“Nothing says thank you like cash,” says Rex Wiig, president of Anaheim-based Celeris Systems Inc.
The four-year-old company pays out cash rewards for anything from a customer sending an e-mail thank you to employees finishing a job efficiently.
Payouts tend to be $500 to $1,000, according to Wiig.
“Some employees get them every month,” he said.
Engineer Jim Aksel said he once received a month’s pay after bringing in a new customer.
The average salary for Celeris workers is about $135,000 a year.
Celeris handles testing and project management tasks for defense contractors and other major companies.
Customers include Chicago-based Boe-ing Co., Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. and Southern California Edison, part of Rosemead-based Edison International.
The company ranked No. 2 in the small company category in the Business Journal’s inaugural Best Places to Work list.
The list was compiled for the Business Journal by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Best Companies Group, an independent workplace researcher that managed the registration process, conducted surveys, evaluated data and selected companies for the list based on overall scores from queries of management and employees.
Beyond bonuses, Celeris allows employees to operate more freely than at other companies, according to Aksel.
The company is run on a principle of being “swift or rapid”—which is what its name means in Latin. That goes over well with workers, many of whom joined after working for larger companies.
Nimble
It’s the smallness and openness of the company that makes it what it is, Aksel said.
“We don’t take weeks and months to get things done by needing constant approval to do things,” he said. “I have a lot of latitude to explore and solve problems.”
Benefits at the company are another draw.
Celeris pays for all benefits, including healthcare, dental and vision plans, a rarity when most others require workers to share the cost as well as pay out-of-pocket expenses.
“We pride ourselves in taking our employees well-being very personally,” Wiig said. “Our culture is designed to focus on the employees.”
About half of Celeris’ engineers work on systems and testing. The other half work on project management. Nearly all of them are male.
Work environments vary among the engineers, with some working at the Anaheim headquarters, some onsite with customers and others at home.
The sharing of ideas and information is a key aspect emphasized among all of them, Wiig said.
Other perks are paid happy hours that Celeris tries to have once a month and family picnics. It also rented a trackside chalet at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
In 2005, Wiig founded the company with partner Angel Martinez, who’s chief executive and chairman. Both are engineers, which they say helps them understand better how to manage their employees.
The two say they’re fortunate to have hired good workers.
“The folks we bring in are truly passionate,” Wiig said.
Wiig previously worked on submarine projects for Boeing and Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins Inc. Mar-tinez worked for Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics Corp., where he focused on Navy missile defense.
The company was profitable from its first year, Wiig said.
Last year Celeris did $3.5 million in sales, up from $3 million in 2007 and $400,000 in 2006.
Celeris has several projects going on at once. One of its recent projects was for Boeing and its infrared sensors on the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, part of the national missile defense program.
Three workers were laid off at the beginning of the year after contracts with customers came to an end. Last year Celeris hired about eight people.
Wiig said he hopes to hire those laid off workers as soon as he can.
“I maintain contact with them,” he said.
Celeris also visits local high schools to encourage students to pursue math and science.
Key competitors include Oxnard-based Saalex Corp., Largo, Md.-based Systems Application & Technologies Inc., Newport Beach-based SM&A and San Diego-based Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.
The company has never received a buyout offer, though Wiig said a number of potential suitors have expressed interest.
