Top Jobs for Tough Times

With the economy weakening and the unemployment line growing, we searched for—and found—some good news: local employers who aren't just surviving the current economic malaise but thriving, hiring, and treating their employees right

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BAXTER INTERNATIONAL
baxter.com
Global provider of medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology products
HEADQUARTERS: Deerfield
CHICAGO-AREA EMPLOYEES: 5,000

Baxter has been in the news a lot lately—for reasons no company would want. Last year, the actor Dennis Quaid and his wife sued the company, claiming that a blood-thinning drug was improperly labeled and thus accidentally given to their infant twins. (Baxter says the hospital staff misread the label.) While those headlines tarnished the company, Baxter has improved its image on Wall Street with a run of solid financial results. Under CEO Robert Parkinson, who took the helm in 2004, the company has bucked the prevailing trends by raising its earnings outlook for 2008, saying sales growth will approach 6 percent, driven by better-than-expected results for several products, including treatments for hemophilia and immune disorders. After holding the line on research and development for years, Baxter is pumping more money into new medicines, technologies, and applications. Last year, the company invested $760 million in R&D, a 24-percent increase from the year before, says a company spokeswoman.

HELP WANTED: While more than half of Baxter's 46,500 employees live outside the United States, the company Web site recently listed more than 150 positions open in Illinois. Many were professional jobs, including sales and marketing staff for specialty medical devices, and medical specialists or doctors with experience in vaccines, surgery, and biosurgery. The company was also searching for mechanical or product engineers, computer software developers, and quality control managers. And Baxter had entry-level positions in finance, marketing, and human resources.

PERKS AND BENEFITS: The company has a long-held reputation for emphasizing a balance between work and life. In addition to competitive pay and benefits, Baxter has programs for child care, elder care, telecommuting, compressed workweek schedules, and more.

STOCK WATCH: Investors are upbeat about Baxter's prospects. In January, Citigroup upgraded Baxter to a "buy" rating, citing better-than-expected earnings. And in April, the Chicago-based William Blair & Company upgraded the stock to an "outperform" rating. "Baxter's financial performance, while showing steady progress over the last few years, has significant further upside," said Ben Andrew, in a Blair report.

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COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP.
costco.com
Operates no-frills warehouses selling general merchandise and groceries
HEADQUARTERS: Issaquah, Washington
CHICAGO-AREA EMPLOYEES: 2,500

This has been a rough year for retailers. Among those that have filed for bankruptcy reorganization are The Sharper Image, Linens 'n Things, and Lillian Vernon. Meanwhile, Home Depot is closing 15 stores nationwide, and Sears, Roebuck and Co. is retrenching again. Against that backdrop, Costco is one of the few major retailers prospering and growing. Since entering the Chicago market in 1998 with two west suburban stores, the company has continued to expand locally, with 13 outlets now in the area and ambitions to open more. Costco sells groceries, dry goods, electronics, and more. The company needs wide open spaces to accommodate its mammoth warehouse outlets (each store is 148,000 square feet) and adjacent parking. Locally, Costco is reportedly looking to build a store on the soon-to-be-vacated Maurice Lenell Cooky Co. site in north suburban Norridge. "We'd like to get much bigger [in the Chicago area]," says Richard Galanti, Costco's chief financial officer.

HELP WANTED: The company is always looking to fill jobs, including bakery and deli staff; cashiers; pharmacists; warehouse workers; forklift truck operators; shipping and receiving help; and customer service representatives.

PERKS AND BENEFITS: The company has earned a reputation for providing generous wages and benefits to its workers—too generous, chide some Wall Street analysts—and has been hailed as an enlightened Illinois employer by the likes of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a populist Democrat who has long dueled with business interests. While the typical big-box retailer pays an average wage of $13 an hour, Costco pays $18, Galanti notes. In addition, the company offers comprehensive health and retirement benefits to all workers—including part-timers, who can qualify for those benefits after only six months of employment.

STOCK WATCH: Costco enjoys two primary revenue streams: customer membership fees and store sales. Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 increased 12 percent over the year before, and net income grew 8 percent. Investors are bullish on the chain's business model. Among Costco's fans is CNBC's fiery stock picker Jim Cramer, who recently said that the company "continues to execute better than any retailer out there."

