The Denver Post named Boa Technology, makers of the patented, award-winning Boa Closure System, third on its list of Top Small Workplaces (companies with less than 150 employees). In the same report, Boa Technology President Mark Soderberg was honored as top business leader.

 

The rankings were announced last Tuesday at a special event at the Colorado History Museum and in a special section of the Denver Post published yesterday (April 15).

 

“You can read all the management books but when it comes down to it, it’s just treating people humanely and with respect,” said Boa Technology President Mark Soderberg in a Denver Post interview about creating a positive workplace. The Boa Closure System first appeared on snowboard boots in 2001, and the company has since grown into a multi-national company without compromising its energetic, dog-, bike-, barbeque- and family-friendly atmosphere.
 
The Denver Post report is based on business-community nominations and 24-question surveys. In the surveys, employees were asked to score their employer on a variety of measures, from worker appreciation to company direction, values, ethics, career advancement opportunities, pay and benefits.
 
The recognition comes on the heels of Boa Technology’s fourth-place ranking in Outside magazine’s top 50 Places to Work 2011,which evaluated the work-life balance of many of America’s top outdoor brands.
 
Boa Technology proudly promotes workplace wellness and enthusiasm by offering a variety of lunchtime fitness and nutrition workshops, company outdoor and volunteer activities, profit-sharing benefits and an annual credit that can be used towards any fitness-related pursuit or goal. Employees are encouraged to take part in the company’s “Health & Wellness Challenge” by setting personal goals that support work-life balance. The company awards points for goal achievement that are redeemable for gifts that further support health, such as Whole Foods gift cards or outdoor gear.
 
Going beyond offering perks and encouraging balance, Boa employees are constantly encouraged to think like business owners and to not fear making a mistake. “If I’m riding my bike and I never fall off, I don’t know how fast I can go,” says Soderberg, a past two-time mountain-bike national champion. “I love a really good, well-thought-out mistake because you learn from it and do things a better way next time.”
 
That is the culture of trust and balance that Boa employees referenced in survey responses and one of the reasons the Denver Post honored Boa Technology as one of the city’ best workplaces.