Envision the Awesome - 10 Reasons Why We Are The Best Place to Work in RI

Last evening, Envision attended the 2009 Providence Business News’ ‘Best Places to Work in Rhode Island’ awards ceremony, where we were honored to be recognized in the Small Business category.
Of the 10 companies recognized in this category, we ranked number 4, which is incredibly cool for our first time on this list. Still, regardless of our exact ranking on this list, the employees of Envision Technology Advisors’ know that this is THE best place work in Rhode Island and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
So why, exactly, are we the best? Since everyone loves a top 10 list, we thought we’d put together some of the reasons why we love where we work. Now, keep in mind that this list is what we think sets us apart and what makes Envision where we all love to work (as you would expect, this list was compiled from suggestions from Envision’s employees), so while it is true that we have an open door policy, are flexible with employees' schedules and empower employees to effect change and make Envision an even better place to be, those are qualities that many of the other companies on this Best Place to Work in RI list boast as well. So what makes Envision stand out?

10 . Random Acts of Lunchness – While we have scheduled lunches for special occasions like many companies, we also randomly enjoy impromptu lunches to reward everyone’s hard work. Nothing like coming to work with a ho-hum lunch of leftovers and being surprised with a smorgasbord of flaming chicken wing goodness!
9. Assorted Officewide Silliness – This is a fun place to be, bottom line, and that oftentimes manifests itself in randomly silly ways. Like when a 5-foot cutout of Brian from Family Guy just appeared in the office one day (and still remains here 2 years later) or the day when we had a ‘very important staff meeting’ suddenly called so we could all see a SNL ‘Taco Town’ video. Envision is fun – and if you don’t think so, we have a drawer full of rubber slingshot-like frogs that we will pelt you with until you recognize!

8. Hot and Cold Liquid Refreshment Stations – Like most offices, we have a coffee machine (which, as of this writing, boasts 16 flavors of joe, 4 varieties of tea and hot cocoa), but for those days where a hot beverage is just not what you crave, we also have a frozen slushie machine! We are a virtual cornucopia of beverage choices!

7. Josh Defreitas

6. Pet Friendly Environment – Our office is routinely shared with our four-legged friends, Nemo and Griffen. We also have sea monkeys, making for a well rounded, pet-friendly workplace.
5. Happy Hours and Summer Fridays – We all work hard, often times putting in late hours or weekend time, so it’s nice to work for a place that recognizes that extra effort and does something to help us relax a bit. Regular happy hours, complete with food, drinks, movies and, at times, massive office-wide video game tournaments, help us remember that no matter how hard we work, we always have time for some fun as a team. And during the summer, we get out 2 hours early on Fridays so we can enjoy the season and start our weekends early.

4. Ceiling Tile Project Gallery – Our Web design team is proud of the work we produce. While we always add recently launched projects to our online gallery, we have also created a program that allows the lead designer on a particular project the chance to create a ‘ceiling tile’ for their design. This allows us a few hours to reflect on a job well done and design something to showcase our work in our office – and the fact that we actually place these in our ceiling as tiles is great, if for no other reason than it is fun to see visitors to our office crane their necks and look up at our overhead project gallery!

3. Todd’s Horn of Information – Ever wish you knew what your boss was thinking? Wish you had a window into his mind? Well, with Todd’s Horn of Information (which is basically a coat hanger bent into a piece of headgear complete with a sticky note that acts somewhat like a thought bubble - patent pending), Envision employees always know exactly what our CEO/CTO has on his mind! Is he in a good mood? Check the Horn of Information. Bad mood – same story, check the Horn. They don’t call us Information Technology for nothing.
2. MVPs – It’s always nice to be recognized for a job well done. At Envision, you are routinely thanked for your hard work, but for those who go above and beyond (or contribute a particularly amusing Email that week), we have our MVP program, complete with silly t-shirts supplied to the lucky winner! One example would be a bright red ‘Hanging with my Gnomies’ shirt featuring a duo of heavily bearded garden gnomes. A pat on the back and ‘thank you for the hard work’ is great, a t-shirt that says ‘I (Heart) Lamp’ is even better.

1. Our People – Impromptu lunches, frozen slushies and silly t-shirts are all great, and they make Envision a fun place to be, but the number one reason this is the Best Place to Work in Rhode Island is the people who work here. We have been using the tag line, “Better Technology Solutions Start With Better People” for about a year now and it’s a message that really summarizes the culture at Envision. No matter how hard you work, the person next to you is working just as hard and everyone is doing what they can to continue to build Envision and ensure it remains a fun, exciting and challenging place to be.
So there you have it – 10 reasons why Envision employees are proud to work where we do and why we consider Envision THE best place to work, hands down.

On a side note – congratulations to all the companies recognized with these awards and at last night’s ceremony. It’s great to be in such illustrious company and confirming to see how many of the other companies on this list are actually Envision clients or partners, including Cox Communications, Kahn, Liwtin, Renza & Co. Ltd., Amica Insurance, Falvey Cargo Underwriting LTD, Vibco Vibrators and the United Way of Rhode Island. Congrats again – we hope to see you all on this list again next year!

Labels: Envision, fun, Jeremy G, PBN, Rhode Island

posted by Jeremy Girard