The Best Tech Companies To Work For: Fortune
Tops In Tech
Nineteen tech companies made the list this year of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2014, nestled among law firms, retailers, investment companies and more. Along with a strong presence on the list overall, tech companies made an impressive showing and secured the top two spots on the list.
Take a look at the tech companies that made the cut this year and what makes them so great to work for.
Hitachi Data Systems
Rank: 98
With an online portal for employee recognitions, Hitachi Data Systems lets its employees send gifts to honor their colleagues who they think are doing a great job. Recognition options include bonuses as well as more unique gifts like spa visits, golf clubs or TVs.
The data company slid from No. 63 on the list in 2013 to No. 98 this year.
Hyland Software
Rank: 93
New to the list this year, Hyland Software, Ohio's largest software company, landed a spot on the 2014 "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for its impressive company culture. Hyland Software has a "one team" mentality and encourages a flexible workplace, including compressed work weeks, telecommuting options and fully paid sabbaticals for the company's close to 2,000 employees.
Accenture
Rank: 90
Climbing one spot from 2013, Accenture made the 90th spot on the list for its employee-friendly travel policies. The traveling Accenture consultants are promised to not be out of town for more than four days or three nights a week, which means employees are able to spend more time at home. The consultants are the most common salaried job at Accenture, with an average salary of $94,400.
Microsoft
Rank: 86
Although it dropped 11 spots from the year before, Microsoft's health-care benefits policies landed it at No. 86 on the list for 2014. The Redmond, Wash.-based company covers 100 percent of health insurance premiums for its employees and dependents. The company also offers other health-related benefits, including fully paid sabbaticals, subsidized gym memberships and flexible work schedules.
Intel
Rank: 84
Intel employees get to travel to work in style on company-funded jets, which take employees between locations in Arizona, California and Oregon. 4,500 Intel employees get to take advantage of the high-flying commute, earning Intel the No. 84 spot on the list.
On the downside, Intel has recently announced plans to cut back on 5,000 employees over the next year, a 5 percent reduction of the company's headcount.
Adobe Systems
Rank: 83
After missing out for a spot on the list in 2013, Adobe Systems is back in the game at No. 83 on this year's "Best Companies to Work For" list. Adobe offers 11 paid holiday days for time off as well as paid sabbaticals.
As well as providing 48 hours in yearly training for salaried and hourly employees, Adobe offers a $10,000 tuition reimbursement benefit to help further employee education.
Autodesk
Rank: 70
Every four years at Autodesk, employees are offered a fully paid six-week sabbatical for their service. In the past year, 429 employees took advantage of the benefit.
This year is the company's sixth time on the list, coming in at No. 70, dropping down from No. 54 last year.
"Our people are why this company is a great place to work," said Jan Becker, Autodesk senior vice president of human resources and real estate, in a prepared statement. "You'll find our culture is passionate and respectful -- that's why employees all over the world take pride in making software that helps users design and create a better world."
Deloitte
Rank: 61
Coming in at No. 61, Deloitte secured itself a spot on the list by pushing forward diversity throughout the company. It is the first company to have both a female chairman with Sharon Allen and a minority CEO with Joe Echevarria. As a whole, the 45,928-employee U.S. company is 37 percent minorities and 41.9 percent women.
Cisco
Rank: 55
Cisco makes it easy for employees to stay fit, offering a 118,000-square-foot, gold-level, LEED certified gym and health center on premises at its headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Don't know what to do with the kids during work or while hitting the gym? You can leave them at two on-site care centers.
Cisco dropped its status on the list from 42 to 55 in 2014, but has secured a spot on the list for the past 16 years.
"As we work on reinvigorating our culture and engaging with our employees, this award couldn't be more important to us and speaks volumes about the true spirit of our employees," Kath Weslock, senior vice president and chief HR officer, said in a prepared statement on the Cisco blog.
TEK Systems
Rank: 49
Jumping up 30 spots in the list from No. 79 last year, TEK Systems was praised for its strong employee culture. The 3,476-employee company has a very caring culture, the list said, where employees work to support each other toward success. Working for TEK Systems has other perks, too, such as subsidized gym memberships, flexible work schedules and a diverse employee base.
World Wide Technology
Rank: 34
With all the buzz around rising health-care costs, World Wide Technology makes it easy for employees by offering a benefits package that costs only $25 a month. In 2013, the company extended the benefits to include domestic partner coverage. The 2,060-person company was ranked 24 last year, but dropped to No. 34 for 2014.
NetApp
Rank: 33
Do you like to volunteer? NetApp encourages its employees to get out into the community and volunteer their time by giving them five paid days off a year to do just that. The employees can choose from local schools, or a local nonprofit, or even NetApp group community service events. If the local nonprofits who receive NetApp's in-kind donations are in need of technical help, employees can take even more days off for community service by helping those organizations with their technical support.
Qualcomm
Rank: 32
Although it was No. 11 on the list last year, and is now No. 32, the Fortune report said that Qualcomm is still a great place to work. In particular, the San Diego-based company has great incentives for its close to 18,000 U.S. employees. For example, the company encourages innovation through patent-based bonuses by cutting a $1,500 check to employees who file a new patent. In 2013, 1,794 employees benefited from that program.
Rackspace Hosting
Rank: 29
Rackspace Hosting is helping push forward innovation in San Antonio with the implementation of its Open Cloud Academy, where it takes college graduates, veterans and those looking for a career switch and preps them for a job in tech. After graduating, roughly 60 percent are taken on by Rackspace as full-time employees, a win-win for both sides. The training benefits helped boost Rackspace from No. 34 a year before to No. 29 this year.
Ultimate Software
Rank: 20
Being one of the 1,710 employees of this software company had its perks over the past year. All employees hold stock in the company, and they saw big gains as the stock price rocketed up from $85 to $155 over the course of 2013. Similar gains also were seen the year before in 2012.
Intuit
Rank: 8
Rising in the ranks from No. 22 the year before, Intuit's policies on fitness and new employee incentives earned it a No. 8 spot on this year's list. Employees get access to $650 in credits toward fitness free-time activities like gym or swimming memberships, Pilates classes and more. Intuit added 326 new employees over the past year, who were able to take advantage of incentives like increased acclimation time, where new hires are given a month to simply adjust to the new company, with no specific assignments.
Salesforce.com
Rank: 7
Salesforce.com has moved forward in leaps and bounds, jumping ranks from No. 19 in 2013 to the 7th spot this year. Over the past two years, the company has doubled its head count, adding 5,000 employees to bring its total employee base to roughly 10,000. And it's still going -- there are reportedly 835 open positions at the company as of Jan. 2.
For employees on board, there are great incentives in place to reward good work. For example, the top salespeople were reportedly given two-week trips to Bhutan for exceeding their goals.
SAS
Rank: 2
Software developer SAS managed to hold onto its second-place slot on the list from the year before. In 2011, SAS used to hold the top spot, but dropped to third place in 2012.
The multibillion-dollar company was credited with having an excellent in-house health-care system. The company reportedly employs 90 medical staff, including family practitioners, dieticians and physical therapists.
Rank: 1
Google took the crown spot on the list for the third year in a row. This year, the company was awarded the top spot for its philanthropy practices by encouraging volunteer time and donating $50 for every five community service hours. When Google broke the $1,000-per-share mark on the stock market, it was a boon for employees this past year, as well, as every Google employee owns stock in the company.
However, recent events such as protesters targeting buses of Google commuters due to high rent rates in San Francisco, might put a damper on the incumbent's run for the top spot next year.