HALL of FAME

CCA Global Partners

670 North Commercial St., Manchester, NH 03101 ? ccaglobalpartners.com

CCA Global Partners shows employees they are valued on a regular basis.

Even before an employee shows up for Day One, the HR Department sends new hires a special greeting card, letting them know "we are excited that they have decided to build a career with CCA Global Partners and that we are proud to welcome them to our family," according to their Best Company application.

That personal touch continues throughout a team member's career at the privately held cooperative.

CEO Howard Brodsky is known for his daily walkabouts. Brodsky spends the first hour of his day greeting each employee and taking the time to get to know what is happening in their lives. The cooperative also recognizes employees who exemplify the "CCA Way," the company's four principles: Keep an open mind, energize the team, show respect, and take responsibility.

All employees can nominate someone to win the quarterly CCA Way award. The company usually receives more than 30 nominations each quarter and typically four to six employees win a Challenge Coin that depicts the principles they were nominated for, which are presented during town hall meetings.

On birthdays, CCA employees receive a card with a $25 Visa gift card. CCA brings the fun with special holiday parties, movie days, outings and summer events for employees and their families.

CCA rewards workers in other ways, too. In addition to performance bonuses, employees receive a profit-sharing bonus that is equal to about 3 percent of salary. Employees also receive a $500 gift card at five years of service, $1,000 after 10 years and $500 more tor each subsequent milestone anniversary.

It's not unusual to see kids or dogs in the office. CCA allows employees to work flexible hours to address personal and family needs and gives eight additional hours of time off annually to volunteer In the community. *

A privately held cooperative with 13 independent business brands and more than 2,800 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Founder and CEO: Howard Brodsky

Years in Business in NH: 32

Full-time Employees: 370 (105 in NH)

Part-time/Temporary/Seasonal

Employees: 10 to 15 (benefits for part-time employees)

Years on list: 6 (plus two In Hall of Fame)

Medtronic

180 International Drive, Portsmouth, NH 03804 ? Medtronic.com

There are many reasons why Medtronic is in the Hall of Fame.

The medical technology firm makes recognition an essential part of their culture. From annual bonuses of 10 to 20 percent of salary to points issued on annual anniversaries that can be exchanged for TVs, iPads, blenders and other items, to five extra days of paid time off on every five-year milestone anniversary, employees feel rewarded and appreciated.

Medtronic invests in employees and their families. The Seacoast company provides additional insurance coverage for long-term care expenses like nursing home or assisted living costs.

And it focuses on professional development. In addition to providing up to $5,250 in tuition reimbursement, Medtronic invites those employees identified as future leaders to participate in the five-month long Leadership Acceleration Program.

Medtronic also offers scholarships to children of employees.

Medtronic has established employee į resource groups to help employees learn from each other, provide support and obtain I more on the jnh experience. They includo the Women's Resource Group, Veteran's Employee Resource Group, Peer-to-Peer Networking Group, African Descent Network, and Asian Impact at Medtronic. The groups have hosted a diversity career fair, celebrated the holiday of Diwall, spotlighted female engineers and hosted a variety of leadership and development workshops aimed at women.

Medtronic also offers ways for employees to strike a balance between work and home. In addition to providing 20 to 35 days of paid time off, the company provides options for flexible schedules, including the ability to work compressed workweeks so they can have three-day weekends.

For families, Medtronic provides more than $4,000 in adoption assistance and one-week paid leave for new adoptive and foster parents.

The company also celebrates with its employees. Summer outings have included a trip to Canoble Lake amusement park and a Hawaiian-themed barbecue and an outdoor movie night.

When it comes to employee health, the company makes it fun and easy. Medtronic provides an on-site gym as well as onsite P9ÜX or yoga classes, and health challenges. The company also contributes up to $1,250 to health savings accounts. *

Develops medical technology

Vice President/General Manager: Nnamdl Njoku

Years in Business: 19

Full-time Employees: 420 (180 In NH)

Part-time/Temporary/ Seasonal Employees: 5-10

Years in List: 4 (plus one in Hall of Fame)

Wire Belt Companies of America

154 Harvey Road, Londonderry, NH 03053 ? w¡rebelt.com

Wire Belt is one of only two companies in the competitions history to make the Hall of Fame twice.

