The 2010 List: 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon

Our annual ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon turns 17 this year with nearly 20,000 employees participating. Oregon Business research editor Brandon Sawyer and research partner Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall calculated the rankings based on confidential employee surveys and a benefits report completed by each company.

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Our annual ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon turns 17 this year with nearly 20,000 employees participating. Oregon Business research editor Brandon Sawyer and research partner Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall calculated the rankings based on confidential employee surveys and a benefits report completed by each company.

Microsoft // No. 1 Large Company

Here’s one company where you won’t hear the usual gripe about needing new laptops. Employees at Microsoft’s sales and customer service branch in Portland are using software so cutting edge it hasn’t been released yet. That means these 49 tech-savvy employees work from home whenever they want without customers knowing the difference.

“Microsoft cares much more about quality of work, impact you have and value you bring,” says Chris Preston, Northwest sales manager. “Where you do that work is not important.”

Letting employees work in their PJs shows the faith Microsoft has in its workforce. Employees have autonomy (and accountability) in dealing with clients, who happen to be some of the biggest firms in town. The lofty clientele means employees have “an outsized impact,” Preston says. One worker writes, “I get the chance every day to change the world for the better.”

Microsoft treats its employees like royalty. Benefits are excellent (employees can call a doctor at any hour for a phone consultation or home visit to avoid the emergency room) and Microsoft pays employees for volunteer work of their choice and matches their charitable donations, up to $12,000 a year each. 

-ADRIANNE JEFFRIES

Click through to the next page for the number two Large Company 2010!

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Hitachi Consulting // No. 2 Large Company

Pay and benefits at this Portland-based IT and business consulting company are “fair,” in the understated words of Vice President Mike Broberg. Employees are entitled to 30 days of paid time off, paternity and maternity leave, comprehensive dental and health including alternative care, and so on. But the things that make Hitachi Consulting a great place to work are harder to quantify.

Camaraderie, for one. Hitachi’s 30 employees overwhelmingly cite “the fun people,” “the wonderful people,” and “the smartest, [most] hard-working, talented people in Portland” as the reason they love their jobs. Employees eat lunch together in the conference room every day. They also have dinner together, hit happy hour together and compete against each other during Funquest, a citywide scavenger hunt — all archived in a mosaic of photos tacked to the hallway wall.

Empowerment, for another. Junior employees get 300 hours of training a year on average. A group of employees from the lowest to the top levels decides how to spend the generous community philanthropy budget. “We enable and encourage those in the office to be involved and define what that looks like and own it,” Broberg says. “As a result they’re more happy with it.”

-ADRIANNE JEFFRIES

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Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront // No. 3 Large Company

The 209 associates of the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront Hotel gather in one room every month for a “total hotel rally” where managers give news updates, recognize acts of exemplary service, and of course serve some great food and drinks.

“One of the most famous or routinely used slogans is, ‘If we take great care of associates, they’ll take great care of our customers,'” says Lance Rohs, general manager.

And as one associate puts it, Marriott really “puts its money where its mouth is in respect to caring for and paying its associates.”

Associates have comprehensive benefits — which were extended for workers when hours were cut back due to the recession — plus travel and hotel discounts, health club access, flexible schedules, and the chance to join committees influencing operation and procedure at the hotel.

After 25 years with the company, associates can stay at any Marriott hotel, anywhere in the world, for free. And if they’re not satisfied, associates have the chance to vent once a year when the company does its Associate Opinion Survey.

-ADRIANNE JEFFRIES

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Oregon Cascade’s leadership team, from left: Walt Haskins, Josh Welborn and John Welborn. Bottom: putting on a happy face. PHOTOS BY LEAH NASH

Oregon Cascade Plumbing & Heating // No. 1 Medium Company

Family comes first at this Salem-based HVAC and plumbing contractor, which President Josh Welborn bought from his father 10 years ago. So it’s no surprise to see multiple generations of employees — fathers, sons, grandsons and a daughter — working side by side.

“It’s very important to this company that your family does come first. The reason why you have a job is to support that,” says Julie Davis, executive assistant. “So if you’ve got to take your kids to the doctor or a family outing that you need to attend, you just do it.”

Family values, the annual retreat at the corporate beach house, generous benefits and the fact that the company is 25% employee-owned are just a few of the reasons Oregon Cascade’s 85 employees are happy.

