The top 25 companies for pay and perks
Casey Kelly-Barton, The Motley Fool
Source: USA Today
On Friday, Glassdoor released its first report on the top 25 companies for compensation and benefits. The results are based on a year’s worth of verified feedback from U.S. employees who use the career community website. Pay is a hot topic, cropping up in all sorts of discussions — from the fast-food industry to state minimum wage laws and speculation about the why The New York Times recently fired its first woman executive editor.
It’s not surprising, then, that 39% of American workers in a recent Glassdoor survey say they believe they don’t get paid fairly for their efforts. When that much of the workforce — 42% of women surveyed and 34% of men — feel they’re under-compensated for their work, employee motivation and performance suffer.
Despite talk at the city and state level about living-wage standards and President Obama’s recent executive order on equal pay and a higher minimum wage for federal contract employees, 57% of the workers surveyed said it’s up to employers, rather than the government, to take care of the issue. The top items on their wish list are better pay policies, clearer top-down communication, and greater transparency about pay.
But there are companies that earn raves from employees for pay, benefits, and working conditions. Naturally, the list features companies that pay well, but what stands out are the responsive and often creative benefits — everything from flex-time and work-from-home options to more esoteric perks like pet insurance and onsite hair salons.
Top industries in the top 25
The tech sector makes up almost half of the list, with 12 companies earning top marks for pay and benefits, including Google, Microsoft (MSFT) and Adobe (ADBE).
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology make up the second-largest group with three representatives: Genentech, Amgen and Pfizer.
Costco, at No. 2 on the list, is the only retailer to make the chart, along with one company each from the insurance, transportation, energy and travel industries. Not surprisingly, no fast-food companies made the list.
1. Google
2. Costco
3. Facebook
4. Adobe
5. Epic
6. Intuit
7. USAA
8. Chevron
9. Salesforce.com
10. Monsanto
11. Genentech
12. Kaiser Permanente
13. Qualcomm
14. Riverbed
15. Verizon
16. Vmware
17. T-Mobile
18. Microsoft
19. Amgen
20. Pfizer
21. Southern California Edison
22. Orbitz
23. Procter & Gamble
24. Union Pacific
25. eBay
