Best large companies to work for.1 BEST COMPANY WINNER Edward Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones is the name of: Edward Jones:
adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. around the top of "best company" and "best customer service" lists. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One year ago, J.D. Power & Associates ranked Edward Jones first among full-service brokerage firms full-service brokerage firm A brokerage firm that provides a wide range of services and products to its customers, including research and advice. Compare discount brokerage firm. in investor satisfaction for the third straight year. In another field, Edward Jones this year ranked No. 4 in Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. There are two reasons Edward Jones--with 9,560 U.S. branches, 258 in Colorado--consistently finishes high in these sorts of surveys. Both reasons are embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. deep in the company's business model, which places the highest priority on the personal touch. First, there is the typical Edward Jones office. Unlike the big brokerages, these almost always consist of one Edward Jones financial adviser/broker and one branch office administrator. Part of the importance of the office manager is that he or she handles most of the bushels of paperwork today's financial folks are obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to fill out. Among other virtues, this enables the financial advisers to get out of the office. This literally means pounding the pavement. Edward Jones offices are distributed geographically, and advisers often go door-to-door to solicit new business, as well as meet with clients. Conversely con·verse 1 intr.v. con·versed, con·vers·ing, con·vers·es 1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak. 2. , the office-in-your-neighborhood model allows convenient access to advisers for clients and prospects. "We feel that we're making an impersonal world more personal," says Denver-based financial adviser and regional leader Dan Large (who, as regional leader, has not one but two branch office administrators in his office). The second award-winning part of the Edward Jones model is internal. One potential flaw of the Edward Jones office model is that it could tend to isolate advisers from their colleagues--and in a fast-moving industry, this could be deadly. Edward Jones strives to minimize this possibility by bringing advisers and staff together in frequent meetings that often double as rewards for a job well done. Large, for instance, sat down for this interview just after a four-day confab in Steamboat Springs Steamboat Springs, town (1990 pop. 6,695), Routt co., NW Colo., on the Yampa River, just W of the Park Range; founded 1875, inc. 1907. It is a resort and skiing center, with ranching, farming, and light manufacturing. that asked about 60 advisers to attend morning meetings, but left afternoons free for themselves and their families. (About 45 spouses and 60 children attended, too.) "Our summer regionals are a family event. We all put our Blackberries away," Large says. "We do these types of things to get together so that people don't feel isolated." The company also hosts monthly adviser meetings and other gatherings. Another internal incentive involves rewards for performance. For instance, the company awards financial advisers up to two yearly "diversification trips" to five-star international resorts--not for sales, but for properly diversifying clients' portfolios. In 2007, more than half of all advisers won a diversification trip. So why work for Edward Jones? "You're going to run your own office and you're going to be your own boss," Large says. "Ted Jones was a pretty smart guy. He knew people would work harder if they were working for themselves. For the right person, this is the greatest thing in the world." 2007 RANK: No. 2 --David Lewis 2 BEST COMPANY WINNER Pinnacol Assurence Pinnacol Assurance was a financial mess not too many years ago, with a disaffected dis·af·fect·ed adj. Resentful and rebellious, especially against authority. dis  af·fect work force to boot. Today the nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive.Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. is a stirring fiscal success story and a sterling example of enlightened employee policy. The two are not unrelated. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pinnacol is what used to be the Colorado workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. company. It still is, technically, but it's more complex than that. While Pinnacol derives from state statutes, like other mutual insurance firms the company effectively is owned by its policyholders. They must be a happy group: While Pinnacol suffered a $500 million deficit in 1990, since 2005 its turnaround has enabled it to return $227 million to customers. This year, Pinnacol distributed $55 million in dividends to 58,000 customers, namely Colorado businesses. Meanwhile, the company has dropped premiums 25 percent the past two years. Meantime, employees get to work for a business that offers scads of exemplary benefits, and keeps coming up with new ones, such as an expanded telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. program. Another example is the monthly "Coffee Talk with Ken" program, Ken being president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Ken Ross. "Coffee Talk with Ken" has two benefits: It allows staff to shoot questions at the CEO while eating a catered breakfast or lunch, and