How we picked the winners for 2015

Sometimes a job is more than just a job. It’s a place where people feel appreciated, respected, inspired — and maybe even participate in an ugly sweater contest or two.

Photo-illustration by Ryan Huddle/Globe Staff

Being considered for our annual Top Places to Work list is fairly straightforward: Employees fill out an anonymous survey, and the more positive they are about their company, the higher it ranks.

But making the cut is no small feat.

Every year, The Boston Globe partners with WorkplaceDynamics of Exton, Pennsylvania, specialists in employee engagement and retention, to survey workers around the state. Of the 2,178 companies invited to participate this year, 357 went all the way through the process. Nearly 77,000 employees completed confidential surveys, rating their employers based on 24 statements about direction, execution, connection, management, work, pay and benefits, and engagement.

The employers are placed into one of four groups: small, with 50 to 99 employees; medium, with 100 to 249 workers; large, with 250 to 999; and largest, with 1,000 or more.

But all the winners share a few key traits: treating workers well, giving them a voice, and encouraging them to have some fun while they’re at it.

Related:

• Search the Top Largest Companies

• Search the Top Large Companies

• Search the Top Medium Companies

• Search the Top Small Companies