The laid back culture at real estate company Urban Innovations becomes evident as one steps into the firm's downtown Chicago office, an architectural, light-filled space where candid employee photographs grace the walls.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, just a few days after the locally-owned company had been named No. 11 on a list of the country's top 25 best small companies to work for, laughter filtered from the company kitchen. A lunchtime meeting of the monthly book club was in full swing.

When not busy acquiring, renovating and maintaining the company's 26 Midwest properties, employees are discussing great books, practicing yoga poses, going on recreational and community service field trips, and celebrating at Harry Caray's Restaurant. While it may sound like a lot of play, Mark Kelly, the company's president, will tell you that being the only Chicago company to rank among 50 in the third annual "The Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America," is all about hard work.

Kelly, who doesn't have an office, often spends time visiting sites and working side-by-side with employees.

"Just recently I worked a full day [with a construction crew] pulling up carpets and gluing down tiles," he said, grimacing over his sore muscles. "And I thought I was in pretty good shape," he laughed, adding that being out in the field with employees lets them know that they can approach him.

This management style has been a hit with the staff. Cori Beccario, a 28-year-old marketing coordinator who has been with the firm for about five years, put it this way: "It's one thing to enjoy your job, and a whole other to enjoy your job and the people you work with."

This was first year Urban Innovations applied to be included among the 25 small and 25 medium companies chosen by the Society for Human Resource Management, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade organization, in conjunction with San Francisco-based research and consulting firm The Great Place to Work Institute Inc. The selection was based on a hefty application packet and anonymous responses to detailed employee questionnaires

Along with the other winners, Urban Innovations got high scores for low turnover rates (the company loses less than 5 percent of its employees annually), customized development training throughout employees' careers, and flexible time off.

Sharing the honors were companies with even greater perks, such as unlimited paid time off, 100 percent paid health benefits, and profit-sharing programs that shift up to 50 percent of company yields to employees. Kelly said he feels fortunate just to be in the ranking.

"The companies that placed all had perks equal to or better than ours," he said. "But here, it's more than that. It's a culture. It's fostering acceptance and honor and integrity. It's a family feeling."

Still, with 94 employees scattered across the Midwest, the company's signature "family feeling" has become more difficult to sustain as the company has grown. Seven years ago, Kelly said, he could walk to all the sites. Now, with properties spanning from the Chicago suburbs to Florence, Ky., personal contact takes real effort and planning, he said.

As all companies have struggled with rising health insurance premiums, Urban Innovations has not been immune. It was only five years ago that the company could afford to pay the full costs of health insurance for its 20 employees. Today, the company pays a generous 87 percent of employee benefits.

"It's gotten to [cost] more and more though," Kelly said. "I don't know how other companies do it."

While many companies have done away with extras, Urban Innovations boasts citywide scavenger hunts for employees and hosts lavish holiday parties. It also subsidizes employee gym memberships and holds team-building events.

The company has also tried to accommodate employees' personal lives. By shifting their work hours, employees can take off every other Friday during the summer or come in earlier in the day in order to leave in mid-afternoon.

Several employees interviewed raved about their jobs.

One cited round-the-clock support for property managers who work outside of the Chicago office. "It's just me and maintenance here," said Cecelia Audy, 47, resident manager of Forest Apartments, an independent senior housing complex in downtown Glen Ellyn. "But even off-site, you don't feel like you're out of the loop." She noted regular team meetings, team-building exercises and classes for continuing education.

"What I find so great with this company versus others I've worked for in the past is that they really look out for their employees and try to do the best by them," said Audy.

Carol Lydecker, 51, a senior administrative assistant working in the company's senior housing department, praised the firm's dedication to safety and education.

"They're strict about things like in-house safety, and they pay for annual CPR and first aid certification. They really care," Lydecker said. "And it goes beyond us (employees) as well." Lydecker works with Section 8 low-income housing, which she said "can be a dirty word in the industry," but she said the company has created "properties to be proud of."

Urban Innovations claims these efforts are paying off with more than good karma. This year, the 27-year-old company took in $10 million in revenue, with "significant profit," according to Kelly. It's properties are all 88 to 92 percent occupied, compared with the city's estimated 83 percent occupancy rate, and recently, the company was voted one of "Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" by the National Association of Business Resources, a Warren, Mich.-based organization devoted to solutions for small- and medium-sized companies.

Perhaps most telling is Urban Innovations' unwillingness to settle for No. 11. "I've received a flood of e-mails from employees asking how we can get No. 1 next year," Kelly said. The company is already beginning to fill out the paperwork for next year's contest.

"We have a good chance," he said, "as long as we pay attention to the things that have gotten us this far."