it can lead to further bennies. For instance, Pinnacol formerly neglected to match employees' 401 (k) contributions. But it only took two Coffee Talk questions from concerned workers before Ross gathered his staff and changed that tack. "Once we did that, my e-mail was flooded," Ross says. "We have 600 people in this building, and I must have gotten about 75 thank-you notes." It's part of a corporate culture that says, "If you're happy at home with your family, and your family is happy with you in your work environment, that directly impacts your production, your efficiency and your output," Ross says. Pinnacol staff gets lots of other impressive give-backs, one of which has had a profound impact on Ross himself. The company offers $4,000 to employees who adopt. Ross and his wife last November adopted a Longmont boy, now 7 months old. "He's a sweet little guy," Ross says. NEW TO LIST --David Lewis 3 BEST COMPANY WINNER AlloSource When you're a nonprofit dedicated to saving and restoring human lives, it's natural that the employees who make it happen would feel good about what they do. But AlloSource works at employee-satisfaction, too. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Based in Centennial where it has 254 employees, AlloSource provides skin, bone and soft-tissue grafts for use in surgical procedures Surgical procedures have long and possibly daunting names. The meaning of many surgical procedure names can often be understood if the name is broken into parts. For example in splenectomy, "ectomy" is a suffix meaning the removal of a part of the body. "Splene-" means spleen. . It is the world's leading supplier of fresh cartilage cartilage (kär`təlĭj), flexible semiopaque connective tissue without blood vessels or nerve cells. It forms part of the skeletal system in humans and in other vertebrates, and is also known as gristle. tissue used for joint repair and skin allografts allografts (al´  graf´ts),n.pl the transplantation of tissue between genetically nonidentical individuals of the same species. to heal severe burns. "We have a very strong mission, which helps lay the foundation for everything else we do," says AlloSource President and CEO Thomas Cycyota. "Because we are a nonprofit and because we deal with donated human tissue, we hire people who right off the bat understand that we're a mission-driven organization, and that drives a lot of our success as far as it relates to getting good, satisfied employees." Among the company's offerings: a flex-time alternative that allows for four-day, 10-hour work weeks, a generous retirement plan and PTO PTO abbr. 1. Parent Teacher Organization 2. or p.t.o. please turn over 3. power takeoff PTO or pto please turn over Noun 1. (paid time off) policy as well as medical and dental benefits. Plus picnics, barbecues and other get-togethers to encourage employee interaction. In his eight years with AlloSource, Cycyota has seen the company grow from 80 employees in the Denver area to its current 254 in Centennial, and from 120 employees companywide to 400 (its other primary locations are Salt Lake City and Cincinnati.) AlloSource was a finalist in the Best Companies small-medium category last year for firms with fewer than 250 employees. Cycyota agrees that maintaining the desired workplace culture becomes more of a challenge as the size of a work force grows. "The challenges when you're a 400-person company with locations across the country are different than when you're an 80-to 90-person company with most everybody based here in Denver," Cycyota says. "We actually have set up a couple committees... we don't call them the 'fun committees,' but that's what they are. New employees as well as more tenured ten·ured adj. Having tenure: tenured civil servants; tenured faculty. Adj. 1. tenured employees look at different things we can do to create or maintain the atmosphere that we have." A third-place showing this year among large-company finalists indicates AlloSource's efforts have paid off. "I've been in business a long time," Cycyota says. "Winning this award last year and then again this year is one of the highlights of my career. Business success is one thing, but cultural success and having folks who kind of vote you in for this ... it's a big deal." 2007 RANK: No. 17 (SMALL-MEDIUM CATEGORY) --Mike Taylor 4 Mercury Payment Systems Based in Durango where it is one of the largest private employers in town, Mercury Payment Systems provides point-of-sale solutions for retailers and merchants, including credit, debit, check, gift card and loyalty processing. Led by Marc Katz, this magazine's small-business CEO of the Year in 2006, Mercury has grown rapidly since its founding in 2001. Two persistent challenges are Durango's high cost of living and its relative remoteness, making it all the more critical for company leaders to create an environment that workers enjoy. Last year the company had 800 job applicants and hired 134. The company's 252 current employees are invited to provide feedback at regularly held "Townhall Meetings" as well as bi-weekly lunches called "Departmental 101s" where they meet with executive team members. Mercury's highest honor, the "Award of Excellence" is bestowed quarterly by the company's "Culture Club" committee to the employee who exhibits outstanding performance and service, demonstrates the company's core values and does whatever it takes to help Mercury succeed. The award comes with a $500 prize. NEW TO LIST 5 Alpine Bank Based in Glenwood Springs, Alpine Bank has been a part of the Western Slope since its founding in 