10.26.09 - Chicago Tribune.

At a time when many businesses are slashing benefits to the bone, a growing number of Chicago-area companies are bucking the trend. Those fortunate employers who can afford to go the extra mile for their workers can boost productivity and ultimately gain market share, said Joe Dwyer, chief executive at Brill Street + Co., an Internet matchmaker for job seekers and employers.

"These companies go all out to attract and retain the best and brightest," he said.

Brill Street collaborated with research firm GfK Custom Research North America to identify and examine companies with outstanding workplace practices, as well as to survey workers under 29 to tell what perks and practices were most important to the youngest generation in the work force.

To be considered, at least 10 percent of a company's employees had to be Generation Y, or under 29. The result is a ranking of 50 Gen Y-friendly companies in the Chicago area, available at www.brillstreet.com/p/generationy50, which offer a glimpse of workplace practices likely to be commonplace in the future.

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