Being a great employer is so much more than casual Fridays and a good salary. It’s everything from strong management to providing room for growth, and perks like free lunch never hurt.

Here are 20 of 2012’s top places to work in Massachusetts, split into the top five in each of our size categories: small, medium, large, and larger.

Top largest workplaces
No. 1: Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Co.
Pharmaceuticals
Based in: Cambridge
Massachusetts employees: 1,236

Millennium’s success at running a workplace that prizes collaboration and cross-cultural sensitivity has earned it the top spot among the largest organizations on this year’s Top Places to Work list. The company was recognized for its community support — specifically, its philanthropy under its Millennium Makes a Difference program.
Shown: Research Associate Andrew Xiao works in the Lead Discovery Labs.

Top largest workplaces
No. 2: Keller Williams Realty
Real estate
Based in: Austin, Texas
Massachusetts employees: 2,392
Keller Williams Realty has more than 80,000 real estate agents, in about 690 offices across North America. The firm is currently the second-largest residential real estate company in the United States. They have 2,392 employees in the state and nearly 70,000 nationally.

Top largest workplaces
No. 3: Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Human services
Based in: Watertown
Massachusetts employees: 1,600
Bright Horizons provides services in North America, Europe, and India for more than 850 clients, and according to the company’s website, it serves more than 130 of the Fortune 500 companies.

Top largest workplaces
No. 4: Winchester Hospital
Health care
Based in: Winchester
Massachusetts employees: 2,700
The hospital was ranked fourth in 2011 and fifth in 2010 on the Globe’s Top Places to Work list for large employers.
Shown: Winchester employees assist a young patient.

Top largest workplaces
No. 5: Herb Chambers Cos.
Auto dealer network
Based in: Somerville
Massachusetts employees: 1,950
Employees point to a helpful and knowledgable management staff and the recognition for good work as some of the biggest factors in making this such a positive work environment.
Shown: At Herb Chambers Ford in Braintree, salesman Mustafa Salman (left) showed customer Ken Monahan from Hingham a Ford Fusion on the lot.

Top large workplaces
No. 1: Analysis Group
Economic, financial, and strategy consulting
Based in: Boston
Massachusetts employees: 273
Analysis Group prides itself on helping employees prepare for graduate school, holding workshops on how to apply and study for the entrance examinations. And when workers agree to return to the company after grad school — as about a third wind up doing — Analysis Group typically agrees to pay for roughly half the tuition.
Shown: Almudena Arcelus, center, passed out packets before an Microsoft Excel training class.

Top large workplaces
No. 2: Hill Holiday
Advertising and marketing
Based in: Boston
Massachusetts employees: 481
The advertising agency has been consistently ranked among the Top Places to Work since 2009. “We’ve built our company around forward-thinking people who are incredibly passionate about their work,” the company wrote on its website.

Top large workplaces
No. 3: Wequassett Resort and Golf Club
Luxury resort
Based in: Harwich
Massachusetts employees: 325
In late October, the resort held a pumpkin carving contest for its employees. The winner, the company wrote via Instagram, was made by the food and beverage department (go figure), featuring a Jack-O-Lantern eating a pumpkin hamburger.
Shown: Wequassett Inn Resort and Golf Club guests lounge by the pool overlooking Pleasant Bay.

Top large workplaces
No. 4: Enterasys Networks
Wired and wireless network infastructure
Based in:Andover
Massachusetts employees: 516
In a Top Places to Work survey of employees, one wrote, “I have the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world and assist them achieving their goals.”
Shown: The company added a whimsical feel to the front of the building for its Halloween party.

Top large workplaces
No. 5: The Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston
Hotel
Based in: Boston
Massachusetts employees: 280
Ranked 23 among medium employers in 2011, the Fairmont Copley Plaza shot up the ranks this year.
Shown: People dine in the recently renovated Oak Long Bar + Kitchen at the hotel.

