SCBIZ Daily Staff

COLUMBIA – Twenty-eight companies from all industries and sizes took home a “Best Places to Work in South Carolina” award Thursday night and found out their ranking on the 2008 list. Separation Dynamics of Fountain Inn took home the top award for small- to medium-sized companies and Hubbell Lighting Inc. of Greenville received the top award for large-sized companies.

The awards dinner was held in the Embassy Suites Hotel and all of the winners (in order) are:

Small- to medium-sized companies
(15-249 employees)
Separation Dynamics, Fountain Inn
Classic Residence by Hyatt on Hilton Head Island, Hilton Head Island
ArborOne, ACA, Florence
FGP International, Greenville
Johnson & Johnson Inc., Charleston
SynTerra Corporation, Greenville
Rosenfeld Einstein, Greenville
Family Trust Federal Credit Union, Rock Hill
Life Cycle Engineering, North Charleston
Automation Engineering, Greenville
Mayer Electric Supply Company, Birmingham, Ala.
Cynergi Systems, Duncan
Advanced Technology Institute, North Charleston
Global Performance LLC, Greenville
Buist Moore Smythe McGee P.A., Charleston
First Reliance Bank, Florence
Erwin-Penland, Greenville
DeVita & Associates Inc., Greenville
Select Health of South Carolina Inc., Charleston
First Community Bank, Lexington

Large-sized companies
(250 or more employees)
Hubbell Lighting Inc., Greenville
Edward Jones, Louisville, Ky.
South Carolina Federal Credit Union, North Charleston
Elliott Davis LLC, Greenville
Colonial Life, Columbia
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, Columbia
Lexington Medical Center, West Columbia
Sonoco, Hartsville

The multiyear initiative to encourage S.C. companies to focus, measure and move their workplace toward excellence involved a partnership among the S.C. Chamber of Commerce; the S.C. Society for Human Resource Management’s S.C. State Council; and SC Biz News, operator of SCJobMarket.com and publisher of the Charleston Regional Business Journal, the Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business and SCBIZ magazine.

Independent research firm Best Companies Group surveyed the participating companies. The selection process was based on the company’s employee policies and procedures and the results of a 65-question employee survey.

Participating companies will receive an Assessment Findings Report, which summarizes and sorts employee feedback and includes South Carolina benchmarking data. The report will help the companies develop and implement strategies to create an effective workplace and continue to improve the performance of their business.