly 50 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — is dedicated to the old nine-to-five.

So if we don’t like our jobs, slogging through them can be a real drain, leaving both employer and employee in an unproductive energy vacuum.

That’s why the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For competition, created by the National Association for Business Resources and sponsored in part by Corp! magazine, surveyed hundreds of Chicago firms and their workers to identify and celebrate companies that treat their employees to a higher quality of life.

To have people not only committed to their jobs but thriving in the workplace is an HR dream, and no light feat for businesses anywhere.

The 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For program this month honored Chicago’s winning companies’ accomplishments with a luncheon and elegant awards symposium at the Chicago Oak Brook Marriott.

 

What do these winning companies all have in common? They value their employees and have found generous and creative ways to show it.

 

Whether employees want flexible workdays, reimbursed college tuition, help quitting smoking, or, um, a tree house, these companies know how to listen and respond, thus maintaining a happy, healthy work environment.

 

Instant Technology
Chicago
www.instanttechnology.com

 

It’s been tapped as a Best Company to Work For for many reasons; namely its compensation plans and competitions tailored to employees’ interests. Rewards have included pay bonuses, tickets to professional sporting events, gift cards and time off.

 

“We employ a work-hard, play-hard ideology at Instant Technology,” said Monica Lee, Corporate Communications manager. “These contests have not only increased revenue and productivity, but also create an exciting and energetic work environment.”

 

The incentive programs culminate at the end of the year with an awards presentation that acknowledges the work of the top performers.

 

Instant Technology also works to create an environment of camaraderie and teamwork. Company outings and team-building events such as bowling nights, tournaments, and barbeques provide a space for colleagues to get to know each other outside of work. Lee says this builds a group work ethic and a deeper loyalty to the firm.

 

An Xbox Kinect in the spacious employee lounge doesn’t hurt, either.