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Paul Craig The Roseburg News-Review March 13, 2005
Rank favorites - Oregon Business Magazine’s Top 100 Companies to work for: Four Douglas County businesses among select few honored in annual surveyUmpqua Bank no longer holds the distinction of being the best company to work for in Oregon.
It isn’t far off, however, according to Oregon Business magazine’s annual list of the state’s top 100 companies to work for.
Roseburg-based Umpqua Bank topped the magazine’s list in 2004.
In 2005, the company slipped to number seven in the annual ranking, out now in the March issue of Oregon Business.
There isn’t much complaining going on around the Umpqua Bank watercoolers over it, though.
“I will tell you, I am thrilled that we’re in the top 10. It’s a big deal and it’s a big deal to our staff,” said Ray Davis, president and chief executive officer of Umpqua Holdings Corp., the Portland-based parent company of Umpqua Bank.
Umpqua Bank was one of the four Douglas County companies that made this year’s list.
The other three — Creative Images, ADAPT and Credit Services of Oregon, all from Roseburg — were also repeat recipients, with Creative Images leading the way.
The advertising and design agency ranked as the 17th-best small company to work for in the state. That’s up 10 places from the year prior.
“I was very pleased that we made an improvement,” said Paul Zegers, general manager at Creative Images. “I was hoping to make the list again, so it was actually nice to see we made some gains.”
Top 100 Companies To Work For
Local companies
Where they stand7. Umpqua Bank
17. Creative Images
27. ADAPT
50. Credit Services of Oregon
The list recognizes 50 large companies and 50 small firms. A business must have at least 15 employees to qualify, 250 employees to be considered large.There was record participation this year, as 255 companies vied for a spot on the list.
Management and employees from each completed a survey on topics like recruiting and hiring, organizational communication, benefits, career development and trust.
Rankings are derived from those results.
Companies register to be part of the survey. Credit Services of Oregon, with 60 employees statewide, took part for the first time three years ago.
Last year it was ranked No. 6, but fell to 50th this year.
The actual number isn’t as important as just being on the list, according to Alice Ray, the company’s customer service manager.
The company — the only full-service collections agency on the list — has less than 5 percent employee turnover. In its industry, Ray said, 50 percent is typical.
“We’re able to make it a better place to work based on the responses we get from our employees,” she said.
Each business can order detailed breakdowns of the survey results. Zegers said it allows him to see what areas need improving at Creative Images.
They can also leave him “pleasantly surprised,” though he wouldn’t comment on specifics for his company.
Davis doesn’t hold back on how much he values the Umpqua Bank’s placement on the list.
“I consider this one of the greatest accomplishments in our company’s history,” he said of being ranked first overall last year. “We didn’t make any money for our shareholders by doing it, but it was still a big deal.”
In 11 years of compiling the list, only two companies have spent consecutive years in the top spot — Intel Corp. in 1995 and 1996 and Griggs-Anderson Research in 1998 and 1999, according to a magazine spokesman.
This best large company to work for in 2005, according to the magazine, is Bend’s Edge Wireless.
The top company also has a local presence, as Competitive Edge in Roseburg has been an Edge Wireless dealer for more than three years and was recently named the company’s top Oregon dealer.
U.S. Cellular and Avista Utilities, both of Medford, along with Portland’s Robert Half International and Cintas Corp., round out the top five large companies.
Beaverton’s Staff Finders Technical of Oregon was chosen as the best small company to work for, earning a perfect or near-perfect rating for several of the survey categories.
Mercy Healthcare, with around 1,300 employees locally, ranked 27th last year, but was left off the list this year after being a part of it the last seven years.
ADAPT was the only local organization in the top five for a specific survey category, finishing tied for fourth in employee benefits. ADAPT was 27th overall for best small companies to work for.
Probably the main reason Creative Images started participating in the Oregon Business survey was to use it as a marketing tool.
Zegers says he “absolutely knows” that it’s worked, because the company has hired employees out of Portland who gave the company a second look because of its place on the list.
Davis said if a prospective employee doesn’t know about Umpqua Bank’s stature in Oregon Business magazine, they usually hear about it during the interview process.
The rankings have also brought added attention to Credit Service of Oregon.
The list is not only a benefit to the businesses involved, Ray said, but just about anyone who reads it.
“When people are searching for a career, this top 100 list would be a great place to start,” she said. “I know I would.”