Three Wilmington companies landed on Business North Carolina’s list of the 2015 Best Employers in North Carolina, which appeared this week in the magazine's March issue.

Live Oak Bank topped the list of large companies, while its software spinoff nCino took the number-one spot among small-to-medium-sized companies. Community magazine provider N2 Publishing was 17th on the small-to-medium list.

“We are thrilled to be recognized in Business North Carolina as the #1 large employer in the state,” Courtney Spencer, head of human resources for Live Oak, said in an email Thursday. “We are incredibly fortunate to have a leadership team that so thoroughly advocates for its employees.  While employee perks are important, and we offer plenty, it’s our people and the relationships that make Live Oak Bank such a great place to work.  This recognition is a true testament to Live Oak’s culture.”

Live Oak Bank has been named the “Best Bank to Work For” by American Banker magazine for the past two years.

In determining its rankings, Business North Carolina – working with the N.C. State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Pennsylvania-based Best Companies Group – considered factors such as a company’s provision of health insurance, profit sharing, stock options and 401(k) plans. Other ranking criteria included telecommuting opportunities, flex hours, tuition assistance, number of paid days off, availability of free food and fitness options.

What’s great about the Business North Carolina survey is that the information used to rank companies comes from employees themselves, nCino spokesman Kathryn Cook said Thursday.

“It’s totally anonymous, totally independent,” nCino CEO Pierre Naudé said Thursday. “That’s why I appreciate this so much. We get access to all the individual comments and will have an all-hands meeting so employees can put programs in place for improvements.”

The number-one ranking, Naudé added, is “a reflection of the culture of our company, of people being empowered. Ideas come from our people, and everybody’s voice matters. We have an innovation- and customer-centered culture.”

The fact that both Live Oak Bank and its seedling nCino topped their respective lists is “pretty special,” he said. Naudé added with a chuckle that he'll be interested to see what happens next year, when nCino will likely have at least 250 employees, putting it in the large business category for the ranking along with Live Oak Bank.
 
Participation in the survey leading to the rankings is voluntary, David Mildenberg, editor of Business North Carolina, said Thursday. The Best Companies Group contacts companies interested in being considered for the list and sends out electronic surveys to their employees.

Mildenberg said the amount of data that results from the surveys is extensive.