CHICAGO - Stratosphere Networks has been named a finalist for the 2018 Best Places to Work in Chicago List. Since 2008, Crain's Chicago Business has set out to find the local businesses that have excelled in creating quality workplaces for employees. This year, Crain's partnered with Best Companies Group to survey Chicago employees about everything from their workplace to benefits to company culture.

This survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the 100 best companies to work for in Chicago. The full Best Places to Work in Chicago ranking-plus two lists that spotlight the employers who rank especially high among women and baby boomers-will be announced at an event on April 12 and featured in the April 16 issue of Crain's. It will also be available online at www.chicagobusiness.com.

"We're happy to hear we're among the finalists Crain's is considering for inclusion on the 2018 Best Places to Work in Chicago list," said Kevin Rubin, president and COO of Stratosphere Networks. "Because our clients rely on us to serve as their IT department, our staff is essentially their staff, so keeping our employees happy is crucial for us as well as the companies we serve."

Stratosphere Networks is a multifaceted IT managed service provider focused on delivering comprehensive technology services and solutions to businesses of all sizes and across all industries. The company's fully staffed network operations center (NOC) provides full support and maintenance services. Stratosphere offers its employees a wide range of benefits, including flexible work arrangements, payment for training and certification programs, and more. The company was included in Crain's Best Places to Work in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

To be considered for participation, companies had to:

• Be a publicly or privately held business
• Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business, or government entity
• Have a facility in the Chicago area (including the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake in Illinois, Lake in Indiana, McHenry and Will)
• Have a minimum of 25 full-time or part-time employees working in Chicago
• Have been in business a minimum of one year

Determining the Best Places to Work in Chicago involved a two-step process. The first step consisted of evaluating each participating company's workplace policies, practices, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of employee surveys aimed at assessing the experiences and attitudes of individual employees with respect to their workplace. This part was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the best companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process, and also analyzed the data and used its expertise to determine the final ranking.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in Chicago program, visit www.bestplacestoworkCHI.com.