2012 Best Places To Work

If Best Places to Work entries are an economic indicator, things are looking up, Baltimore.

By Christianna McCausland
Moodlerooms. Credit: Christopher Myers
credit: Christopher Myers
Moodlerooms
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Editor's Corner: February 2012

Methodology

Companies or their employees nominated themselves on our website and then the hard work began: The research to find a couple of dozen great firms out of the hundreds banging on our door.

But the very first question we ask is one that radically thins the ranks of nominees: “Are you hiring substantial numbers of people in the next year?”

Winners needed to be both financially sound now and in the recent past. So we troll the depths of national financial and legal news right up to deadline to look for anything that spells trouble: An SEC investigation, a class-action suit involving employees, a pending acquisition or merger, or recent significant layoffs are all deal-breakers for this list. Companies also need to be held in high regard by their employees. (We interview staffers.) And, of course, they have to cooperate with our research.

While small companies often can’t compete with the generous benefits of larger ones, we wanted to include small and medium-sized firms, too. Though they might not have 100 percent insurance reimbursement or a high 401k match, the smaller firms we chose have some sort of other appeal for their employees, be it dynamic leadership, a fun culture, or an especially meaningful mission, such as curing sick kids, building spaceships, preventing the next 9-11, or creating the next clever Super Bowl ad.

In short, we were looking for workplaces that employees really want to roll out of bed for, ones with a bright future, and with serious rewards, be they financial, in the form of perks, or intellectual gratification.

Calvert School

Baltimore
Employees: 112 What they do: Private, coed education for grades pre-K through eight. Why we like them: They understand that education isn’t just for students, but for faculty, staff, and their families, too. Best benefits: Calvert pays 100 percent of heath and dental for employees (90 percent for dependents); access to Kiddie Calvert on-site day care; tuition reimbursement up to 50 percent; free gym and inexpensive fitness classes; 403b with match; generous vacation time in addition to the school’s holidays.

Baltimore has lots of first-rate private schools where faculty and staff get to work with involved parents and motivated kids. What sets Calvert School apart from the pack is the fact that it cares about the education of its faculty and staff, too, not just the paying student body. Most notably, the school not only helps offset tuition costs for the children of staff, but also offers tuition remission for area independent high schools when the Calvert program ends at eighth grade.

Second-grade teacher Patrick “Shep” Shepherd, 49, pictured, has used this benefit to the fullest. He has children at Calvert, Garrison Forest School, and Boys’ Latin (a fourth is in college).

“I’ve always felt that not only am I providing a great education for the students I work with, but my family is being cared for, as well,” he says.

It’s a perk that extends to tuition assistance for grown-ups, too. In addition to footing the bill for continuing-education seminars and the like, Calvert helped pay for Shepherd’s master’s in early education at Loyola University of Maryland.

There’s also an emergency fund that staff can tap—no questions asked—for unexpected expenses, and the amount is paid back without interest through wage-garnishing.

DAP Products Inc.

Baltimore
Employees: 450 in Baltimore; 850 nationally What they do: Manufactures and markets caulk, sealants, adhesives, and patch-repair products for DIYers and pros. Why we like them: They’ve taken Baltimore’s manufacturing spirit and modernized it for today’s workforce. Best benefits: 401k with several matching options; stock-purchasing plan; free parking; 80-percent tuition reimbursement; closes early on Fridays during the summer; potential for 100-percent paid maternity leave based on length of service.

Laura Arvizu came to Baltimore from Mexico to help DAP Products build its sales force in her home country. What she found here was a home away from home.

“I chose this company because it was international,” says the customer-service representative. “It’s very diverse and open, and I’ve felt very welcome here.” As the mother of a 4-year-old, she also appreciates that it’s family-friendly. “My supervisor is very understanding that having a 4-year-old sometimes requires things on short notice.”

Employees talk a lot about DAP as a friendly place with a familial feel. Chris Hill felt that firsthand when he was hospitalized after a medical emergency last year.

“During my time, from the executive staff down, they were very supportive with flowers and cards and baskets,” he says. “And the paychecks continued. I was out six weeks, so that took a load off my shoulders.”

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

Laurel
Employees: 5,000 What they do: Nonprofit center for engineering, research, and development focused on national security. Why we like them: They support the best and brightest in their endeavor to solve critical challenges for places like the Department of Defense, NSA, and NASA. Best benefits: Employer match to retirement is 2:1 up to 4 percent; employer makes 2.5 percent of salary contribution to retirement; some cash awards for performance; children of staff eligible for college scholarships; three weeks paid vacation and seven sick days; tuition reimbursement.

