If you want to know the best government agencies to work for, there’s the Partnership for Public Service’s “Great Places to Work in the Federal Government.” If you’re simply interested in the “great places” to work part, there’s Fortune Magazine’s 20th anniversary edition of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Let’s take a look.
GOOGLE WINS, AGAIN
At the top of Fortune’s list for the sixth year in a row is Google. Google’s no stranger to the top block: this is Google’s eighth appearance as #1 in the last 11 years. They must be doing something right. Very right. And it has to do with perks, really good perks, that make Google a pleasant place to be, a place where you really want to be.
According to Fortune, Google offers its people “free gourmet food, haircuts, and laundry services.” But to be the best, it has to be about more than niceties. Google’s culture is open, inclusive, welcoming to everyone who wants to contribute their ingenuity to Google’s innovative successes. “[Google] boosted its parental-leave policies, for example,” reports Fortune, “after finding that mothers were leaving at higher rates—the result was a 50% reduction in attrition for working moms.” That’s really taking care of your employees in a meaningful way.
Fortune reports, “there’s the culture: Town halls held by black Googlers and allies, support for transgender workers, and unconscious-bias workshops (already attended by more than 70% of staff) help foster what employees say is a ‘safe and inclusive’ workplace at this hive of high performers.” Sounds like Google’s culture is one to emulate.
SKINNING CATS – diversity, jobs and income
There’s more than one way (to skin one), and perks and a pleasant culture may not be so important. You can shop Fortune’s top 100 by way of compensation, paid time off, hiring and staffing (the most job openings), and diversity.
If you love diversity in the workforce, the look to the service industry. While Baptist Health South Florida (squeaking in overall at #97) tops the diversity category, positions 2 through 5 belong to Hilton (#26 overall), Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (#79 overall), Hyatt (#32), and Marriott International (#33). At the same time, when it comes to hiring and staffing, Marriott International and Hilton are back on top at first and second place.
If it’s the almighty dollar, Fortune’s top 100 ranges from nearly $241,000 down to $46,000 . . . nothing to sneeze at if you’re unemployed. Big dollars are in the law. Firm Perkins Coie pays in the neighborhood of a quarter-million a year for what Forbes describes as the “most common job” (I’m pretty sure common at Perkins Coie doesn’t mean low-class . . . I think it means something like Harvard Law). But there are other ways to make it rain: Information Technology (VMWare pays over $165,000 per annum; Autodesk is just short of $150,000; SAP America nearly $140,000), and pharmaceuticals (Genentech’s at over $166,000; Novo Nordisk pays just over $108,000 per annum), to name just a few attractive industries.
WHO’S HIRING
Top companies can pay as much as they want, but if they’re not hiring . . . . Fortune’s cut on companies looking for new talent is worth checking out. On top is Marriott International. Marriott’s looking for well-over 57,000 new employees. The Hilton needs an additional 42,000 hands. And Cisco’s looking for 3,200, AT&T needs 1,800, VMWare 1,300 . . . and there are 1,000 hot spots at Google.
No matter your discipline or dreams, the private sector’s hiring, and the payoff could be huge.
