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The Indiana Chamber of Commerce says Bloomington’s Hanapin Marketing is the best small company to work for in the state, for reasons beyond faddish perks such as free snacks, office dogs or pingpong tables.

Rebecca Reott, Hanapin’s director of human resources, stressed Hanapin’s rise to this level of workplace envy is built on more than the day-to-day perks. She said a good company is transparent and responsive to its employees, community and clients. It’s why Hanapin has been on the state chamber’s best-workplace list for six years. Before that, Ad Age and Inc. Magazine named the company one of the best workplaces in America.

“A lot of businesses get wrapped up in the fact that to attract new talent, they need to have the fun perks,” Reott said. “It’s the fun stuff that attracts them, but it’s the core culture that keeps them.”

Hanapin, located at 501 N. Morton St., Suite 212, in the North Showers Building in downtown Bloomington, employs 67 people. The marketing company took first place among 56 other businesses in the small company category, which recognizes companies that have 15 to 74 U.S. employees.

In the service of creating a culture that aligns employee and employer values, Hanapin prioritizes employee benefits, training, culture, purpose, collaboration, flexibility and life balance. After four years, the digital marketing company’s 68 percent retention rate rose to 95 percent, and its 38 percent turnover rate dropped to 6 percent.

The Indiana chamber worked with Best Companies Group to survey more than 200 businesses that applied to be among the best places to work in the state. After evaluating each company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophies, systems and demographics, they evaluated employee surveys to narrow the field to 125, with Hanapin topping the list of small companies.

Encouraged to work 40 hours a week, Hanapin employees have remote work options and are allowed to work half days on Fridays. Beyond traditional holidays, the marketing company gives workers their birthdays off and has created its own holiday that shuts the office down on the second Friday of the second month every quarter.

When employees are sick with a contagious illness, Hanapin offers them time off without the use of vacation days. It’s much better to let an employee get better in two days than to make an employee work and exacerbate an illness, Reott said.

The company also offers new parents six weeks of paid parental leave, as well as reimbursing employees for hours spent volunteering.
“We’re trying to reset the standard here,” Reott said. Hanapin retention practices include “stay interviews,” which ask employees why they’re happy working for Hanapin and what might compel them to consider leaving.

“It has helped us identify frustrations for employees that might be as simple as, they want an ergonomic chair and they don’t know how to ask,” Reott said, adding those small issues can grow into big problems. “I cannot recommend it enough.”

Reott hopes the designation will convince workers they don’t have to go to Indianapolis to find such a workplace. She said because Bloomington is a good place to raise a family and start a career, Hanapin employees feel committed to the city.

“It is a Bloomington-based company, and people normally expect top companies to come out of Indy,” Reott said. “Hanapin is growing, and we do continue to hire, but we have not found a talent shortage yet. We think it’s things like this award that attract new talent to Hanapin and Bloomington.”

Another Bloomington-based company was also among the state chamber’s honored employers. Weddle Bros. Construction Co. Inc. was ranked No. 12 among the list’s 30 medium-sized companies, with 75 to 249 U.S. employees.

This article was originally posted in The Herald Times.