COE members make ranks of ‘Best Places to Work’

Culture matters – and the companies that do it right know it pays dividends inside and outside their four walls.

This month, four Center for Operational Excellence members made the cut in an annual ranking by Columbus Business First of the Best Places to Work in the Columbus area. These companies scale the heights of the list by creating an environment where employees are engaged, inspired and driven to deliver.

The rankings – which came from a record 235 nominations – were made after employees at each nominated company completed a workplace satisfaction survey run by a third-party firm. Found among the 50 winning slots in five company-size categories are members:

Mills James – The Columbus-based, employee-owned creative media company ranked No. 8 in the “Large” category, for businesses with 100 to 249 employees – Mills James has 103 Columbus-area staffers and 160 company-wide. Summing up its secret to success, the Mills James team wrote: “We don’t hire employees; we hire principled, passionate, creative owners.”

Fuse by Cardinal Health – It didn’t take long for this scion of member Cardinal Health to make a mark as a top place of employment in the Columbus area. Cardinal Health opened this 122-employee innovation lab that develops commercial technologies for health-care customers little more than a year before it landed the No. 3 “Best Places” spot among large companies. Fuse, which is hosting a tour for next year’s Leading Through Excellence summit, said the company is “making it happen in health care” by having “killer talent” and being “big and visible.”

Safelite AutoGlass – The Columbus-based vehicle glass and claims management organization notched the No. 8 spot among extra-large companies in the “Best Places” ranking, for those employing 250 or more. Safelite, which has more than 1,200 employees in the Columbus area, said it works to create a “people-powered, customer-driven culture.”

BMW Financial Services NA LLC – The automotive financing arm of the iconic manufacturer landed at No. 6 in the extra-large company ranking. BMW Financial, which employees 570 in Columbus and more than 700 company-wide, wrote that “our associates are the key to our success.”

Read more about the “Best Places” winners at Columbus Business First.