2008 Best Companies to Work For
Fortune released the 2008 Best Companies to Work For list. The top five companies are:
- Google (GOOG), Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
- Quicken Loans, Headquarters: Livonia, MI
- Wegman’s Food Markets, Headquarters: Rochester, NY
- Edward Jones, Headquarters: St. Louis, MO
- Genetech
Google’s Got Brand.
They have a great brand. They are the number one ranked search engine. Everyone knew Google reached success when the term became a verb. They are constantly adding new services and they are making money when many big name companies like Coca-Cola, Ford, and GM are losing money.
You can visit the Fortune list to learn the reasoning behind Google’s ranking. This is Google’s second straight year as the best company to work for. Employees say they like working for Google because of the flexibility, financial security, and the opportunities they have to try new things. That does sound pretty good, doesn’t it?
Google’s Got Perks.
Here are some random Google facts, from Fortune
- Employees used to get around the Google facilities by riding around on Segways and electronic scooters. Although Segways may sound fun, they kept breaking down. Employees kept falling off the electronic scooters. Now, people get around on bicycles.
- Google has been known to rent a theater for a day so that employees and a guest can view first-run movies like Lord of the Rings and Transformers.
- New mothers can get 18 weeks of paid maternity time. New fathers can take advantage of 7 weeks of paid time. Google also gives out free “onesies.”
- They have an internal networking site to connect the 15,000 plus employees. I’m actually working on a project to bring such a tool to my company.
- Google is green. They use solar power, have recycled carpets, and have complimentary public transportation. They even have an air filtration system to help their employees breathe better.
- When interviewing at Google, they judge applicants on technical, cognitive, communication, and leadership skills. They encourage interviewers to wear whatever is comfortable whether casual attire or a business suit.
If you’re sold on Google’s greatness, you can look for career opportunities here and here.
Are you a newly corporate Googler? Tell us how it really is!
5 Comments
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One thing to remember with lists like this are that the companies often have to pay to be included on them. Once they pay the fee Fortune will survey the employees and rank them… So if your smaller maybe regional firm isn’t on there that could be the reason.
On another note, My company dropped like 30 spots this year to the near end. We got an email last week from our CEO explaining the drop and saying he was going to look into the reason. They (management) seemed quite distressed because of our lowering in ranking.
Like Brandon said, companies have to apply each year for this honor. I too work at a company that has been on this list multiple times, and this year we were dropped down quite a bit. Fortune bases 2/3rds of the score on the responses to a survey of the employees and 1/3rd on the application.
As one of the team members who worked on the application for one of the top five companies you mentioned, I wanted to make a correction to Brandon’s comment. Companies do NOT have to pay FORTUNE — or the Great Place to Work Institute that manages the applications for the “100 Best” list — to be ranked.
As Melanie stated, they do have to apply — and companies must invest manpower (and therefore money) to manage the application process. The GPTW Institute can, however, make some money by charging companies for reports after the rankings are released, or for reprints of magazine copies, etc. but I am not sure about the prices for these items.
Some companies decide not to apply (such as Apple), but and others cannot apply because they do not meet all of the criteria. (For example, the criteria concerning length of time in business is why Google could only apply recently.) See nomination criteria here: http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/nominations/nom-100best_eligibility.php
I hope that helps clarify things!