1973.The bank currently serve nearly 100,000 customers at 37 locations. One of the bank's notable offerings is its Dependent Education Assistance Program that gives children of eligible employees the opportunity to pursue post-high school education. The bank covers up to $1,500 of the education costs per year with a maximum of $6,000 per child. Most of the bank's 564 employees also benefit from a wellness program that includes fitness rooms and lockers wherever possible, and a Wellness Bucks program developed to help employees cover the cost of their insurance deductible That which may be taken away or subtracted. In taxation, an item that may be subtracted from gross income or adjusted gross income in determining taxable income (e.g., interest expenses, charitable contributions, certain taxes). . Further evidence of a favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. work environment: Many of Alpine Bank's employees and managers have been with the organization for 10 years or longer, enabling them to build long-term customer relationships. That longevity extends to members of the bank's original board of directors, many of whom are still with the bank, including Chairman Robert Young Robert Young or Bob Young may refer to several different people:
NEW TO LIST 6 Pricewater houseCoopers LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol PricewaterhouseCoopers provides expertise in resolving complex client and stakeholder stakeholder n. a person having in his/her possession (holding) money or property in which he/she has no interest, right or title, awaiting the outcome of a dispute between two or more claimants to the money or property. issues worldwide. Of course, employees with children have issues too, and PwC helps take care of them as well. The firm has teamed with three leading national child-care vendors, Kindercare, Knowledge Learning Corp. and La Petite Academy to provide a 10 percent discount on care for employees' toddlers and older children. The company also reimburses employees for back-up child care in emergency situations, and its Just-In-Case program enables employees to be reimbursed for emergency backup care not only for their children but for older relatives. PwC is based in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and has a presence in 149 countries with a work force of 140,000 people, including 268 in Colorado. Among the company's "Best Practices" is a referral bonus program that pays $8,000 for the referral of a manager or above, $5,000 for senior associate referral and $3,000 for an associate referral. PwC provides services in the fields that include assurance, tax, human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. , performance improvement and crisis management. 2007 RANK: No. 5 7 Merric & Co. Aurora-based Merrick & Co. specializes in engineering, architecture, construction management and related disciplines. These traditionally have been male-dominated fields--and certainly were back in 1955 when the company was founded. Today, though, one of the firm's "Best Practices" is its sponsorship of the Merrick Professional Women's Roundtable, an organization with the stated mission of enhancing women's careers, exchanging information on workplace and women's health Women's Health Definition Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues. issues, and helping Merrick women grow on a personal and professional level. MPWR MPWR Maximum Process Weight Rate meets monthly, and the discussions are related to the various professional societies, conferences and events that the engineers, architects, interior designers and engineering designers belong to or participate in. Nearly three-fourths (277) of Merrick's 400 employees work in Colorado out of the firm's Aurora or Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. offices. Standout employees are recognized through The Merrick Way Awards Program. Nominations for the award are submitted by co-workers and supervisors, then reviewed by an internal committee. Winners are announced at an annual awards luncheon. NEW TO LIST 8 Cheyenna Mountain Resort Cheyenna Mountain Resort is one of Colorado Springs' top hotels, with 316 guest rooms and suites, all with mountain views. These accommodations, which include 40,000 square feet of meeting space, 38 dedicated conference rooms and an amphitheater amphitheater (ăm`fəthē'ətər, ăm`pə–), open structure used for the exhibition of gladiatorial contests, struggles of wild beasts, sham sea battles, and similar spectacles. , make the resort a natural draw not just for vacationers but for business retreats. Along with an 18-hole Pete Dye-designed golf course, the resort boasts four swimming pools, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a complete fitness center, and a 35-acre lake for sailing and fishing. But people ultimately make the difference in the hospitality industry. Recognizing this, the resort gives its 445 employees ample opportunity to experience the resort, too, not just as staffers but as vacationers when they're not working. Employees and their family members receive a discounted room rate as well as a 50 percent discount at the resort's food and beverage F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage," which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods. outlets. Other perks perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. include complimentary golf for all employees (subject to availability) and a 25 percent discount on catered events held at the resort. NEW TO LIST 9 Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a