Americas

Popular with employees: On most Fridays, each office organizes free breakfast, such as donuts, bagels with cream cheese or homemade casseroles.

Career development/training program: Employees receive a gold coin each time Independences adds another $100 million in assets. Accumulating 10 coins gets an employee a chance to go to Disney World for three days of training in customer service excellence.

Popular with employees: Employees submit ideas to improve the bank through an intranet site. The reward for ideas that get implemented is a cash prize ranging from $25 to $1,000.

Popular with employees: Competition is fierce in the office door decoration contest at Christmastime.

Popular with employees: On-site childcare is available at the Brookings location, and the children sometimes come through the office to visit employees, which adds fun to the workday.

Popular with employees: Employees compete in roughly six cooking contests a year for the chance to win a $25 gift card and bragging rights. Each competition, which is judged by coworkers, has a theme, such as a pumpkin pie throw-down in the fall.

Popular with employees: Once a month United Community hosts a potluck to celebrate employees' birthdays.

Popular with employees: During the summer months, employees from the human resources department deliver fresh fruit and ice cream to employees working at the bank's 16 locations.

Popular among employees: "Power meetings" ensure that each week has a focus at Chesapeake Bank. Small gifts and prizes are given for winning ideas expressed at the meetings. In addition, employees share success stories to inspire one another.

Popular with employees: Fundraiser activities include a dunk tank where a $5 donation gives people a chance to send their favorite Choice employee into the water. Over the last two years, Choice has raised $38,654 for United Way of Cass-Clay.