LAS VEGAS -- There are a great many good companies to work for, said Hal Adler, a consultant with Great Place to Work Institute Inc. (GPTW), San Francisco. The hard part is [going] to the great.
In an educational session on creating a great place to work, taking place on Wednesday at the National Association of Convenience Stores' NACS Show 2005, Adler presented attendees with the basics to making that leap to a truly great company. GPTW provides the grunt work in compiling Fortune 's annual 100 Best Companies to Work For listing, which has featured [image-nocss] such industry names as QuikTrip (No. 19) and Valero (No. 23).
Potential candidates for the list are nominated by their own employees. The companies must meet certain criteria in terms of size, organizational structure and years in business. From there, GPTW selects around 350 of the nominees for a full evaluation, which includes measuring them by the GPTW Trust Indexa 59-item measurement of employee perceptionand performing a Culture Audit to examine workplace practices.
The perception part of the evaluation is key, said Adler. Employees must perceive a nominee to be credible, respectful and fair to workers, as well as creating an environment that fosters pride and camaraderie.
Any kind of organization can make the listing, Adler said, and it's not dependent on industry, the CEO, the size of the company or whether or not it's unionized. Most 100 Best winners are around 1,000 employees in size, and 21 on the 2004 list are union shops. The fact that QuikTrip and Valero are on the list, as well as Wegmann's Supermarkets, said the consultant, makes a lot of naysayers say, I guess it's possible.'
Interestingly, these companies offer a lot of the same benefits as their merely good contemporaries, including flex time, telecommuting and benefits for part-time staff. The difference is how they offer them and why.
For example, San Antonio-based Valero invests in employee camaraderie by inviting its retirees to employee appreciation functions and sending them company news. They are also made members of the company's Retiree Volunteer Council and Vanguard Club, which meet to work on community projects. They take it to the next level, where they say, You're always part of this Valero community, said Adler.
Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip requires its veteran employees to take a four-week sabbatical after 25 years, and forbids them to call into the store or office.
And there are benefits for the companies that have made the 100 Best ranking beyond the publicity: They consistently experience half the turnover of their peers and about three times the financial performance because their employees are more productive and engaged.
The 2005 100 Best Companies ranking featured 21 companies new to the list. More often than not, an organization slips off because the bar set by GPTW and Fortune has been raised again. This journey does not stop, said Adler. This journey continues.
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