According to Outside’s Best Places to Work online introduction: In today’s job market, there are all kinds of opportunities for adventurous souls if you know where to look. That’s the point of its seventh annual Best Places to Work project.
The 100 amazing companies on the 2014 list including Deschutes Brewery, G5 and Hydro Flask all based in Bend, made it through a year-long vetting process overseen by an independent research partner, Best Companies Group, come in many forms, but they all agree that the secret to success is empowering employees to live bigger, better lives.
Which is why they go so far as to cover your lift tickets and gym memberships, invite your dog into the office, and even pay for you to take better vacations. Best of all, many of them are hiring right here in Central Oregon.
The following is from Outside’s website:
88 Deschutes Brewery
You know of Deschutes Brewery for its beer. The landmark of northwest brewing crafts year-round favorites like Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Inversion IPA and Chainbreaker White IPA. It constantly strives to improve its brews through experimentation, and employees bring that same drive to their outdoor endeavors.
Location: Bend, Oregon
Number of Employees: 442
Company Culture: These brewers are also cyclocross fanatics, mountain bikers, skiers, and adventure racers. For all-around endurance junkies, the Deschutes Brewery team puts on frequent basketball and soccer games and organizes a Twilight 5K every summer. This year, the run had more than 30 staffers competing, partying on the company lawn, and then heading to the neighboring amphitheater for the Bend Beer Fest. In the winter, anyone looking for a quick powder fix can make tracks for Mount Bachelor or any number of trailheads that cut all the way to the Cascades.
Sweet Perks: Comprehensive healthcare plans, stock ownership, and continuing education and innovation venture programs. Did we mention lots of free beer?
Giving Back: The Deschutes sustainability team just set up a program with a local farmer—who uses the brewery’s spent hops and malt—to deliver fresh veggies each week. Furthermore, Deschutes dedicates $1 per barrel of beer sold to charities like CASA of Central Oregon, and it supports the Deschutes River Conservancy by leasing back one billion gallons of water to the Deschutes River to restore stream flow and improve water quality.
In Their Own Words: “During lunch, I can be on the river within three minutes for a run or a paddle, and there is always a free damn-tasty beer available for me at the end of my shift!” —Geof Hasegawa, production planner manager
Hiring? Yes! Portland and Bend Pubs back-of-house and front-of-house, LME maintenance technicians; Missouri and Southern Illinois market sales manager to be based in St. Louis; lab technicians in Bend, Oregon.
75 Hydro Flask
Inspired by the lack of insulated, toxin-free and easy-to-clean reusable bottles on the market, Hydro Flask set out to design stainless-steel, double-walled, and vacuum-insulated flasks. And it has succeeded. Its marquee product can keep drinks cold for 24 hours or hot for 12 hours. The company is based in Bend, so you can bet employees put their bottles to good use.
Location: Bend, Oregon
Number of Employees: 31
Company Culture: This isn’t your average communal office. Good news to share? Ring the hanging growler with a wrench. Time to burn off some energy? Hop on the CrossFit-style rings hanging in the office. Or go walk your dog—pups are welcome in the office. Need to get someone’s attention? Pull out a Nerf gun and shoot at their computer. Antics keep things fresh at the Hydro Flask office. When someone needs a breath of air, there’s the deck with views of the Cascades.
Sweet Perks: Yes, you get free gear (four Hydro Flasks per year) and beer. Everyone can participate in a profit-sharing program (divvied out quarterly at 5, 10, or 20 percent of gross pay). You also get eight paid hours a year to volunteer anywhere you like.
Bonus Points: The team’s graphic designer recently rode the Tour Divide to set the women’s and single-speed record. Hydro Flask’s product design engineer helped her out by making her a bivvy sack, fashioning custom bag buckles, and making her aerobar more aero.
In Their Own Words: “I get my face licked multiple times whenever I am in the office!” —Tim Rouillard, vice president of sales
Hiring? Yes! Netsuite administrator and developer, sales account manager, senior ecommerce manager, director of product, director of marketing, systems analyst, laser engraving technician (Portland), industrial designer and a product engineer.
G5
In this one-click-away digital ecosystem, customers need to be engaged from their first exposure with a company to their last. G5 develops software for property managers that makes winning and retaining clients easy. The secret weapon? People. A well-motivated and energetic staff builds better software and develops smarter solutions.
Location: Bend, Oregon
Number of Employees: 150
Company Culture: The G5 crew know how to get after it. They shred, mountain bike, and aren’t shy about their caffeine consumption.
Hydrate? Often and well at the office keg and wine fridge. The staff-led fun committee enforce the culture of play. Hence the darts, pool table, office Wii, summertime yoga, and staff-favorite Pole Pedal Paddle six-leg charity race: a mix of alpine and cross-country skiing, biking, running, canoe and kayaking and sprinting in one day.
Sweet Perks: The requisites: Reduced-cost gym memberships, dog-friendly digs, quarterly rewards for hitting goals on the company wellness plan, short summer Fridays (leave by 1 p.m.), and weekly deliveries of fresh fruit and veggies (and sometimes cheese) through a community-supported agriculture program. The over-the-top: Show-up-late powder days announced by the email subject line “First Tracks.”
Bonus Points: They are competitive. Really competitive. This season’s kickball injuries include concussions, twisted knees, a broken hand, pulled hamstrings, and countless contusions (they take winning seriously). Need more proof? One of the graphic designers is a Patagonia-sponsored ultramarathoner, another employee wins bikini and bodybuilding contests, and another one dives with sharks.
In Their Own Words: “Sometimes powder days trump work. I’m glad to work for a company like G5 that understands that.” —Brian Steuble, senior accountant
Hiring? Yes! Vice president of client services, sales executive, Ruby software engineers, content writers and a controller.
“If you’re considering a career change or searching for your dream job, OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work list is the first place to look,” said OUTSIDE Executive Editor Michael Roberts. “These companies set the standard for workplaces that really value their employees and offer an experience that’s fulfilling inside and outside the office.”
The complete list of Best Places to Work winners is featured online at www.outsideonline.com/dreamjobs.
