Twitter has been ranked as the top U.S. company for culture and values according to the 2014 ranking of the top 25 companies for culture and values by Glassdoor. The ranking is based on insights from company employees. Twitter employees calle the company, “the best place I have ever worked,” and described it as having an “amazing culture.”
What makes the culture so amazing at Twitter? According to one employee, “I love how the 10 core values drive the company to always be better,” while another explained, “Collaboration – everyone here is pushing towards a common goal, we all want to see the company grow and become more successful.” And yet another employee shared that Twitter has, “Great people, great food, great compensation, great learning opportunities, great opportunities. You get to do what matters to the world. Great work/life balance as well.”
The full list is dominated by tech companies with 12 of the 25 companies on the list coming from the tech industry. Twitter, Google, and Facebook all ranked in the top 5 (#1, #3, and #5, respectively). Employee insights about these companies explain exactly why these companies attract and retain the best talent. They truly live their values and create a company culture that makes people want to work for them and deliver their best efforts.
About Facebook, an employee explained, “The amount of power entrusted to employees is huge. You are empowered to go explore and find data, build things, and generally chose the course of action you think will have the most impact.” Another Facebook employee praised the company saying, “Managers force you to go home if you’re not feeling well. Miss your kid’s all star game to stay at work and you’ll get weird looks. Perform your core function well and you have so much leeway in how you spend your time – (how it should be, right?)”
For Google employees, praise is a bit different. While employees report working longer hours than other companies, they tout the company’s focus on customers as top-notch. An employee described Google as a company that, “Embraces innovation. Singularly focused on the end user. Go big or go home.”
Coming in at #2 on the list of the top 25 companies for culture and values is Edelman, a global public relations agency. In a field where work/life balance is typically nonexistent and high stress is the norm, Edelman stands out as the exception to the rule. An employee elaborates, “Unlike other agencies that say they support work-life balance and value their employees as their top asset, Edelman actually does both of these things in practice. Through the actions of middle to senior management, you are truly made to feel valued and appreciated. Opportunities are everywhere and the culture is laid back and fun.” This stands to prove that companies can survive and thrive by going against the expected company culture (particularly when the expected culture has a reputation for being toxic).
Follow the link above to view the full list on the Glassdoor website where you can read insights from employees at each company. There is much to learn from these companies! Today, culture is critical to every company. From recruiting and employee productivity to minimizing costs and building your brand, company culture plays a part in pushing your company toward success or failure.
Image: Glassdoor
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
