Top Workplaces: Brighton Securities, Bonadio Group, Hilton schools

• Roughly 540 area workers attend 'Top Workplace's event run by the 'Democrat and Chronicle.'
• Overall, 50 local organizations were recognized for doing good by their employees.
• Hilton schools, The Bonadio Group and Brighton Securities recognized as the top workplaces.

There's not one but quite a few top workplaces in the Rochester area.

Small, medium and large.

Some are traded on Wall Street. Some line Main Street.

They are tech-based, focused on education, specialize in things as financial services and accounting. Some help tend to the needs of the sick and elderly.

They are employers who challenge workers to improve the bottom line but also reward employees for meeting daily challenges.

They find ways to engage employees and not always through pay and benefits. Rather, they give workers a say in big decisions and, in doing so, often eliminate overbearing micro-managers.

They aim for cultures where a good idea can emerge from anyone, from the worker at the bottom of the pay scale to the top boss.

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Once again, Rochester's Top Workplaces sought out to reward local employers who truly do the best for its workers. It's the workers after all who nominated the companies for the awards.

Nearly 11,000 area employees were surveyed — roughly 6,700 responded — for the annual list recognizing 50 Rochester-area companies. Roughly 540 people attended the "Top Workplaces" celebration Thursday night at the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Convention Center.

The ceremony was run by the Democrat and Chronicle in partnership with WorkplaceDynamics.

"Great companies attract great talent, and great talent creates this economy and keeps the community going," Robert Duffy, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, who spoke to the crowd during the event. "You really make the fabric of the economy work, and work very, very well."

The Hilton Central School District (large), Pittsford-based The Bonadio Group (medium) and Brighton Securities (small) were each recognized as the top workplace in their respective categories.

Hilton was the only district making the 2017 list.

Hilton Superintendent Casey Kosiorek, also recognized with a leadership award, said the district has navigated through some rough waters with increasing scrutiny from the state on teacher performance, implementation of Common Core standards and upheaval in the federal ranks with the appointment of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

"Collaboration is a huge part of a successful school district," he said. "Our follow-through is key. Trust is important. These are all attributes we look to continue to build."

Melisza Campos, the event's keynote speaker and vice president of operations for Dale Carnegie, said most businesses struggle to keep employees engaged, with only about one-third of workers in a national study reporting that they feel engaged and more than half saying they are "disengaged" at work.

She also said that only one in three are happy at the office.

"There are only two things that people look for when they look for who they can trust," she told the audience. "Warmth and competence, and which one do they look for first? They look for warmth ... what's critical is the relationship worker."

Brittany Weeks, an office assistant at Brighton Securities, said it's the relationships at the financial services firm that makes getting up and coming to work enjoyable.

"I do not hate waking up and coming to work," she said. "I think it is very family-oriented (at work). There's not a huge designation between chairman, CEO, advisers and the staff. It is very open door. Everybody helps everybody out."

Ideas and suggestions are valued by the firm, said Christina Gregory, a marketing coordinator at Brighton Securities.

AP Professionals, a staffing firm landing on the workplace's list with 49 other Rochester-area companies, has a somewhat different challenge than most employers with workers scattered throughout the area.

Besides keeping 15 local workers engaged, the company also aims to keep approximately 150 temporary workers feeling appreciated at local finance, human resource, accounting and engineering companies.

"We are all working together on a daily basis ... focusing on what we do the best," said President Matt Taylor. "It is all about communication."

Food, he said, also helps.

"When the half-moon cookies show up, all of the doors open up," he added.

Frontier Abstract & Research Services was another firm landing on the list of the 50 top companies. Anna Mancini, director of human resources, said the insights gleaned from Top Workplaces' survey will be used and evaluated by the company.

"It really gives us feedback through a third party. We know it is honest feedback that is constructive," she said. "We can use (it) to improve the company."

TCLAUSEN@Gannett.com

Special award winners

Several companies and individuals received special awards during the top workplaces dinner, including:

Leadership: Casey Kosiorek, Hilton Central School District; Richard Plympton, Optimax Systems; and Amy Tait, Broadstone Real Estate.

Direction: Hammer Packaging.

Managers: D4 LLC.

New Ideas: Brighton Securities.

Doers: Jewish Seniors Life.

Meaningfulness: Sage Rutty & Co. 

Ethics: ConServe

Clued in Senior Management: eHealth Technologies

Communication: Vanteon

Appreciation: SMP

Work/life Flexibility: CGI Communications

Training: LSI Solutions

Benefits: Postler & Jaeckle Corp.