Like some of its industry peers on this list, APL is a place where extremely smart and talented people are set free to do important, innovative work. APL is located on a sprawling, 399-acre campus that might make you think of a college, especially when you see the recreation area with its tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, the cafeterias, or the scenic duck pond. Like a preeminent college, APL draws talented scientists and engineers with its top-notch laboratories and opportunities to do very cool work.

“The intellectual capital here is phenomenal,” explains Jay Turner, 60, a program manager who joined APL when he retired from the Department of Defense. “But the employees are down-to-earth and practical. You need to be a team player to tackle a really hard problem set. If you’re not driven to solve the impossible, this might not be the place for you.”

APL-ers love that challenge. It’s what attracted Shaylyn Joy, 25. “The work here is really cutting-edge,” she says. “It’s different here, because we’re not profit-driven, we’re doing work that is meant to help the country, often soldiers.”

Moodlerooms

Baltimore
Employees: 90 What they do: Provides education software to help clients globally teach and learn online. Why we like them: They’re a software company passionate about the future of education. Best benefits: Stock options; free parking in Federal Hill near the stadiums; two to four weeks vacation, plus five sick days; casual working environment; health-club reimbursement.

Moodle what? That was our reaction, too. We didn’t know much about this little gem of a tech company, but we learned quickly. Which is what Moodlerooms is all about: education. Moodle is an abbreviation for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, a free, open-source e-learning software platform. As more schools look to affordably build their online presence, Moodlerooms is there to help them maximize their use of free software with paid-for, custom solutions.

The company is fresh out of its incubation in the Emerging Technology Center and still has that new company smell. The office showcases standard start-up décor reminiscent of a college dorm room and some of the major benefits are still evolving. The 401k with up to 1 percent match, for example, is a bit paltry, but what we like is the growth potential here. CEO Lou Pugliese was a founder of the now-ubiquitous online education company Blackboard, and Moodlerooms managed to score venture-capital funding during the recession. The company has grown 300 percent in less than two years.

Sitting in his office with a life-sized cut-out of the Dos Equis man behind his desk, Pugliese says he never wants to lose an employee to a competitor, so he rewards employees with perks like flextime, telework, a casual environment (it’s not uncommon for a football to be tossed in the office during work hours or an employee to pad around in slippers), and lots of social stress-relievers like Friday afternoon happy hours.

This is a work-hard-play-hard place where employees feel like stakeholders in the company. If you have an idea or complaint, staffers can use a standard, confidential e-mail form to send feedback to the executive team. If you want to move up, opportunities abound. “Every manager meeting here starts with questions like, ‘What else do you want to do here and how can I help you get there?’” says Matt Montemurno, an inside sales associate. “I’ve worked at three other companies and that’s never happened before.”

Reznick Group

Baltimore and Bethesda.
Employees: 1,200 nationally, 180 in Baltimore. What they do: Accounting, tax, and business advisory firm. Why we like them: Strong commitment to community service. Best benefits: Very generous (20-30 days) paid time off, plus paid holidays; 50-percent employer 401k match to each employee dollar (up to 5 percent of salary); tuition reimbursement; five days parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster placement; many flexible work options.

Here’s the thing about working in accounting: From January 2 to April 15, you don’t have a life. However, if you must be a slave to tax season, it helps if your employer offers a few we-know-this-blows-but-we’re-behind-you perks. Reznick Group does this in the form of on-site chair massages, ice-cream socials, occasional candy bags and lunches for all employees, and an end-of-tax-season bash. At other times of the year, the firm lightens the mood with happy hours and other events organized by the in-house social committee. But what really keeps people chugging through the dark days of tax filing is Reznick’s vacation terms.

“The leave policy here is extremely generous,” says Anneke Gibson, CPA, a senior associate, who currently rakes in 25 days of paid time off and a windfall of nine paid holidays. “The nice thing is that not only is the time allowed, the firm actually lets you take it.”

But what really caught our eye is the company’s interest in community service and the employee’s enjoyment of those programs. “We have a community outreach day once a year, which is unique,” says Karin Lundquist, 31, an audit manager. “The entire office closes for the day and we are matched with a nonprofit to do hands-on work followed by a regroup and cookout with the whole firm.”

 

This is just a sneak peek at our February Best Places To Work feature! For the rest of the list, pick up the February issue, on newsstands now, or read it on your iPad.

Issue date: February, 2012
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