Fortune 100: Best Places to Work

Date: 22-01-2008
Source: Dow Jones News Services

The markets are roiling, the unemployment rate is rising, and the economy is swooning, but the 100 companies listed as Fortune's "best companies to work for" have been able, thus far, to keep their employees happy.

One likely contributor: Most of these firms have been hiring. Firms in downsizing mode tend to generate less excitement among workers - and keeping workers in a good mood is what this survey is all about: Two-thirds of a company's score is based on employees' survey responses.

Many of these firms are in "expansion-minded mode," said Milton Moskowitz, co-author of the list with Robert Levering. Levering is a co-founder of the Great Place to Work Institute, which surveys the employees and compiles the list for Fortune.

Google Inc. (GOOG), No. 1 on the list, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), No. 6, and FedEx Corp. (FDX), No. 97, are all "big job creators," he said.

Others creating jobs in the past year: FedEx added about 10,000 people; Cisco about 4,700; Whole Foods Markets Inc. (WFMI), about 3,700; Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), about 3,400; and Publix Super Markets Inc. (PUSH), about 3,000, Moskowitz said.

Google is No. 1 on the list for the second year in a row. Rounding out the top five this year are Quicken Loans Inc., Wegmans Food Markets Inc., Edward Jones & Co. and Genentech Inc. (DNA).

This year, 406 companies took part in the Fortune magazine survey, compared with 446 last year. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on employees' survey responses and one-third on researchers' assessments. About 100,000 workers completed surveys for this year's list. Companies must be at least seven years old and employ more than 1,000 U.S. workers to participate.

Perks, and More
Google's legendary perks include an on-site pool, gourmet restaurants, climbing wall, unlimited sick leave - and a strong sense of camaraderie. Here's an example: A Google employee, newly married, lost his wedding ring while playing a game of touch football on one of the company's lawns.

"In about five minutes," Moskowitz said the employee wrote in the survey, "a team of 65 employees formed a human chain and went through the grounds and found my ring. They saved my marriage."

In other comments, Google employees write that "it feels like college after college here," "this is the most ambitious company ... we constantly tackle problems I thought were unsolvable" and "I actually enjoy getting up each day and coming here."

Given that plenty of mortgage bankers are suffering through the subprime mess, it's perhaps surprising to see mortgage lender Quicken Loans at No. 2 on the list.

"They did very well in avoiding that crunch," Moskowitz said. "They didn't sell a lot of subprime loans. They have a revved-up work force that's really excited about working there. They kept adding people right through the year every month."

One reason employees are "revved up:" Open lines of communication between all employees and executives. Quicken Loans promotes a shared culture of working together, with each new worker trained by the company's chairman in the firm's 17 key philosophies, including "it's not about who's right, it's about what's right," said Bill Emerson, chief executive with the Lavonia, Mich., lender.

Then, the company sends handwritten cards to employees' on their anniversaries, as well as to employees' kids on their birthdays - with gift certificates enclosed.

"Our belief system is that the folks doing the work every day on the front lines are the ones helping us move the business forward," Emerson said.

Meanwhile, workers at the No. 11 firm on the list, Boston Consulting Group Inc., appear to enjoy the fact that the company pays 100% of their health-care premiums and contributes 15% of salary into a retirement fund.

Also, Boston Consulting Group keeps an eye on employees' hours. If they march into the "red zone" that signals burnout ahead, the team of workers in charge of caring for each worker figures out how to help that person reduce the count, either through coaching or by offering more resources on a particular project, said Kermit King, a senior partner at the firm.

Not Picture Perfect
Still, companies on the list aren't perfect. Moskowitz said employees or former employees have on occasion written to complain that a company does not deserve the honor.

"If you have thousands of employees, you're always going to find some people who are unhappy (or) you can find sometimes a boss who's not such a great guy and he takes it out on people," Moskowitz said. "That can happen at any place of size."

Moskowitz said he and Levering check every claim. "We check it out with the employee and we check it out with the company," he said. "But no one's perfect. There's always going to be some dissatisfied people. In all the comments received from Google, I've never seen any (negative) comment except one employee this year said 'it would be a better place if we had dormitories here so we could sleep" Moskowitz said.

Top 100 Firms: "Best Places to Work"
Here's the complete list of Fortune's 100 best places to work:

1. Google Inc.

2. Quicken Loans

3. Wegmans Food Markets

4. Edward Jones

5. Genentech

6. Cisco Systems

7. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX)

8. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)

9. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)

10. Methodist Hospital System

11. Boston Consulting Group

12. Nugget Market

13. Umpqua Bank

14. Network Appliance Inc. (NTAP)

15. W.L. Gore & Associates

16. Whole Foods Market

17. David Weekley Homes

18. OhioHealth

19. Arnold & Porter

20. Container Store

21. Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG)

22. American Century Investments

23. JM Family Enterprises Inc.

24. American Fidelity Assurance

25. Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. (STCL)

26. Stew Leonard's

27. S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.

28. QuikTrip Corp.

29. SAS Institute Inc.

30. Aflac Inc. (AFL)

31. Alston & Bird

32. Rackspace Managed Hosting

33. Station Casinos Inc. (STN)

34. Recreational Equipment Inc.

35. TDIndustries

36. Nordstrom Inc. (JWN)

37. Johnson Financial Group

38. Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc.

39. Robert W. Baird & Co.

40. Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE)

41. Bingham McCutchen

42. MITRE

43. Intuit Inc. (INTU)

44. Plante & Moran

45. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

46. CarMax Inc. (KMX)

47. J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM)

48. Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)

49. Griffin Hospital

50. Camden Property Trust (CPT)

51. Paychex Inc. (PAYX)

52. FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS)

53. VSP-Vision Care

54. CH2M HILL Cos.

55. Perkins Coie

56. Scripps Health

57. Ernst & Young

58. Scottrade

59. Mayo Clinic

60. Alcon Laboratories

61. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK)

62. American Express Co. (AXP)

63. King's Daughters Medical Center

64. EOG Resources Inc. (EOG)

65. Russell Investment Group

66. Nixon Peabody

67. Valero Energy Corp. (VLO)

68. EBay Inc. (EBAY)

69. General Mills Inc. (GIS)

70. Mattel Inc. (MAT)

71. KPMG

72. Marriott International Inc. (MAR)

73. David Evans and Associates

74. Granite Construction Inc. (GVA)

75. Southern Ohio Medical Center

76. Arkansas Children's Hospital

77. PCL Construction

78. Navy Federal Credit Union

79. National Instruments Corp. (NATI)

80. Healthways Inc. (HWAY)

81. Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc.

82. Nike Inc. (NKE)

83. AstraZeneca PLC (AZN)

84. Stanley

85. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network

86. Microsoft

87. Yahoo Inc. (YHOO)

88. Four Seasons Hotels Inc.

89. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (BFAM)

90. PricewaterhouseCoopers

91. Publix Super Markets

92. Milliken

93. Erickson Retirement Communities

94. Baptist Health South Florida

95. Deloitte & Touche USA

96. Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR)

97. FedEx Corp.

98. Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW)

99. SRA International Inc. (SRX)

100. Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN)