4/6/2010

A ride around the office is not unusual at G5 Search Marketing in Bend. Freedom is what employees say keeps them happy.

Ranking in the top 50 best places to work nationwide, G5, also one of the fasted growing companies nationwide, says they listen to what their 60 employees like .

"We are incorporating walking and outside meetings, we have annual baseball games that we attend as a company, with our families. We look for opportunities to incorporate our employee's outside passions and integrate that with the company culture," says Keeli Hyde with G5.

G5 ranked 42nd of the list complied by Outside Magazine.
Bend snagging 2 of the top fifty on the list.
The Outdoor Association and a research firm The Best Companies Group surveyed employees about policies, practices and benefits at work.

Number 41 on the list also in Bend Ruff Wear, a company that manufactures dog gear, primarily for the outdoors.

Greg Freyberg, the retail brand planner, has been with Ruff Wear for a year and half and says he notices a difference from the day to day practices at work compared to previous jobs.

"We take regular days off together. We spend days in the field testing our products, with our dogs, in groups and by ourselves. We learn a lot about how our products work and it's that focus on the outdoors and the focus on the folks here and how the product performs makes ruff wear the kind of company it is," says Freyberg.

Both companies say while many are just thankful to have a job these days, it's still important to keep employees positive, to keep the product quality high.