There is also a playfulness that makes work seem fun. Employees play practical jokes on each other (Welborn is fond of shock pens). Frequent officewide contests award an infamous prize to whoever has the best-decorated office or the ugliest shirt. “It’s the most disgusting, ugly Kermit the Frog statue you’ve ever seen,” Davis says. “You really don’t want it because you’ve got to put it in your office. But it’s fun.” 

-ADRIANNE JEFFRIES

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Hospice & Palliative Care // No. 2 Medium Company

It’s easy for hospice care doctors and nurses to eventually feel burned out. The emotional toll the 52 employees of Hillsboro’s Hospice and Palliative Care of Washington County sometimes feel from caring for patients with prognoses of six to 12 months is not lost on CEO Christine Larch.

Rather than working five days a week, employees interacting with patients only work three days a week (and still receive full-time benefits). Workers appreciate the laid-back work environment that includes laughing, hugs and the ability to debrief with supportive and empathetic co-workers. Accommodation and flexibility surrounding family needs are also important. “Last week we had three dogs, an infant and a toddler,” Larch says. “It always seems to work out.”

“I deeply appreciate the ability to balance work and family priorities,” says one worker.

Hospice and Palliative Care is as mission-driven as it is relaxed. Care is provided to patients regardless of whether they are insured or not, even if the impact is felt financially. It is a “core belief,” one employee says, “to do what’s right, not necessarily what’s easy or least expensive.” 

-AMANDA WALDROUPE

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Capitol Auto Group // No. 3 Medium Company

The car industry may be tanking, but not the esprit de corps at Salem’s Capitol Auto Group. Ninety percent of the car dealership’s 182 employees donated a total of $30,000 to the United Way last year.

Giving to the United Way is as much a part of working at Capitol Auto Group as selling or servicing cars. “We just believe in giving back,” says owner Scott Casebeer. “We do make it fun.” Casebeer throws a hamburger feed to celebrate the day that pledge cards are turned in. Whether it’s giving to United Way, coaching Little League, or helping the Red Cross, the culture of community involvement creates a family atmosphere that ties employees together.

Employees are also given responsibility in running the dealership by volunteering to serve on committees focused on topics such as workplace safety. Casebeer strives to “manage openly,” and doesn’t hesitate to show the managers the business’ financial statements. “We have a say in what goes on,” writes another worker. Benefits haven’t been slashed, including mental health care. “We try to provide…the best benefit package that is available,” Casebeer says. “I truly believe they care about me and my family,” writes one worker.

-AMANDA WALDROUPE

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Bay Bank // No. 4 Medium Company

No employee at Bay Bank would think of himself or herself as just a number-crunching bank teller. Personal bankers interact directly with customers across from their desks, not through bulletproof glass. And their management listens to employees just as closely.

During a staff meeting, an employee suggested that Bay Bank allow customers to add to their certificates of deposit. “In two weeks, we had it up and running,” says Jim Rathbun, the director of marketing. “You always feel you have a voice,” says one worker.

The bank’s 15 Oregon employees in the Wilsonville and Portland branches enjoy working in a relaxed work environment among co-workers with whom they share a team spirit. But it is those open lines of communication with management that employees most appreciate. “Nothing is hidden or filtered between what is going on at the top and what is going on in the front lines,” says another worker.

Three weeks of paid vacation and an excellent benefits package, including insurance for long-term disability, mental health and alternative care, as well as the profit-sharing and stock options available to 98% of employees, is frosting on the proverbial perfect banking experience. 

-AMANDA WALDROUPE

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Pittman & Brooks // No. 1 Small Company

Work hard, play hard. That sums up this small Portland CPA firm, where the current record is 103.1 hours worked in one week. Employees have 100% flextime during most of the year. But when tax season comes, it’s 50 hours a week in the office, minimum. For those three grueling months, the company provides massages, catered meals and dry cleaning, and leaves gifts on workers’ desks with a card: “This too shall pass.” There’s the “End of Tax Season Party” to look forward to, when employees and their families get together for rock climbing, basketball, dinner and the Tax Season Oscars.

Employees rave about the on-site daycare being open on Saturdays during tax season, and the new wellness program. Fitness, cooking and yoga classes are offered in the evenings and walking contests challenge employees to get fit. (The trough of junk food that usually fuels employees through April 15 may have to be rethought.)

“We understand how valuable our employees are. If they’re not here and happy and productive, nothing works,” says co-founder Randa Brooks. “Our goal is to make it as fun, friendly, happy, accommodating, flexible to work as possible so they can perform at their best. And that’s what they do.”