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POTBELLY SANDWICH WORKS
potbelly.com
Purveyor of made-to-order sandwiches, served warm
HEADQUARTERS: Chicago
CHICAGO-AREA EMPLOYEES: 1,859

Economic slumps may last months or years, but hunger usually takes just a few hours to kick in. With its simple menu of toasted sandwiches, soups, salads, and shakes and its quirky ambiance, Potbelly has figured out how to satisfy appetites. Begun in 1977 as a small antique store in Lincoln Park that started selling sandwiches on the side, Potbelly is now a chain 200 strong that has expanded by leaps and bounds while managing, so far, to maintain the charm that made the original a success. With 70 stores in Chicago and a growing presence in places like Houston, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., the company has seen sales rise by about 40 percent since 2004, and this year expects top-line growth of roughly 25 percent, a spokeswoman says, to more than $200 million by the end of 2008. Long lines of hungry customers aren't the only ones smitten. In 2001 Howard Schultz, the Starbucks founder and CEO, invested $21 million in his fellow CEO Bryant Keil's privately held enterprise. And in recent years, Potbelly has attracted more than $80 million in investment capital. As a result, the company has "good venture capital backing for expansion, and its menu is priced right," says Ron Paul, CEO of Technomic, a consulting firm that tracks restaurant and fast-food industry trends.

HELP WANTED: Each new store needs three or four full-time managers—who can make up to $74,000, plus bonus—and up to 25 part-time workers, not including those singing troubadours who often entertain the lunchtime crowds. By 2010, Potbelly will have hired 400 new general managers and 1,300 assistant managers. It will also be creating more jobs at its Merchandise Mart headquarters in administration, systems, and human resources, according to a spokeswoman.

PERKS AND BENEFITS: There is such a thing as a free lunch—at least for Potbelly employees, who can eat their own cooking gratis. Those working 30 hours or more a week are also eligible for health care, dental, and life insurance coverage. Moreover, the company offers the same coverage for domestic partners, discounted pet-care insurance, and tax-free commuting plans.

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WALGREEN CO.
walgreens.com
Operates more than 6,000 drugstores in the United States and Puerto Rico selling prescription and nonprescription drugs and general merchandise
HEADQUARTERS: Deerfield
CHICAGO-AREA EMPLOYEES: 20,000

With baby boomers starting to hit retirement age, this drugstore giant is perfectly positioned to fill their growing needs for prescriptions and to supply customers with life's little necessities. The company has more than 6,000 stores nationwide and intends to boost that total by at least another 10 percent this year. In the Chicago area, the chain plans to add 15 stores over the coming year to the 400 it already has.

HELP WANTED: Each new store needs 25 to 30 part- and full-time employees. Many  will be in low-level starter jobs such as cashiers and shelf stockers, but Walgreens is also scrambling to fill pharmacist positions, which can pay in the low six figures, says Michael Polzin, a company spokesman. What's more, the company is becoming a low-cost health-care services provider by opening in-store clinics, staffed by nurses, that offer customers quick treatments for minor ailments. In the coming year, Walgreens plans to add to its local roster of 27 in-store clinics, and will need more nurses to staff them. On average, a nurse practitioner makes about $63,000 a year, according to industry data.

PERKS AND BENEFITS: Working at a drugstore, especially in the pharmacy, where customers are often fighting illness, can be stressful, Polzin concedes. But Walgreens compensates with amenities such as flexible work hours and a generous 401(k) plan; the company matches about $3 for every dollar contributed by employees working at least 20 hours a week on average.

STOCK WATCH: Walgreens' aggressive expansion is rattling some investors. The stock lost more than a quarter of its value between late September 2007 and early May of this year. Still, the company posted a 5.3-percent increase in net earnings on 10.4-percent sales growth in the first half of its fiscal year compared with the same time frame a year before. Now, at least one Wall Street analyst sniffs a bargain: Neil Currie, drugstore analyst with UBS Financial Services, recently upgraded Walgreens to a buy.

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This article appears in the July 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine.

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