Winners in the Des Moines Business Record’s sixth annual “Best Places to Work in Central Iowa” survey were recognized at a luncheon May 11 at All Play in downtown Des Moines.

In the large-company category, the winners were: first place, RSM McGladrey Inc.; second place, Holmes Murphy & Associates Inc.; and third place, Kum & Go LC.

For the medium-sized companies: first place, U.S. Cellular Corp.; second place, Brokers International Ltd.; and third place, McGowen, Hurst, Clark & Smith P.C.

And for the smaller companies: first place, Carrier Access Inc.; second place, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines; and third place, The Paradies Shops Inc.

Articles about these nine companies appear on the following pages.

The survey was conducted by Quantum Workplace, a Wichita, Kan.-based company that does similar surveys in a number of cities. Employees at about 35 participating Central Iowa businesses took the survey this year. Each received a confidential e-mail inviting them to complete the survey of approximately 40 questions on a secure website.

Those questions asked for responses on topics such as team effectiveness, trust in co-workers, trust in senior leaders and company benefits.

After the survey period closed, Quantum tabulated the results and compared workplaces within each size category: 10-50 employees, 51-150 employees and more than 150 employees. Using that data, companies were selected as first-, second- and third-place winners in each category.

Each of the nine winners receives a free copy of its results. Other participating companies can purchase their own reports from Quantum.

Merit Resources Inc. is the presenting sponsor of the “Best Places to Work” competition. Founded in 1989, Merit is based in Urbandale and has offices in Eastern Iowa, Florida and Kansas.

The Central Iowa Society for Human Resource Management, with about 500 members locally, is also a partner.

Photos by Duane Tinkey