Best Companies to Work for in Colorado 2011

Mike Cote //August 1, 2011//

Best Companies to Work for in Colorado 2011

Mike Cote //August 1, 2011//

It’s tough to be considered a “Best Company,” so ending up at or near the top consistently is truly something to
be celebrated.

Of this year’s top finishers in the small, medium and large company category of Best Companies to Work for in Colorado, all
three have previously hit No. 1 or No. 2. Congratulations to IP5280 Communications, ReadyTalk and Edward Jones.

The level of consistency of this year’s winners makes it clear their selection is hardly an anomaly. It’s no secret some companies that earn kudos for being a great place to work have employees shaking their heads, says Mark Stelzner, of Inflexion Advisors, a human-resources consulting firm.

“How do you create a really transparent and honest organization? How do you embrace the fact that you are not the perfect employer?” says Stelzner, who will be the keynote speaker next month for the
Colorado Society of Human Resource Management’s annual conference (Sept. 28-30 at the Keystone Resort Center). ‘We hear disingenuous comments from leaders who say ‘people are our most important asset.’ Employees roll their eyes and don’t believe it.”

That may be because while they have great benefits on paper, they haven’t followed through on truly creating a nurturing workplace.

“When you provide work/life balance, what types of flexible arrangements do you offer?” Stelzner says. “How do you create soft landings for re-entry for your female population who has left to raise a child and now wants to come back and accelerate their career, get back on path? How do you focus on all contributors on outcomes versus attendance?”

Best Companies to Work for spend a lot of time trying to answer such questions.

For the sixth year, ColoradoBiz has joined with the Colorado State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management and Jobing.com, an online employment advertising service, to produce a list of the best companies to work for in the state. The 10 largest companies have 250 or more employees. The 10 companies in the medium category have 100 to 249 employees. The 10 companies in the small category include those with work forces
of 25 to 99 employees.

To participate in the program,
companies paid from $688 to $1,108 to be surveyed by Modern Think, a
workplace-excellence consulting firm.
All employees are surveyed in the small and medium categories. Up to 400 employees are surveyed in the large category depending on the size of the organization. If the company has more than 400 employees, the participating employees are chosen at random.