Fortune's Best Companies To Work For 2017: Marriott, TEKsystems, Wegmans

BETHESDA, MD — From free cakes on birthdays and hot chocolate for anyone who works outside in cold winter months, Wegmans looks after its employees, say workers. Which is why Wegmans Food Markets is No. 2 on Fortune's 2017 list of Best Companies to Work For. The grocery chain has locations in six states, including Maryland.

Two Maryland-based firms were also on the Fortune list: Bethesda based Marriott International at No. 33 — climbing considerably from No. 83 a year ago — and TEKsystems at No. 83. Google was again No. 1 on the list.

Wegmans employees say “there’s a lot of love and caring” at the 100-year-old family-owned grocery chain, where workers have flexible schedules, ample promotion opportunities and “feel like family,” Fortune says. The company chain also has more than 90 stores in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Wegmans has Maryland locations in Columbia, Crofton, Germantown, Abingdon, Hunt Valley and Woodmore near Bowie.

Of Marriott's ranking, the magazine says: "Employees say that 'you’re only limited by yourself' at this multi­national hospitality company, where 'unlimited opportunities to grow' have helped keep nearly 13,000 Marriott staffers at the company for more than 20 years. It has homed in on diversity too: 58% of frontline and middle managers are women, and 36% are minorities."

IT staffing and services firm TEKsystems' culture is rooted in relationships and appreciation, says Fortune. The company shows its thanks by sending flowers to the parents and spouses of top performers. On the company’s 30th anniversary, it gave employees $250 for each year they had been at the company.

Free gourmet food, haircuts and laundry service for its employees, among many other perks, made internet giant Google the No. 1 place to work for the eighth time in 11 years. The new version of Fortune's Best Companies to Work For features 12 companies that have made the ranking every year since the list began 20 years ago, including Publix, REI and Goldman Sachs.

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% 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.

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: Patch file photo, Wegmans