Employees are generally a selfish lot, aren't they? They all want more money. They want more praise and more perks. They're really all about themselves, aren't they?

Well, not really. Not according to the results of Top Workplaces 2010.

This website is The Plain Dealer's first attempt to identify the top places to work in Northeast Ohio, based strictly on the opinions of employees. It doesn't rank companies based on size or revenue or stock price or any other cold, institutional measure. It's based only on what employees think about the places they spend most of their lives.

To assess our region's employers, we enlisted an independent workplace consultant, WorkplaceDynamics of Exton, Pa. The company surveyed any employer willing to participate (50 employees or more) and selected the top 75 places to work.

What did employees say? They said their chief concern is their employers' health and direction in one of the most challenging economic periods many of us remember.

Sure, employees want to feel appreciated. But more than that, they want to feel that the people leading their organizations know what they're doing, that their companies are honest and forthright, and that the future is hopeful.

Perhaps this reflects the economic despair in our region. When times are tough, you may worry more about keeping your paycheck than you do about the size of it.

In our 25,710 surveys, employees most often used words like "goals," "respect" and "sharing" to describe what they valued. Pay, benefits and training, while important, ranked lower. There's a lesson here for employers.

Bosses who recognize that employees seek confidence and reassurance will create a happier, more productive work force. Show employees your plan and stress how important they are to getting there.

One person wrote about an employer, "There is an overwhelming sense of team and working toward a common goal of sharing the future of this company and its success."

Another wrote, "I feel I am finally at a place where I am proud and happy to come to work and love to tell others about my job."

When we began Workplace 2010, we set out first of all to find the best places to work. But we also wanted to see what they have in common -- how they communicate with employees, the type of environment they create, the way they deal with financial turmoil.

The top employers in Northeast Ohio are a diverse lot: big and small, public and private, new and old -- proof that a desirable workplace has less to do with the type of business and more to do with the people in charge of it.

Those leaders all have one thing in common. They have found ways to make employees happy to come to work.

Congratulations to all of the employers in Top Workplaces 2010 and to all of the people who work there.

Northeast Ohio's Top 75 Workplaces

Click for PDFs of the list broken down by company size with information and links for each of the companies ranked. You'll also find the entire list of companies that made the survey below.

• Large employers (500-plus local employees)

• Midsize employers (150-499 local employees)

• Small employers (50-149 local employees)

• Northeast Ohio's Top Workplaces: What makes them the best - Plain Dealer Special Section

LARGE: 500-plus local employees

The Top 3 companies in each category are listed in rank order; the rest are listed alphabetically

MIDSIZE: 150-499 local employees

The Top 3 companies in each category are listed in rank order; the rest are listed alphabetically

SMALL: 50-149 local employees

The Top 3 companies in each category are listed in rank order; the rest are listed alphabetically

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