Fortune's Best Companies To Work For: Which Chicago Company Made The Top 50?

Free gourmet food, haircuts and laundry service for its employees, among many other perks, have made internet giant Google the No. 1 place to work for the eighth time in 11 years — and a Chicago company also ranked among the top 50 on Fortune's Best Companies to Work For list.

Chicago-based Hyatt is No. 32 on this year's list. With 40,000 employees and hundreds of hotels in the United States, the chain has made the list for the past four years. Employees said Hyatt is their "home away from home," calling perks like from onsite dry cleaning and free or discounted hotel stays "amazing," adding that the company culture is one of "fairness, love and respect," according to Fortune. Read more on Hyatt's 2017 Great Places to Work review.

Fortune's 2017 list features 12 companies that have made the ranking every year since it began 20 years ago, including Publix, REI and Goldman Sachs.

Five newcomers to Fortune's list in 2017 are Pinnacle Financial Partners, SAP America, Delta Air Lines, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and AT&T.

Helping Google to retain its top-of-the heap ranking was its move to increase parental leave after company executives learned that mothers were leaving at higher rates. And Fortune says of the company culture: "Town halls held by black Googlers and allies, support for transgender workers, and unconscious-bias workshops (­already attended by more than 70 percent of staff) help foster what employees say is a 'safe and inclusive' workplace at this hive of high performers."

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.

In the No. 2 spot, Wegmans Food Markets of Rochester, New York, is one of 12 companies that have appeared on the list for all 20 years, and has also been designated one of the Great Place to Work Legends. The grocery chain has locations in six states, including Maryland. Its employees say “there’s a lot of love and caring” at this 100-year-old family-owned grocery chain, where workers have flexible schedules, ample promotion opportunities and “feel like family.” But it’s the “small things that make a difference,” like free cakes on birthdays and hot chocolate in the winter for anyone who works outside, says the company.

And at spot No. 3. is The Boston Consulting Group, where employees say the opportunities for growth are “unmatched,” benefits like $5 co-pays are “off the hook” and hard work is balanced by an emphasis on self-care (think sabbaticals, fitness centers and telecommuting), Fortune says.

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: Robert Scoble via Flickr/Creative Commons

By Deb Belt (Patch Staff)