Best Companies to Work for in 2009

Ice cream Thursdays, loaded squirt guns, a room for air hockey, a room for primal screaming and total work-from-home flexibility — these are some of the little details that communicate one important message to the employees of Dixon Schwabl, an advertising, marketing and public relations agency in Victor, New York. The message: "We don't make our clients No. 1, we make our employees No. 1," says the firm's CEO, Lauren Dixon.

It's just that attitude and all-encompassing culture that helped Dixon Schwabl land the No. 2 spot on a list that ranks 2009's 25 best small companies to work for in America. The rigorous selection process for the list, which is put together by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global workplace research and consulting firm, requires that employees of nominated companies take a survey (it takes about 15 minutes to complete), while the business must complete a management questionnaire and submit annual reports, employee handbooks and other materials for review.

The institute grades companies on credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. "What we look at and what our survey is designed to assess is the level of trust in an organization," says Leslie Caccamese, marketing manager of the Great Place to Work Institute. "In this economy, particularly, it has been incredibly important for senior leadership to regularly and honestly communicate with their employees." That, she says, is often an area where a lot of companies need work. Perhaps just as important a lesson for employers, says Caccamese, is that "all the things that can be done to sustain a great work place [don't have to] cost any money."

As an employer, what are the benefits to being a great place to work and thus achieving such a designation from the Great Place to Work Institute? Perhaps most notable: financial results. The institute, which each year produces Fortune magazine's "100 best companies to work for" compilation, shows that the companies on the list outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index with returns of 6.8 percent versus the S&P 500's 1.04 percent between 1998 and 2008. Research shows that these desirable companies also receive more qualified job applications for open positions; experience lower turnover; enjoy higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty; have fewer negative effects from stress; foster greater innovation, creativity and risk-taking; and, finally, benefit from higher productivity and profitability.

That has certainly been the case for Dixon Schwabl: 2009 has been the most profitable year in its 22-year history — with revenues up 34 percent over last year — and it has added 12 employees and has four open positions. "We have no low productivity and no negativity," says Dixon. "By putting our people first, we have differentiated ourselves from other agencies, built pride and been able to retain and attract the best and the brightest."

That's the very same culture that permeates top-ranked Badger Mining Corporation, a silica sand mining company in Berlin, Wisconsin. While Badger Mining couldn't be in a more different industry than Dixon Schwabl, the focus is the same: the people. Nine years ago, Badger Mining had to lay off 90 people. "We vowed never to let that happen again," says Beth Nighbor, vice president of human resources. Now the focus of every decision is "how is it going to affect our employees," says Nighbor.

To answer that question, she says, "We make sure we include our employees and get their input in every decision." So when the current downturn hit, employees and management worked together to cut costs. The solution: no permanent layoffs. Instead, the company did rotating layoffs where each employee at one of the smaller facilities took six to eight weeks of unemployment (with benefits). The company is now back at full employment. "People have a perception about what makes a great place to work, and they think it is a wonderful benefits program," says Nighbor. The truth is, "If you don't have the trust and loyalty of the people, nothing else matters."

Toddi is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor and currently is a contributing writer covering career management issues for The Wall Street Journal.