What makes a “best place to work”?

Check out the North Bay Business Journal’s Best Place to Work issue at: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/15211/2009-best-places-to-work-the-winners/. You’ll find some of the most successful companies in the North Bay on that list (including Napa’s own Charter Oak Bank, Coast Landscape Management, and Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley) and see that one of common themes of these employers, large and small, is ongoing management communication and employee involvement. You’ll also see that employees who nominated these companies know that news isn’t always good, but they want to stay involved. That doesn’t happen by accident – it’s part of a successful culture, and comes from well-developed and implemented employment practices.