November 21, 2009

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Best Places To Work 2007

We tallied the scores for 55 different 417-land companies and found 12 that earned points heads and tails above the rest. They are the Best Places to Work in 417-land, and what they have to offer might surprise you.

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Photo Edward Biamonte A baby and a pooch aren't part of the staff, but they are part of the office environment.

2balance

First place, 25 or fewer employees
325 points

What Women Want

It’s not about the shoes.

The seven women who make up the staff at 2balance, a human resources and public relations consulting company in Springfield, occasionally are rewarded for hard work with a shoe-shopping spree. And on any given day, they might have 14 pairs of shoes at the office between all of them. But it’s not about the shoes.

And these women might have an in-office pet (a adorably spunky little Yorkie named Coco who walks around like she owns the place). They might have a place for their children to play on days when they need to bring the kids to work. They might have hand-picked decorations in personal spaces. They might have all those shoes. But it’s not about any of that. Not directly, anyway.
It’s about collaborating to build a successful company from the ground up exactly the way you always wanted to, and it’s about how this small group of woman, headed by owner Sheri Hawkins, made it happen. Hawkins says she considers the structure and functionality of 2balance to be a social experiment, where people are given the freedom to manage and monitor themselves and are thus empowered to control their own lives. It all fosters a workplace where employees appreciate one another’s strengths and aren’t threatened by them, Hawkins says.

The name 2balance is indicative of the company goal to bring balance to clients’ lives. 2balance provides communications services that focus on public relations and human resources for clients. Clients can save on overhead if they use 2balance’s services instead of hiring a full-time person for a job, for example. But the balance concept affects the employees lives, too. Hawkins says she’d owned her own business in the past and wanted to go back to that. She’d seen some really smart women having to leave the workforce because of family schedules. “People get out of whack when they have to make a choice,” she says. “We need both family and work.”

So she, along with Kate Renfrow, envisioned a workplace where women could bring together the two worlds, use their talents and be in charge of their lives. Renfrow is vice-president of corporate communications and event planning at 2balance. The two had previously worked together at Noble & Associates, and they designed 2balance after what they would look for in the ideal job. “When I was raising my daughter, I was fearful of taking time off,” Hawkins says. “I was afraid of losing my job if I had to take her to the doctor.” At 2balance, by design, women don’t have to fear that. Office administrator Amy Squibb brings her daughter to the office on Fridays. Sheri brings Coco the Yorkie. Anyone can leave work to go to a school function or take a child to the doctor. There are no set vacation days. Hawkins says it works because everyone on the small staff feels responsible to the clients and the company and to what they are trying to do. So while they might take off a few hours of work on a weekday when they need it, they will also work a little extra on a Sunday if that’s what they need to do to finish a project. “We want people to like their jobs and have fun and focus, but also do what they need to do during work hours,” Hawkins says. It has been a little hard, though, to break people of their old habits of worrying about being judged if they take time off. “Putting too much pressure on everyone is against the rules,” she says. “When they take vacations, they are not allowed to call in.”

Hawkins says that all executives at 2balance are paid the same amount. “If an owner is making more money,” she says, “everyone can work a lot of hours trying to pay that person. Here, we all pay our own salaries. Employees don’t feel like they’re buying their boss a car.” The playing field is level, and that includes some of more unexpected responsibilities, such as walking the dog or helping take care of Squibb’s baby girl, Aubrey. It’s their version of on-site daycare: they all take turns babysitting. Hawkins gets dibs on naptime. “I’m the best at putting her to sleep,” she says. Aubrey even took her first steps at 2balance. Renfrow’s office has blocks and toys for the kids. Hawkins’ office has all of Coco’s accoutrements. If older kids are in the office, they can have homework time or movie time in the conference room or play on the computers. “We have lots of Band-Aids and carpet cleaner for spilled drinks,” Hawkins jokes.

Not only does the company allow moms to feel comfortable knowing they can take care of family needs first, but it makes all employees comfortable in their own spaces. Everyone is the interior decorator for her own office, and 2balance pays for whatever they want brought in to make it feel like home, whether that’s a special chair or wall art.

It’s hard to imagine not wanting to self-motivate and thrive in this environment. The décor is bright and light-filled. Bold, colorful paintings hang on the walls in an otherwise clean-lined atmosphere. The women keep chocolate in the office always. They get fresh flowers on Mondays. At the end of a big project they are rewarded with pedicures, new shoes, facials and the like. At 4 p.m. on Fridays, they bring out cheese and wine to “download from the week” and cheers to their jobs well done.

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