Top medium workplaces
No. 1: Boston Harbor Hotel
Hotel
Based in: Boston
Massachusetts employees: 196
The managers at the Boston waterfront hotel, one of just three five-star properties in the city, know that in order to deliver the highest level of service, workers need to feel like five-star employees. The hotel pulls out all the stops for its guests — filling up bathtubs with pink champagne if they so desire — and this VIP treatment extends to its employees.
Shown: Hotel employees Dave Marr (doorman), Helen Yuan (hotel seamstress), and Jorge Romero (maintenance engineer).

Top medium workplaces
No. 2: Institution for Savings
Banking
Based in: Newburyport
Massachusetts employees: 126
Ranked the number one small employer by the Globe in 2011 and number five in 2010. Institution for Savings has remained at the top of the list again this year.
Shown: Tellers (from left) David Goodwin, Mary Ann Padellaro, and Samantha Fay.

Top medium workplaces
No. 3: RE/MAX Leading Edge
Real estate
Based in: Winchester
Massachusetts employees: 111
RE/MAX was ranked seventh in the Globe’s Top Places list for small employers in 2011. Employees point to flexibility at the job and high rewards for their work in the survey, as well as the help from their supervisors and co-workers if needed.
Shown: Caitlin Gurda, left, in RE/MAX’s new office in Newtonville, and company mascot, Brando, lower right.

Top medium workplaces
No. 4: Fruit Center Marketplace
Grocery
Based in: Milton
Massachusetts employees: 170
“It all began in 1973, with a simple idea of offering exceptional produce to the South Shore community,” the marketplace wrote on its website. The business has a focus on community involvement and said it supports more than 100 local organizations each year.

Top medium workplaces
No. 5: VNA of Middlesex-East and Visiting Nurse Hospice/Sawtelle Family Hospice House
Health care
Based in: Wakefield
Massachusetts employees: 125
VNA of Middlesex-East provides home health and hospice services in 36 communities in the area and owns and operates a Hospice House in Reading. The agency touts a low rehospitalization rate due to its home health services and other factors.

Top small workplaces
No. 1: Globoforce
Employee recognition provider
Based in: Southborough
Massachusetts employees: 52
The large monitor in the lobby of Globoforce is filled with a cascading stream of recognition for employees who go the extra mile: working late, delivering a project early, lending a hand, or sharing knowledge. Each recognition is followed by a string of congratulations from fellow employees.
Shown: Employees listen to chief executive Eric Mosley, at a company update.

Top small workplaces
No. 2: New England Tractor Trailer Training School
Education
Based in: Quincy
Massachusetts employees: 52
The school has campuses near Hartford, Springfield, Bridgeport, Conn., Pawtucket, R.I., and North Andover. The school provides license upgrade training as well as fleet evaluation services.

Top small workplaces
No. 3: Cresa Boston
Real estate
Based in: Boston
Massachusetts employees: 53
The firm is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The company’s core values are “Integrity, Partnership, and Entrepreneurship,” its website said. “We will learn from one another; we will cooperate and collaborate with one another; we will foster a fraternity of interdependence.”

Top small workplaces
No. 4: Lexington Montessori School
Education
Based in: Lexington
Massachusetts employees: 57
“Children need adults as role models to show them how to be OK with creativity. I play the oboe, write, and draw, and do all these things in my classes so they can see that adults have the same fun that they do,” said Diana Traylor, a teacher for grades 1-3 at the school. “I can bring my whole self to the work place. I have amazing colleagues and we share a common philosophy,” wrote another employee on a Top Places survey.

Top small workplaces
No. 5: Chapman Construction/Design
Construction management and consulting
Based in: Newton
Massachusetts employees: 54
The company, founded in 1984, aims to deliver “work of the highest quality under the tightest of schedules, infusing every project with cost-conscious sustainable thinking, taking care of our employees and their families, and supporting the community focused organizations where we live and work,” according to its website.