United States corporation which provides clinical laboratory services . The company also has a business presence in England and Mexico. Quest Diagnostics is a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500. Inc. Quest Diagnostics responded when employees said they wanted more opportunities to learn and develop in their careers. The response was to create IntelliQuest, an initiative for training and development consisting of more than 450 classes for employees, plus online computer training provided by the company. Quest Diagnostics, the nation's leader in clinical testing for medical and other diagnostic purposes, is based in New Jersey and employs 708 people in Colorado. The company has more than 30 regional laboratories, approximately 150 rapid-response laboratories and more than 2,000 patient service centers nationwide. While it is the national leader in a broad range of testing services, the publicly held company strives to make a difference in the communities where it does business by recognizing the local volunteer efforts of employees. One recognition program, dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. "Because You Matter," enables employees nominated by co-workers to earn awards ranging from $50 to $200 for community-service efforts. 2007 RANK: No. 4 10 Education Sales Management Sales Management Role and Goal Importance of sales management is critical for any commercial organization. Expanding business in not possible without increasing sales volumes, and effective sales management goal is to organize sales team work in such a manner that ensures a Fun is important at Education Sales Management, and it's the job of the company's Activities Committee members to make sure there's at least one fun activity for each month, like the Annual Holiday Gala in January and the Take Your Child to Work Day in April. Founded in 1995 and based in Highlands Ranch, Education Sales Management started out as a support and admissions service for two Sylvan Learning Sylvan Learning (formerly Sylvan Learning Center) is a chain of franchised tutoring centers which provide personalized tutoring in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Centers in the Denver area. Today it is a customer-contact center that assists schools and institutions across the country, from kindergarten through higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. and professional-development markets, to enroll students and help companies sell their educational programs, products and services. While fun is important at ESM (1) (Enterprise Storage Management) Managing the online, nearline and offline storage within a large organization. It includes analysis of storage requirements as well as making routine copies of files and databases for backup, archiving, disaster recovery, , it's not the only reason people choose to work there. In Colorado, ESM has 449 employees, and their annual performance evaluations Performance evaluation The assessment of a manager's results, which involves, first, determining whether the money manager added value by outperforming the established benchmark (performance measurement) and, second, determining how the money manager achieved the calculated return give them the opportunity to earn up to a 5 percent merit-pay increase. Other incentive programs are applied throughout the company and vary depending on the complexity level of each department. Some may increase an employee's total compensation up to an additional 25 percent of his or her base pay. 2007 RANK: No. 3 11 CoBank With more than $52 billion in assets, CoBank is the largest financial-services institution headquartered in Colorado. Unlike most financial institutions, it's a cooperative, owned by its customers and led by a board of directors primarily elected by customers. Each year CoBank returns a portion of earnings to customers through "patronage" payments, an important part of CoBank's value proposition. Employees at CoBank, including 423 in Colorado, are part of a value proposition as well, with annual merit pay Noun 1. merit pay - extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers) pay, remuneration, salary, wage, earnings - something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all increases that reflect their performance and annual incentive payments based on individual and company results. Headquartered in Greenwood Village, CoBank was founded in 1916 and now boasts 11 regional offices throughout the U.S. and an international-representative office in Singapore. CoBank recently launched the "ECO E·co , Umberto Born 1932. Italian writer best known for his novels, including The Name of the Rose (1981). He has also written extensively on semiotics and British and American popular culture. program," or Environmentally Conscious Organization, as a continuation of its sustainability efforts. As part of ECO, CoBank plans to purchase one-fourth of its power from sustainable sources (wind) and working with employees to improve the company's sustainability on a daily basis. NEW TO LIST 12 GE Johnson Construction Co. Headquartered in Colorado Springs with offices in Denver, GE Johnson Construction Co. provides construction management and general contractor A general contractor is an organization or individual that contracts with another organization or individual (the owner) for the construction of a building, road or any other execution of work or facility. services for building types such as health care, commercial office, resort and hospitality, and historic renovation to name a few. Some