Smith Sport Optics of Ketchum was named by Outside magazine as one of the nation's best places to work.
The article is in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands now.
In the article, the magazine ranks Smith No. 4 out of 30 companies. The article quotes Hailey resident and Smith spokesman Greg Randolph, who praised the company's embrace of being outdoors whenever possible.
"The president is as interested in outdoor exploits as anyone else," Randolph said. "He encourages us to get outside. That nails what it's like to work at Smith."
Ned Post is Smith's president. The company employs 68 people.
Outside's "Best Places to Work" list was compiled with the help of the Outdoor Industry Association.
"It's absolutely a serious research project," said Michael Roberts, Outside's executive editor, in an interview with the Idaho Mountain Express.
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Of course, as befits Outside magazine, the definition of "best company" has to have some particular ingredients.
"We at Outside have our own slant on life," Roberts said. "To us, balance is important. You need to have a work-life balance."
The companies selected, Roberts said, share the common belief that employees who have that sort of balance in their lives will boost the company's bottom line. Those companies that maintain the sort of "intangible" benefits to workers, whether it be on-site fitness classes, ski passes or flexible hours, are the sort that their study focused on.
