20 Best small companies to work for

The Globe and Mail, in partnership with Queen's Centre for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates, a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, conducted the third annual survey to find out Canada's best small and medium employers. The process began last spring when more than 120 companies from across the country registered for the study. Each employer received a detailed and confidential questionnaire to be distributed amongst its employees. For the most part, the rankings here reflect the responses from that questionnaire. Other factors taken into consideration include information about the company's leaders, how closely their goals and that of workers are aligned, and whether workplace practices and programs reinforce the employer's vision. For more information, including instructions on how to participate in the 2008 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada survey, log on to www. business. queensu.ca/qcbv/sme or call 18779551800. To qualify as a small or medium-sized employer, the company must have at least 50 and no more than 400 full-time or full-time-equivalent employees.

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2007 BSME ranking