100 Best Companies to Work For 

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1. SAS
SAS
CEO Dr. Goodnight, shown here with employees at SAS’s headquarters.
Rank: 1 (Previous rank: 20)
What makes it so great?
One of the Best Companies for all 13 years, SAS boasts a laundry list of benefits -- high-quality child care at $410 a month, 90% coverage of the health insurance premium, unlimited sick days, a medical center staffed by four physicians and 10 nurse practitioners (at no cost to employees), a free 66,000-square-foot fitness center and natatorium, a lending library, and a summer camp for children.

The architect of this culture -- based on "trust between our employees and the company" -- is Jim Goodnight, its co-founder, and the only CEO that SAS has had in its 34-year history.

Some might think that with all those perks, Goodnight was giving away the store. Not so. SAS is highly profitable and ranks as the world’s largest privately owned software company. Turnover is the industry’s lowest at 2%.

Headquarters: 100 SAS Campus Dr.
Cary, NC 27513
2008 revenue ($ millions): 2,300**
Website: www.sas.com

Is SAS a great employer, or what?
SAS stats
Employees  
U.S. employees 5,487
Employees outside U.S. 5,579
Jobs  
New jobs (1 year) 119
% job growth (1 year) 2%
% voluntary turnover 2%
Applicants 26,432
No. of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2010) 52
Pay Avg. annual pay*
Most common job (salaried):
Software Developer		 N.A.
Most common job (hourly):
Office Administrator		 N.A.
Benefits  
Paid sabbaticals No
Onsite child care Yes
Health  
100% health-care coverage No
Onsite fitness center Yes
Subsidized gym membership Yes
Work-life  
Job sharing program Yes
Compressed workweek Yes
Telecommuting Yes
Diversity  
% minorities 16%
% women 45%
Has nondiscrimination policy
that includes sexual orientation?		 Yes
Offers domestic partner benefits
for same-sex couples?		 Yes
Professional training  
Salaried employees (hrs./yr.): 37
Hourly employees (hrs./yr.): 17
From the Feb. 8, 2010 issue
Notes:
N.A.: Not available. U.S. employees includes part-timers as of time of survey. Job growth, new jobs, and voluntary turnover are full-time only. Revenues are for 2008 or latest fiscal year. All data based on U.S. employees.
* Average annual pay: yearly pay rate plus additional cash compensation for the largest classification of full-time salaried and hourly employees.
** SAS revenues are for 2009.
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