This month, in partnership with Vermont Business Magazine and Best Companies Group, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce revealed 2021’s Best Places to Work in Vermont.

Companies from across the state entered a two-part process to determine the Best Places to Work in Vermont. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final rankings. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Vermont and analyzed the data, using their expertise to determine the final rankings. View the full list of the 50 Best Places to Work here.

The Vermont Chamber analyzed employee survey responses to pull enlightening statistics and fun ideas shared by winning organizations. See them collected below or in a visual summary in this infographic. We hope these ideas and statistics inspire you in your own workplace:

Statistics Among Winning Organizations

• 52 percent of employees are female
• 62 percent employ programs and/or practices to actively recruit and/or retain employees of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds
• 66 percent employ programs and/or practices to actively recruit and/or retain members of the disabled community
• 54 percent employ programs and/or practices to actively recruit and/or retain an aging workforce
• 64 percent offer formal diversity and inclusion training
• 72 percent offer employees additional paid time off for community service or volunteer work
• 92 percent offer telecommuting options to employees
• 72 percent provide workplace facilities for exercise and fitness
• 88 percent provide fitness and/or wellness programs within the workplace
• 68 percent pay all or part of employees’ costs for health club memberships or fitness or wellness programs

Fun Ideas for Wellness and Fitness

• Staff softball, hockey, and curling teams
• ​Family 5K
• Bocce ball tournaments
• Office Olympics with a variety of lawn games, winning team chooses charity recipient 
• Available fun equipment including basketball hoops, mini trampolines, foosball tables, ping pong tables, spaces to lounge and relax
• Bowling nights
• Paid ski days
• Massage and meditation offerings
• Guided stretches and ergonomics offerings
• Free mindfulness apps
• Walking competitions 

Fun Ideas for Office Environments and Workplaces

• ​Pet-friendly offices
• Cubicle-decorating contests
• Coffee-talk Zoom chat/Teams chat channels for personal sharing
• Virtual book club
• Stipends for new work-from-home costs
• Trivia breaks
• Holiday parties
• Early-release Fridays
• De-stress rooms

Fun Ideas for Food and Games

• Friday beer
• Chili cookoffs and dessert contests
• Escape Room trips
• Weekly staff breakfasts
• Food basket deliveries to employees
• Pizza parties for each new hire
• Birthday celebrations with employees’ food choices
• Cookie exchanges
• Weekly cornhole tournaments