Brill Street Announces Winners of the 'Top 50 Employers for Generation Y Chicago'

Chicago employers with at least 10% of their workforce comprised of Gen Y were eligible to nominate their organization through a detailed survey assessing their workplace, grounded by exhaustive research analyzing what Gen Yers value in an employer. Finalists scoring highly in key areas were selected for on-site interviews to discover firsthand what makes their workplaces exceptional.

The Chicago Tribune's article, "Firms boost workplace benefits to attract, retain, tech-savvy workers," highlights some of the many perks Brill Street found at the 'Top 50 Employers for Generation Y Chicago' and claims that, "If the list of perks sounds like a throwback to the dot-com boom, think again."

All featured employers are actively pushing the status quo to make their workplace a productive and welcoming environment for the emerging generation. Although recent college grads are facing one of the toughest job markets in years, many of these companies are hiring and investing in a resource they deem to be extremely precious: generation Y. "When we built the company we built it around Generation Y," says Jeff Ellman, Co-founder of Homescout Realty, a leading leasing and realty agency in Lincoln Park that ranked sixteen. "They are extremely important and have brought so many ideas and technology; it's helped our business grow to new levels." Joe Mansueto, Chairman and CEO at Morningstar Inc. adds "Many of the new college graduates we hire today will be future leaders at Morningstar, so we put a lot of effort into recruiting and training our entry-level employees. We work hard to get the right people onboard from the start of their careers."

No matter what the economic climate, the Top 50 companies relentlessly pursue excellence in the culture of their business. Julie Guida, Managing Partner at Marketing Werks comments, "Our business requires employees to tap into what they know about themselves and their peers to create relevant experiences for like-minded consumers, so we empower Gen Y to succeed and excel at doing that. At Marketing Werks', our Gen Y-centric culture makes for an energized, confident and collaborative work environment and, ultimately, for great outcomes on many fronts."

This never-before executed, quantitative and qualitative study explored areas such as compensation and benefits, perks, corporate social responsibility, advancement potential, training opportunities, jobs for Generation Y, and the nature of day-to-day work.

Winners were chosen using a point-based model developed by GfK Custom Research North America, a leading global marketing research agency. "GfK Custom Research North America is pleased to partner with Brill Street on this critical career initiative," said Derek Allen, Ph.D., Executive Vice President at GfK. "With more than 70 million belonging to the Generation-Y segment, now more than ever, companies should recognize their unique characteristics to capitalize on the benefits they bring to our workforce."

The Top 50 Employers for Generation Y Chicago are:

• Morningstar, Inc.
• Google
• Orbitz Worldwide
• Euro RSCG Chicago
• Edelman
• Total Attorneys
• WMS
• Threadless
• Marketing Werks
• TRU
• Townsend Analytics
• NCSA
• rEvolution
• Digitas
• Joel Warady Group
• Homescout Realty
• Razorfish
• The Field Museum
• Assurance Agency
• Performics
• Sandstorm Design
• Vodori
• Deloitte
• Big Ten Network
• Starcom MediaVest Group
• Orbit Media Studios
• Emerging Solutions
• Ceteris
• West Monroe Partners
• Model Metrics
• GrubHub.com
• Burwood Group
• Avanade
• Sittercity
• Echo Global Logistics
• MSDSonline
• Hard Rock Hotel Chicago
• Akoo International
• Monitor Group
• Trading Technologies
• User Centric
• Leapfrog Online
• Acquity Group
• Sonoma Partners
• InnerWorkings
• Warady & Davis
• Geckotech
• Cheeky Chicago
• A.T. Kearney
• Encyclopaedia Britannica

About Brill Street:
Since people make all the difference in a competitive business environment, Brill Street offers a unique way to connect employers to potential employees who are likely to be high performers in their organizations.

Offering a scientifically-validated competency-based approach, Brill Street provides a unique solution to hire and manage talent more effectively. Brill Street measures 75 dimensions of competency and culture-fit, offering insight into what makes current employees tick with access to a talent