Lately our phone lines have lit up as we approach the date of convergence between the 2008 and 2009 Top Small Workplaces cycles:

• 2008 - One week from today, on October 13, The Wall Street Journal will announce, in a special section of the paper, this year's 15 Winners and provide detailed reporting on what makes them all so incredible when it comes to their employee engagement and team building practices that enable them to grow consistently year after year, and lead their industries in low turnover.
• 2009 - That same day, October 13, our website will contain a simple form for you to fill out to nominate your company, or another you think has a great workplace, in the start of the 2009 Top Small Workplaces nomination process, which will run through the end of January.

That said, I thought it might be helpful to provide you a FAQ of the most common questions we're getting now, along with our answers.

When will the Winners be announced?
Monday, October 13, in The Wall Street Journal.

Can you tell us who the 35 Finalists are now?
Unfortunately, we can't.  The Winners and Finalists will be announced in the Journal on October 13.  Our website will also have profiles of the 20 Finalists.

Will the Winners be notified prior to the announcement in The Wall Street Journal?
Yes.  The Winners will receive an email from the Journal early on the morning of the 13th, before the print edition announcing them goes out in the United States.  The Finalists will also receive an email, from Winning Workplaces, early that morning.

What is the process for a press release for Winners/Finalists?  Will Winning Workplaces or The Wall Street Journal create a press release for our company?
An offical press release from Winning Workplaces and the Journal will be released early on October 13.  The email notifications from the Journal and Winning Workplaces to the Winners and Finalists will contain press release boilerplate language that those companies can adapt to craft their own releases.  Those emails will also contain links to download print and web versions of their respective Winner and Finalist 2008 logos for use in their marketing materials and on their websites.

Will the Winner/Finalist company have to pay anything for publication rights or displaying our award?
No.

My company applied for Top Small Workplaces 2008.  How can I learn how well I did compared against the Winners?
Or: I didn't apply but I'd like to learn from the practices of the Top Small Workplaces.  How can I do this?
We are preparing a 2008 Top Small Workplaces Benchmarking and Best Practices Report that will provide an assessment to benchmark your organization against the metrics of the 2008 Winners.  The report is available for pre-order here at a discounted rate (40% off).  This rate will only be available until October 13.

How can my company apply for next year’s award?
Starting October 13, visit winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz to nominate your firm.  Note that past Top Small Workplaces Winners are ineligible from applying again.

Is there a fee to nominate?
No, it is free to nominate your firm and to apply through our offical application, which will be sent to all nominated organizations in February 2009.

What are the criteria to nominate and apply?
They are listed here.  The same criteria will apply for 2009.

I hope this helps.  If I did not answer your question above, feel free to give us a call at 847-328-9798.