Fortune's Best Companies To Work For 2017: Five Virginia Firms

MCLEAN, VA — Free coffee for employees and a corporate culture that encourages diversity helped make McLean-based Capital One land at No. 17 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, which is No. 2 in the rankings. The grocery chain has locations in six states, including Virginia.

The five Virginia-based firms on the Fortune list are:

No. 17 Capital One
No. 26 Hilton
No. 47 Navy Federal Credit Union
No. 50 Mars
No. 77 CarMax

Capitol One shot up from No. 88 a year ago. Employees at the financial services firm are excited about the innovative ­direction the company is heading in (it has an in-house accelerator and has added free Wi-Fi and coffee at some branches), says Fortune. And staffers feel “no pressure to fit into a cookie-cutter ‘banker’ mold,” one says. “Diversity of thought and person is encouraged.”

Global hotel chain Hilton earns praise for “endless opportunities” for advancement and recently started paying for employees’ GEDs. “Hilton believes in me,” says one staffer. “You get the feeling that you really matter.”

And workers at Navy Federal Credit Union feel they make a difference in the lives of "millions of special people,” one worker at this credit union for members of the U.S. armed forces and their families said in the survey. Employees say they’re proud to “serve those who serve our country” and that values like ­“respect,” “fairness” and “equality” permeate this workplace.

Used-car seller CarMax earns props for assigning all new hires to mentors when they start. The “nurturing” work environment “helped me become a better person,” says one staffer in the Fortune story.

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.

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