Best Companies to Work for: 3. Raka

Top Employee Engagement Survey Measures: My manager respects my work-life balance: 100% agree

I am actively encouraged to volunteer new ideas and make suggestions for improvement of our business: 100% agree

Partners: Duncan Craig, Brian DeKoning, Zang Garside, Dan Marino

Years in Business: 19 

Full-time Employees: 23

Years on List: 1

Raka does not cap the amount of paid time-off employees can take—as long as the work is getting done, employees can take what they need. However, the firm does have a set minimum number of days off employees must take—12 days annually—to make sure they are taking downtime. And last year after the team needed a break after some demanding projects, Raka shut down the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Raka also offers eight hours of paid time-off annually to volunteer. Parental leave starts at four weeks and mothers who give birth receive around 10 weeks of paid leave. The company offers flexible schedules, allows employees to work remotely, and reimburses them up to $250 to purchase monitors, chargers, cables and adapters, desks, chairs, and more that will make their home setup as accommodating as their in-office setup. 

It finds ways to entice employees to the come into the office, including allowing team members to bring their dogs to work, sit-stand desks, ergonomic chairs, quiet rooms, a kitchen stocked with healthy snacks and drinks, background music from Spotify chosen monthly by employees, as well as a pool table, pop-a-shot basketball, Nerf guns, darts, cornhole and video games.

It treats employees to outings, including bowling and axe-throwing, as well as bi-monthly themed cooking competitions. In addition to celebrating Employee Appreciation Day annually by bringing in breakfast and lunch and raffling gift cards, Raka provides the team lunch every Friday and holds summer BBQs on its roof deck that overlooks Portsmouth. And it pays for 100% of health, dental and vision insurances for employees.