Chicago's Top Workplaces 2010: The Winners

When we set out to find the best place to work in the Chicago metro area we decided to ask the people who know best — employees.

Here are the local companies that workers credited with having dynamic, supportive and inclusive cultures. Those that can maintained these standards during a tough year like 2010 are especially noteworthy. Here are our winners in large-, medium- and small-size business categories.

LARGE:

WMS Gaming
Macy's
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Accenture
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
First Midwest Bank
Northwest Community Hospital
Abt Electronics
Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Advocate Health Care
Children's Memorial Hospital
Morningstar, Inc.
Discover Financial Services
Deloitte LLP
TransUnion, LLC
Ernst & Young LLP
Loyola University Chicago
CME Group
Medline Industries, Inc.

MIDSIZE:

Groupon
Rasmussen Inc.
Edward Jones
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Wheels, Inc.
ATI Physical Therapy
William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
Robert Morris University Illinois
CareerBuilder.com
NOW Foods
Charles Rutenberg Realty of IL, LLC
Flexco
Mesirow Financial
Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Draftfcb
Mather LifeWays
Digitas Inc
Marquette Bank
Peak 6 Investments LP
Fellowes, Inc.
Citizens Financial Bank
Forsythe Technology, Inc.
Wilton Brands Inc
Phoenix Int'l Freight Services, Ltd.
Tripp Lite
Four Seasons Heating & Air Conditioning
World's Finest Chocolate.Inc.
C H Robinson Worldwide Inc
Erie Family Health Center Inc
Guaranteed Rate
Shriners Hospital For Children
TTX Company
Trinity Services, Inc.
AbelsonTaylor, Inc.
First American Bank Corp

SMALL:

Model Metrics, Inc.
Coyote Logistics
Transwestern
EMKAY Inc.
Freeborn & Peters LLP
Incredible Technologies, Inc.
True Partners Consulting LLC
Upshot
Gilbane Building Company
TransNational Bankcard, LLC
Luna
West Monroe Partners LLC
Equity Office
Turner Construction Company
SAVO
Aux Sable Liquid Products
The Advanced Group of Companies
Hill Mechanical Group
Oak Brook Healthcare Centre
ThoughtWorks Inc
Infinium Capital Management LLC
Feldco Factory Direct
Marketing Werks Inc.
Primera Engineers, Ltd
State Bank of Countryside
Family Home Health Services
Czarnowski
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
National Futures Association
Sammons Financial Group Member Companies
Rose Paving
First Acceptance Insurance
Fortune Brands, Inc.
Greeley and Hansen
Townsend Analytics / RealTick
Niles Township District for Special Education
Frost, Ruttenberg & Rothblatt, P.C.
Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams Ltd.
GolinHarris
Knowles Electronics
Heritage-Crystal Clean, LLC.
Dreams Retail
Energy BBDO
Weber Shandwick
National Van Lines Inc.

Methodology: On behalf of the Chicago Tribune, WorkplaceDynamics LLC of Exton, Pa., a workplace survey specialist, conducted an engagement survey of Chicago-area employers with at least 100 employees. To find organizations most likely to participate in a top workplaces survey, the Tribune used print and online advertising to accept nominations from workers, bosses and others. WorkplaceDynamics followed up, making calls directly to organizations.

In total, 1,362 companies were invited to participate, and 220 companies registered. Of those, 182 companies completed the survey, allowing WorkplaceDynamics to identify the top 100 list, divided into three categories: small (fewer than 250 employees), medium (250-999) and large (1,000 and above.)

WorkplaceDynamics conducted and compiled the top workplaces list and delivered the top 100 results to the Tribune. Employees responded to a set of statements about their feelings toward their workplace. A numerical value was attached to each statement, allowing WorkplaceDynamics to create an overall score for each company.