specialties it handles, like advanced-technology construction, weren't even around when the company was formed in 1967. GE Johnson employs 398 people in Colorado, and to ensure a strong field of applicants for jobs that open up--the company has a Refer-a-Friend Program that rewards current employees who recommend someone who is hired for a position listed by the company. Depending on the position, cash awards can be for $3,000, $5,000 or $7,500. GE Johnson also supports Canine canine or canid Any domestic or wild dog or doglike mammal (e.g., wolf, jackal, fox) in the family Canidae, found throughout the world except in Antarctica and on most ocean islands. Companions for Independence, as it has welcomed service dogs in training within its office environment for the past three years. NEW TO LIST 13 T-Mobile USA--Colorado Call Centers T-Mobile USA-Colorado Call Centers employs 1,547 people in Thornton and Colorado Springs. Both sites have programs that encourage career development and amenities like workout Workout Informal repayment or loan forgiveness arrangement between a borrower and creditors. workout 1. The process of a debtor's meeting a loan commitment by satisfying altered repayment terms. rooms, Internet cafes The high-tech equivalent of the coffee house. However, instead of playing chess or having heated political discussions, you browse the Internet and discuss the latest technology. CDs, DVDs, games and other "cyber stuff" are also generally available. , new-mom rooms and serenity rooms to help employees stay balanced amid rigorous workdays. Both the Thornton and Colorado Springs sites also boast career-development centers that include a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. location for current job postings, career-development brown-bag sessions, departmental career sessions, job fairs and shadow programs. The Colorado Springs site has a mentoring program called BENCH, designed to prepare employees for front-line leadership positions. Similarly, the Thornton call center has a Role Model Representative Program for which employees are selected to provide one-on-one support to new hires. RMRs are trained to provide coaching and constructive feedback to new representatives. T-Mobile USA Inc. is based in Bellevue, Wash., with more than 37,000 employees who serve more than 30 million customers. It operates a nationwide network of 22 call centers and sells wireless phones and devices at approximately 1,700 retail stores. 2007 RANK: No. 10 Baxa Corp. 14 Baxa Corp., a medical-device company based in Englewood, offers its 329 Colorado employees ample benefits, including development programs geared to specific skill training, flu shots for employees and their families, and career tracks for non-professional employees. On the lighter side, there are monthly summer barbecues and sponsored activities for children of employees. Baxa employees have for years enjoyed a profit-sharing plan Profit-Sharing Plan A plan that gives employees a share in the profits of the company. Each employee receives into an account, a percentage of those profits based on their earnings. Also known as "deferred profit-sharing plan" or "DPSP". , earning 25 cents for every dollar of profit generated, up to 5 percent of company sales. In addition, managers have the discretion to provide individual financial or other incentives based on project performance. Founded in 1975, privately held Baxa provides technologies for fluid handling and delivery. Its systems and devices promote the safe and efficient preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of fluid medications. Key products such as its Rapid-Fill Automated Syringe syringe /sy·ringe/ (si-rinj´) (sir´inj) an instrument for injecting liquids into or withdrawing them from any vessel or cavity. Fillers, Exacta-Med Oral Dispensers and MicroFuse Syringe Infusers are used worldwide in hospitals and health-care facilities. 2007 RANK: No. 7 15 Hercules Industries Inc. Hercules Industries was started in 1962 by William E. Newland, the father of current owners Bill, Jim and Paul Newland. The company, whose primary customers are HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) In the home or small office with a handful of computers, HVAC is more for human comfort than the machines. In large datacenters, a humidity-free room with a steady, cool temperature is essential for the trouble-free (heating, ventilating ventilating Natural or mechanically induced movement of fresh air into or through an enclosed space. The hazards of poor ventilation were not clearly understood until the early 20th century. Expired air may be laden with odors, heat, gases, or dust. and air-conditioning) contractors, started in Denver and has grown throughout Colorado, where today it has 271 employees at seven locations, and into neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. states. In January 2007, Hercules launched a wellness program dubbed START (Striving Toward a Renewed Tomorrow), designed to provide employees with information, resources and creative solutions to assist them in taking accountability for their health. To kick off this program, Hercules invested $250,000 in a modern, on-site employee exercise facility at its largest location, the Denver branch/production center. Values typical of a family are emphasized and encouraged at Hercules. Managers are given autonomy to run their branch as if it were their own business and use their judgment in regard to inventory levels, pricing and expenditures. NEW TO LIST |
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