The offices of LexJet are housed in a bank building on Fruitville Road, but it's hardly a formal atmosphere inside: a loft-style ceiling with exposed duct work and wiring, no divisions between the worker bees and bosses, and a bullpen desk arrangement with plenty of room between work stations-perfect for a quick game of Nerf basketball if the mood strikes. They do things a little differently at LexJet, which is one reason the printing supply company is center stage in our profile of great places to work in the area.

Salary is always important, but local employers are finding that in a time of low unemployment (2.4 percent last winter), other factors can be just as critical in finding and keeping good workers. Benefits, flexible schedules, opportunities to grow in a job and a fun workplace are big attractions. New thinking plus good benefits equals happy employees. And happy employees equal happy customers.

Now, a tour of some great places to work:

Fishman & Associates
The importance of Hawaiian shirts.

What they do: Plan and design commercial kitchens and food service facilities

Employees: 10

Interesting extras: Profit sharing, high percentage of healthcare costs paid, flexible schedules.

In a small company, personal relationships mean even more. Longtime Fishman & Associates employee Marisa Mangani credits company founder C.J. Fishman with fostering an atmosphere that allowed her to flourish after she switched gears from being a chef to selling kitchen equipment.

Mangani didn't know she was getting into sales when she signed on 12 years ago. She only knew she was tired of working in a hot kitchen. "I was a chef, swearing at dishwashers. Or dishwashers weren't there to swear at, and I was washing dishes," she says.

"In the beginning it was really hard, but with C.J. I found myself becoming devoted to him and the company's mission," Mangani says. "We're trusted to do the work we need to do."

Where a larger company with 50 or 100 employees would need detailed, written employment policies, Fishman does it himself with common sense. He provides a gas allowance, covers a large portion of health insurance costs, prohibits working weekends, and grants paid time off to take care of personal issues. He even pays employees seeking college degrees for the time they spend in the classroom during work hours.

The competitive job market makes it essential for Fishman to develop new ideas to retain good employees. "You want to be consistent with your associates, so everyone's treated equally, but everyone is different. You try to give a lot of flexibility," he says.

The Fishman & Associates offices are in downtown Venice. The small accounting department is the only office with a door, so associates can easily bounce ideas off each other. Lunch is brought in monthly so employees can socialize. Fridays are "Island Day," when employees are encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts.

"It's when you put all the little things together that keeps people happy," Fishman says. "It's not all about salary. Life right now is so fast paced, and if one of my associates has a school play or something, she goes. That's important, too."

John Cannon Homes
Keep that family feeling.

What they do: Builder of custom homes

Employees: 94

Interesting extras: Full health benefits, free air tickets for success, 12-week maternity leave.

Until its move to a spacious headquarters in Lakewood Ranch this spring, John Cannon Homes was located in cramped offices at a south Sarasota office park. Visitors had trouble finding the front door through the clutter and had to wend their way through a conference room to get back to the designers. It was a testament to Cannon's respectful and family-like atmosphere that employees weren't at each other's throats.

No one expects the move to the brand-new, state-of-the-art facility to put a sterile chill in Cannon's friendly atmosphere. Cannon employees who have worked for other builders say Cannon is different. Nine-year employee Josh Adams describes it as the leeway Cannon gives employees to make decisions on the job. "The group of people we have is next to none, and everyone has a say," he says. "Even though the company has gotten big, John's still there every day, so it doesn't feel like you're working for a big corporation. You feel like you're working for someone who cares."

CEO John Cannon pays 100 percent of HMO premiums. He also pays for employee training, education and expenses at industry seminars and conventions. Where a lot of companies have employees of the month or quarter awards, two wins in a calendar year mean two airline tickets to anywhere in the country for a Cannon employee.