From the place where happy workers and the disgruntled go to rate their employer comes this year’s Best Places to Work list. Topping the list this year with a near perfect 4.7 score is Bain & Co.
The global management consulting firm with 6,000 employees ranked 3rd last year, just behind Facebook and Southwest Airlines. This year, Facebook fell to third and Southwest came in seventeenth.
This is the fourth year that Glassdoor has compiled a list of the 50 best places to work. (Officially, it’s the Employees’ Choice Awards for the 50 Best Places to Work for 2012.)
Scores are based on at least 25 responses to a multi-question survey. The responses are aggregated and the top 50 scoring companies make the list.
Bain & Co. has made the list since its inception, as have 12 other companies including Apple (1oth), Chevron (16th), Google (5th), and Proctor & Gamble (25th).
Russ Hagey, chief talent officer at Bain & Company, said, “We consistently hear from our current and former employees that the challenging and supportive environment that Bain provides make us not only the best place to work, but a great launching pad to a successful career, whether it’s within the business, social or entrepreneurial sectors.”
Some companies have earned spots on other top lists. Google, Salesforce, Intel, and Starbucks, among others, are also on the Fortune list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Bain is on Vault’s Consulting 50 list, where it also ranked #1. McKinsey & Company, another global consulting firm, is second on the Glassdoor list and also on the Vault list.
While methodologies and scoring systems for the various lists are all different, the Glassdoor list is different because it is solely based on employee ratings.
“There are consistent themes that surface among these top-rated employers,” says Robert Hohman, co-founder and CEO of Glassdoor, “including company culture, competitive pay and benefits packages, open communication practices, and high opinions of the chief executive.”
Besides rating the company, CEOs are rated too. Their scores are included with the company’s on the top 50 list. Six CEOs got 100 percent ratings.