-ADRIANNE JEFFRIES

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JEFFRIES

Dr. Patrick Lewallen (top and above), Northwest Newborn’s medical director, tends to babies in the neonatal ward of Legacy Emanuel Hospital. PHOTOS BY LEAH NASH

Northwest Newborn Specialists // No. 2 Small Company

The employees of Portland’s Northwest Newborn Specialists all admit that providing medical care to ill and premature babies can be stressful and have an emotional toll. Part of what diffuses that stress, say employees, is a culture of learning and respect fostered by administrative staff and co-workers.

Being encouraged to pursue individual growth and professionalism — such as attending conferences or authoring research papers — also buoys employees. “It’s a supportive environment,” says physician Valerie Newman. “In medicine, it really can be the opposite.” Practical rewards are also reaped: health insurance was increased by 10% last year when administration began receiving employee feedback that benefits needed improvement.

Physicians also don’t have to work the usual 9 to 5, five days a week (or more). “We individualize the amount of work,” says chief financial and administrative officer Cheryl Hughes Gaulke. “You can be less than fulltime, or you can even be more than fulltime.”

The flexibility allows employees to balance work with private life. One employee recently took a three-and-a-half-week vacation to visit a family member outside the country. “The whole team pitched in to make that happen,” Hughes Gaulke says.

-AMANDA WALDROUPE

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Stamp-Connection // No. 3 Small Company

Stamp-Connection owner John Clark is proud that his stamp manufacturing business can take orders as late as 3 in the afternoon and still ship the next morning. His top priority, however, is his employees. “They are the key to growth,” Clark says.

None of Gresham-based Stamp-Connection’s 15 employees were laid off during the recession, and no benefits were cut. Employees can count on a guaranteed 3% cost of living increase in April, and a merit-based raise ranging from 3% to 10% in October. That raise is based on an employee evaluation discussed one-on-one between Clark and each employee.

“We…make sure there are no misunderstandings,” Clark says. “We’re all on the same page here.” “No one’s on a totem pole,” says Jon Morse, a typesetter.

Employees make analogies to family when describing the camaraderie and tension-free work environment. Everyone plays on a softball team, belong to the Eagles Lodge and is free to bring their dogs or children to work. A group including Clark is looking forward to quitting smoking together and providing a work-based support group.

“There’s no person here who doesn’t like another person,” says office manager Serene Brown.


-AMANDA WALDROUPE

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100 BEST METHODOLOGY

EMPLOYEE SURVEY

The survey is voluntary and free of charge. Participating private and public companies, nonprofits and government agencies must have at least 15 Oregon employees at the time of taking the survey. Employers are categorized as small if they have 15-49 employees worldwide; medium if they employ 50-249; and large if they employ 250 or more. For the 2010 survey nearly 20,000 Oregon workers rated their satisfaction with 303 employers in 50 workplace qualities — 10 in each of the following categories:
1. Benefits and compensation: health coverage, fitness and wellness, retirement plan, compensation, employee retention.
2. Work environment: scheduling, diversity, family balance, teamwork, fun, technology, community work, policies and procedures.
3. Decision-making and trust: collaboration and cooperation, creativity, trust and openness, organizational pride, ethical standards.
4. Performance management: performance feedback and goals, employee accountability, rewards and acknowledgement.
5. Career development and learning: opportunities, promotions, employee training, educational support, management diversity and communications.

EMPLOYER BENEFITS SURVEY

Company representatives answered more than 50 questions covering a comprehensive set of benefits including health and wellness, time off, family-friendly policies, work scheduling, incentives, retirement plans and culture.

SCORING

The employee survey counts for 5/6 of a company’s score. For each company, the average employee rating is calculated in each of the five categories on a scale of 0-100. The employer benefits survey is also scored on a 100-point scale, accounting for the remaining 1/6 of the overall score, and resulting in a total possible score of 600.

HOW TO ENTER THE 100 BEST

1. Eligibility: Any private or public company, subsidiary or division, nonprofit or government agency with at least 15 Oregon-based, regular employees is eligible to enter the survey. The organization may be headquartered outside the state.
2. Survey period: The process for 2010’s list will begin in August and end in November 2010. There is no charge to participate, and companies that do not make the list will remain anonymous. All participants that complete the process can obtain survey results.
3. Submitting your company: Send an e-mail with the name, title, phone number and e-mail address of the person who will act as the 100 Best contact to: [email protected]. .
4. Mark your calendar: The survey sign-up link will also be posted to www.oregon100best.com in August.

Want to see all the 100 Best articles for 2010? CLICK HERE

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