Fortune magazine and the Great Place To Work Institute just announced the Top 100
Best Companies to work for. (See Fortune, February 4, 2013 for the list).

259 firms and more than 277,000 employees were surveyed and asked to rate management
credibility, job satisfaction, camaraderie, pay and benefits, hiring practices,
communication, recognition, and diversity.

A common theme for the winners? Making their employees their priority.
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“If this place got any better, I might not go home at night.”

–SAS employee
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Employees are the priority . . .

Most of the top 100 companies have a voluntary attrition rate of < 5%, most are
in the top quartile for compensation, and most offer domestic partner benefits.

The other big differentiator was that almost all did a variety of “things” to keep
employees happy. Here are some that were highlighted:

-Onsite massages, fitness centers

-Promoting a work-life balance and tracking hours to ensure there was a balance

-“Catch” and reward others for a job well done; opportunities to appreciate others

-Formal idea sharing forums and regional gatherings

-Paid hours to volunteer or for sabbaticals

-10% of work time allowed for pursuing a work project of their choice

-Training, development, job rotation, job shadowing, mentoring

-Flexible work hours

-Having a sense of purpose; working toward shared goals

And one we thought was especially interesting, was where a CEO posted their personal
development plan for all employees to see, and track results.

Depending on the company you work for, and your individual role, you may be in the
position to influence some, and actually implement others. Which do you already
have in place? Which are you willing to influence or implement?