Bridge Worldwide Honored As Sixth-Best Small Company to Work for in America

For the third year in a row, Cincinnati-based Bridge Worldwide has been named among the top 25 Best Companies to Work For in America in the small business category—this year winning a coveted sixth place. The list was announced today before an audience of more than 15,000 at the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 60th Annual Conference and Exposition in Chicago.

“We are honored by this award, and it belongs to each and every individual at Bridge Worldwide because we are truly an employee-generated culture,” said Bridge Worldwide President and CEO Jay Woffington. "This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of all employees and the collaborative environment we create together.”

Bridge Worldwide is Cincinnati's largest advertising agency and represents brands that are household names around the world. The keys to the company’s continued success and growth include a progressive culture, commitment to community, and dedication to employee development.

• Continuous Improvement: Bridge Worldwide is never satisfied with the status quo and is dedicated to providing world-class creative, excellent service, and cutting-edge ideas. To this end, employees are encouraged to make learning and personal development a priority.
• Marketing with Meaning: Providing meaningful experiences to consumers is the cornerstone of the Bridge Worldwide cultural direction known as Marketing with Meaning. The goal is to uplift marketing from the old model of interruption and annoyance to one that builds a relationship and provides value and creative experiences for consumers.
• Employee-Generated Culture: Each employee makes a personal contribution to the working environment, from all-employee coffee talks to the annual skill-building off-site, which is a “funaborative” event. “Recently, for example, we had a rock-a-thon competition for charity,” said Woffington. “It didn’t come from the top down. An individual thought it would be fun and ran with it. At Bridge Worldwide, people feel empowered and take ownership for ideas.”
• Commitment to Community: Bridge Worldwide encourages employees to make the world around them a better place, from activities such as the employee-initiated Green Committee that cleaned up a local park to the Holly Hill event to spread holiday cheer at a local children’s home. “Today, people look to find meaning in their jobs. We are able to provide meaning in the work we do and in the ways we help our community,” said Woffington.

This year, Bridge Worldwide continued its six-year trend of substantial growth by adding new clients to its roster, which resulted in about 50 new hires—taking the total count to more than 200 employees.

“Despite receiving the award for the previous two years, we continue to add work opportunities, new benefits, and unique events above and beyond the norm,” said Peter Schwartz, Chief Creative Officer of the agency. “This organizational creativity is in our DNA and stands at the top of our company equity statement, summed up in the words ‘effecting change.’”

This annual list, now in its fifth year, ranks the top 25 small- and medium-sized companies in America that use smart people-management strategies to develop successful organizations with highly productive and satisfied workforces. The organizations, ranging in size from 50 to 999 employees, were announced by SHRM and selected and ranked by the Great Place to Work® Institute (GPTW). The results were based on a randomly distributed employee opinion survey. Each company evaluated was given a score based on employees' responses to a detailed questionnaire about the organizations' workplace cultures.

About Bridge Worldwide:

Bridge Worldwide was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The agency’s business of relationship marketing focuses primarily on consumer packaged goods (CPG), healthcare (nutrition), and financial services (banking and investing) with more than 200 employees in Client Service, Creative, Technology, Research, Operations, User Experience, and Experience Media—all fully dedicated to world-class service. This dedication includes anticipating relationship marketing trends, as well as leveraging the latest technology to create and foster enduring, successful relationships. Bridge Worldwide is one of the top 100 marketing services companies and one of the 50 largest interactive agencies in the nation.

About the Society for Human Resource Management:

SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 225,000 members in more than 130 countries, SHRM serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India.

About the Great Place to Work Institute:

The Great Place to Work Institute is an international research and consulting firm dedicated to building great workplaces. The Great Place to Work Institute uses its employee survey and assessment process to select the companies appearing on the annual "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America" list and the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. In addition to its global headquarters in San Francisco, Great Place to Work Institute has 29 affiliates in countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

For more information, visit http://www.greatplacetowork.com or contact SHRM Media Affairs at 703.535.6356.