Email | Print    Type Size  -  +

A new No. 1 best employer

Data storage company NetApp continues to grow revenues while boosting employee morale -- enough to topple Google (No. 4), which held the crown for the past two years.

By Christopher Tkaczyk
Last Updated: January 22, 2009: 12:36 PM ET

(Fortune) -- How do you keep employees happy, even in troubled times? The companies on this year's list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For showed us that culture continues to be the most important aspect of what makes a company great. Our new No. 1, NetApp (NTAP), the San Francisco-based data storage and management company that has been on the list for the past six years, continues to grow revenues while boosting employee morale -- enough to topple Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) (No. 4), which held the crown for the past two years.

The tough economy took a toll on many corporations and these are no exception. Many told us about layoffs, but we wanted to know how outgoing employees were treated: the size of severance packagess, additional benefits options, and so on. Some companies facing the financial crisis were able to keep employees happy with reduced bonuses, extra vacation days, and discounted gift cards. And for some, just having a job was reason to rejoice. Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) (No. 24) suffered from sagging sales, and announced store closings, ultimately affecting employee morale. Quicken Loans (No. 29) drops from last year's second spot amid a housing crisis in Michigan.

But not all companies are doom and gloom. A lot of the usual suspects remain high in the rankings this year: Edward Jones (No. 2), Boston Consulting Group (No. 3), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) (No. 9) - a testament to their stellar workplaces. But the biggest surprise is the debut of Vanderbilt University, the first time an institution of higher learning has appeared on the list. Atlantic Health System debuts at No. 75 and joins 12 other health care companies -- 10 of which are hospitals. Other new additions: online shoe retailer Zappos.com (No. 23), the animation division of Hollywood movie studio DreamWorks Animation (DWA) (No. 47), networking and security techie Juniper Networks (No. 84), construction company Gilbane (No. 91), the Build-a-Bear Workshop (No. 94), and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (No. 95) - all offer great pay and a variety of great perks and unique benefits.

Layoffs seemed to be common, but for the time being, it seems they've subsided. A surprising 93 companies on the list are currently hiring for open positions - nearly 75% of them with 50 or more jobs to fill. To top of page

Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.