Manufacturing wire belts for the food industry doesn't exactly sound fun. And maybe it isn't. Which is why fun is one of the core values at Wire Belt Company of America. New hires know they're not in a typical manufacturing plant when they receive a Hawaiian shirt on your first day.

Employees wear them with pride every Thursday and at monthly rallies, which in elude a special section called, "Hey, Did You Know?" where employees are encouraged to announce special news about colleagues, such as attaining U.S. citizenship, wedding anniversaries, births, achievements by children or grandchildren, and outstanding work achievements.

Wire Belt holds monthly events to add to the fun, including barbecues, on-site chair massages, a chili cook-off, a Halloween haunted house and an annual competition between employees and management, ineluding relay races, office Olympics and a tug-of-war over a mud pit. As a family-owned business, family is one of the primary values at Wire Belt, which provides flexible work shifts for many of its workers. Wire Belt provides employees with between 15 and 30 days of paid time off as well as a 9/80 workweek, allowing them to work 80 hours In nine days, resulting in every other Friday or Monday off.

Wire Belt values suggestions from employees. After an employee approached Wire Belt management for permission to plant a garden onsite as they lived in an apartment, the company provided a garden space so others could participate as well. It had become so popular that when Wire Belt announced plans for an addition that would be built in the area with the garden, the first question asked was what to do with the garden.

Wire Belt relocated it and even built a garden shed stocked with gardening tools.

Notably, employees are loyal. The company turnover rate has been less than 5 percent over the last three years. *

Manufacturer of open mesh, stainless steel conveyor belts.

CEO: David Greer

Years in Business: 71 (28 in NH)

Full-time Employees: 90 (85 in NH)

Part-Time/Temporary/Seasonal

Employees: Under 10 (provides benefits for employees working at least 30 hours per week)

Years on list: 8 (plus 4 in Hall of Fame)

W.S. Badger Company

768 Route 10, PO Box 58, Gilsum, NH 03448 ? badgerbalm.com

This family-owned business recently handed its reins to the next generation. While Bill Whyte remains with W.S. Badger as founder and Katie Schwerin as COO, their daughters Emily Schwerin-Whyte and Rebecca Hamilton have been named co-CEOs.

But while titles have changed, the commitment to employees and socially responsible business practices remains firmly intact.

W.S. Badger has been a leading example of family friendly business practices. It provides five weeks of paid parental leave for both fathers and mothers. Its Babies-atWork program allows parents to bring babies to work until they are six months old or begin crawling.

The company also subsidizes tuition for a daycare facility located a quarter mile away that Badger established in 2013, which serves children six months to three years old. And, just in the past year, Badger added up to 80 hours that employees can take off through the Family Medical Leave Act.

Badger allows employees to work 9/80 compressed work schedules where employees can work 80 hours over nine days.

What the company is probably most known for is its meals program. W.S. Badger's facility includes a kitchen and communal dining area and has a chef on staff who prepares a daily organic lunch. The entire company shuts down for 30 minutes daily so people can eat together, enjoying fresh, in-season produce from the facility's own gardens.

The company makes a donation in the name of each employee to a charity of the employee's choosing. New employees receive a care package with Badger product valued at $100. Employees also receive free product quarterly and an employee discount year-round.

W.S. Badger shares 7 percent of its profits with employees as an added bonus, but instead of disbursing it based on a percentage of salary, the profit sharing bonus is divided equally among all employees based on hours worked in a year.

Badger creates an atmosphere of wellbeing, which includes on-site yoga classes twice a week, a meditation room, an on-site gym, and chair massages every other Friday. Is it any wonder they are in the Hall of Fame? M

Manufacturer of certified organic and 100% natural personal care products.

Co-CEOs: Rebecca Hamilton and Emily Schwerin-Whyte

Years in Business: 23

Full-time Employees: 41

Part-time/Temporary/Seasonal

Employees: 49 (benefits offered to part-time employees)

Years on List: 4 (Plus one in Hall of Fame)