Tech companies took 13 of the top 20 spots in a new ranking of best corporate culture, according to a new survey from Comparably. The usual suspects–Microsoft, IBM and Google–showed up in the top three spots and two more–UiPath and Uber–jumped up higher in the list as compared to last year’s ranking.
The top 20 companies with the best culture based on Comparably’s list of 50 winners are (tech firms in bold):
- Microsoft
- IBM
- HubSpot
- Elsevier
- Chegg
- Concentrix
- RingCentral
- Experian
- Estee Lauder Companies
- Boston Consulting Group
- Adobe
- Meltwater
- Momentive.ai
- TaskUs
- ADP
- Organon
- LexisNexis Legal & Professional
- UiPath
- Uber
Improving company culture in a hybrid environment
Building corporate culture is more challenging than ever as the workplace continues to evolve due to new expectations from workers. Company leaders are rethinking their communication strategies and real estate plans to make room for remote workers and teams that have a mix of in-person and virtual members. There is no one strategy among corporations just as there is no one attitude about in-person work among employees.
CloudBees, a continuous delivery software company, has always used a hybrid approach to work, and CEO Stephen DeWitt said promoting flexible schedules for employees has been the key to this model from the beginning.
“The biggest takeaway from these practices is inclusivity among our employees and really making sure everyone has a sense of belonging, whether in the office or working remotely,” DeWitt said.
SEE: Leaders: Building a good company culture starts with you
The company builds these connections via a weekly virtual water cooler on Slack hosted by the company’s chief strategy officer and a weekly virtual town hall hosted by DeWitt.
Bill Mann, CEO of Styra, a cloud-native security company, sees company culture as a critical element of a company’s strategy and as important as sales numbers. He recommended that leaders communicate culture expectations regularly to managers, including what kind of behavior is acceptable and what is not.
“Keep repeating, amplifying, giving examples of employees who amplify the culture–so it’s reinforced for everyone,” he said. “Remember, employees have their own ‘culture’ from the previous companies they have worked at, so it’s your job to develop your company culture.”
He also suggests that people pick up the phone frequently because it’s easy to lose the context of a written message. He also changed the focus of an annual sales meeting to include more team building activities.
“We just had our first sales kick-off–and the objective was to get to know everyone, unlike typical kick-offs,” he said.
SEE: Is remote work killing company culture? Tech execs chime in
Mann also likes donut meetings in Slack for connecting with employees.
“These random meetings are great for me since I like the one-on-one interaction with employees,” he said.
Christy Spilka, vice president, global head of talent acquisition at iCIMS, a talent management company, said companies should use these tactics to build a good culture:
- Look for ways to authentically showcase workplace culture
- Be transparent about expectations for in-person work
- Engage with candidates in ways that they prefer to communicate
- Discuss opportunities for growth and advancement
SEE: Why you have to care about employee experience and how to improve it
Tech workers are optimistic
Comparably also released this week a list of companies with the best outlook. Several tech companies appeared on the big company version of list as well:
- Microsoft
- Palo Alto Networks
- HubSpot
- Amazon Consumer
- IBM
- Boston Consulting Group
- ADP
- Adobe
- Chegg
- TripActions
- Chewy
- RingCentral
- Medallia
- SentinelOne
- Stanley Black & Decker
- Concentrix
- nCino
- Sitel Group
- LHC Group
Comparably is a brand management platform for employers. The company compiled the best culture list based on sentiment ratings from employees who rated their employers anonymously on Comparably.com over the course of a year, starting in March 2021. Winners were determined based on this feedback as well as a workplace culture survey in nearly 20 categories, including compensation, leadership and professional development, perks and benefits. Answers were given a numerical score and then compared to companies of similar size. additional weight was given to companies with more participation from their employee base.
The final data set for the outlook list was compiled from 15 million ratings across 70,000 North American companies. For the best outlook list, Comparably scored answers these survey questions:
- How confident are you about the future success of your company?
- Are you typically excited about going to work each day?
- How likely are you to recommend working at your company to a friend?
There were no fees or costs associated with participating in either ranking and nomination was not required.