This year we have twice been recognized as a good place to work in Massachusetts, second best (mid-sized) by the Boston Business Journal and fifth-best (small) by the Boston Globe. Both were based on employee surveys.

It is easy to point to certain events to explain the survey results. For example, to celebrate our 20th anniversary we flew the entire company to a nice resort in Florida. But I think this misses the point. The Florida trip was a celebration of all that we have achieved, which was influenced by our work environment. In the absence of all else that we do, are and aspire to be, it wouldn’t be any more than a nice weekend, have a lasting effect, or make for a nice workplace.

Here is why I want us to be considered a good place to work. Because we have interesting, challenging work. Because everyone has clear direction, clear goals, a productive work environment, the right resources, regular feedback and feels that they are paid fairly for the work they do. Because we live our values, emphasizing honesty, integrity, diversity and treating people with respect. And because we attract ambitious people who like being around others who are similarly ambitious. Being simply a comfortable place to work is not our goal. We are here to think big and see what we can accomplish. We need to be a place where top people who like that message want to work.

On balance, I think we do a decent job of meeting these objectives. It helps that we recognize that being a good place to work is not binary, and that having been one does not ensure that we will continue to be. There are always ways to improve. As we grow, we will pay even more attention to our workplace with the goal that each Ipswitch employee will appreciate their role and feel supported in helping us achieve our ambitious goals.