Fortune's Best Companies To Work For 2017: Four Georgia Firms

ATLANTA, GA — A positive work atmosphere for employees who serve young patients helped make Atlanta-based Children's Healthcare of Atlanta land at No. 56 on the 2017 version of Fortune's Best Companies to Work For list. Internet giant Google retained the No. 1 place to work for the eighth time in 11 years.

This year's list features 12 companies that have made the ranking every year since the list began 20 years ago, including Publix, REI, Goldman Sachs and Wegmans Food Markets.

The four Georgia-based firms on the Fortune list are:

• No. 56 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
• No. 63 Delta Air Lines
• No. 65 Alston & Bird
• No. 91 Aflac

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta shot up from No. 78 a year ago to No. 12 in 2017. Employees say the hospital goes out of its way to create a fun, positive, and “encouraging ­environment for staffers, with plenty of appreciation so they’re always motivated “do their best” to further the company mission: “Keeping kids healthy and safe,” Fortune reports.

While customers have a love-hate relationship with airlines, Delta employees surveyed said, “Not many people can plan last-minute weekend dinner trips in Tokyo with coworkers,” of the airline that offers generous flight privileges. These travel enthusiasts also appreciate Delta's profit-sharing, which has paid out nearly $5 billion over the past five years, Fortune says.

The Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird wins praise for its employees with a sense of humor and collaborative ethos, Fortune says, along with the 15 paid hours a year for community service and amock courtroom for training. One employee says, “Everyone wants each other to succeed.”

And Columbus-based Aflac earns high marks for the family feeling in the workplace and the “strong, positive” culture nurtured by the CEO, Dan Amos.

To select the 100 Best Companies to Work For, Fortune and Great Place to Work survey more than 230,000 people. They anonymously assess their workplace, including the quality of their leaders, support for their personal and professional lives, and their relationships with colleagues.

Fortune says the Top 10 Best Companies to Work For are:

1. Google
2. Wegmans Food Markets
3. The Boston Consulting Group
4. Baird
5. Edward Jones
6. Genentech
7. Ultimate Software
8. Salesforce
9. Acuity
10. Quicken Loans

View the full list here.

Methodology
To identify the 100 Best Companies to Work For, each year Fortune partners with Great Place to Work to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America, with feedback from more than 230,000 people. Each company’s score is based on Trust Index survey feedback from a random sample of employees. People anonymously assess their workplace, including the quality of their leaders, support for their personal and professional lives, and their relationships with colleagues. Survey results are compared with peer organizations of like size and complexity and are highly reliable statistically. In addition, Great Place to Work scores a Culture Audit management questionnaire from each company, which reports details such as compensation and benefits, hiring practices, recognition, training, and diversity programs.
Total employee counts are global. Job openings are U.S. only.

Photo Credit: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta