Largest-ever survey of its kind reveals best practices for organizational health

EXTON, PA. (January 31, 2013) - What’s the Top Workplace in America? According to a survey by WorkplaceDynamics, the U.S.’s fastest-growing employee survey company, Quicken Loans is number one on the list, followed by The Container Store and Anadarko Petroleum.

“It's day in and day out. We aren't just efficient here and there; we strive to do it every day in every aspect of the company.”

The survey was conducted in conjunction with 30 major newspapers across America. WorkplaceDynamics polled over 1,000,000 employees, from 872 companies with a thousand or more employees, to create the definitive list of Top Workplaces in America.

The employee survey uses a proprietary set of 22 questions to rank companies. According to employees who completed the survey, this year Quicken Loans won thanks to:

  •     A zest for unearthing and implementing ideas: “Quicken Loans truly allows the team members to voice their opinions which is huge. If you have an idea you are allowed to speak up and have your idea voted upon by the team members.”
  •     The company’s commitment to working efficiently and serving clients well: “It's day in and day out. We aren't just efficient here and there; we strive to do it every day in every aspect of the company.”

Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics says, “Our survey is unlike any other ever conducted of American employers. Rankings are determined exclusively by employee responses to survey questions, removing any subjectivity, and the scale of the survey means that we have a real snapshot of what is happening in corporate America.”

The following is a list of the top ten companies in the 2013 National Top Workplaces rankings:

  1.     Quicken Loans, Detroit, MI: Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s largest online retail mortgage lender. Quicken moved up from #2 to #1 on this year’s list.
  2.     The Container Store, Coppell, TX: A repeat winner that was #1 on last year’s list, The Container Store is a nationwide storage and organization retail store devoted to helping people simplify their lives.
  3.     Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, The Woodlands, TX: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is among the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the world. It moves up from #4 on last year’s list.
  4.     Park Place Dealerships, Dallas, TX: Park Place Dealerships is a chain of 11 new and pre-owned luxury car dealerships in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
  5.     EOG Resources, Inc., Houston, TX: EOG Resources is one of the largest independent (non-integrated) crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States.
  6.     Pioneer Natural Resources, Irving, TX: Pioneer Natural Resources is a large independent exploration and production company focused on delivering competitive and sustainable results.
  7.     Mattress Firm, Houston, TX: Mattress Firm is a specialty bedding retailer with the largest geographic footprint in the United States among multi-brand mattress specialty retailers.
  8.     Coyote Logistics, Chicago, IL: Coyote Logistics is a rapidly-growing North American shipping and logistics company.
  9.     Keller Williams Realty, Austin, TX: Keller Williams Realty, Inc. moves up a spot, from #10 to #9. The Austin-based real estate franchise company has more than 80,000 real estate agents, operating in approximately 690 offices across the United States and Canada.
  10.     NuStar Energy L.P., San Antonio, TX: Also returning to the list from last year is NuStar Energy, which has 90 terminal and storage facilities that store and distribute crude oil, refined products and specialty liquids; and two asphalt refineries and a fuels refinery.

This year’s list reflects the strength of America’s petroleum exploration and production industry, which is going through a significant growth spurt. Oil and gas placed four companies in the 2013 top ten. There are only two technology companies in the top 50, which is surprising given the industry’s reputation for being cutting-edge and sensitive to employee needs.

Moreover, a number of construction companies rank among the top companies in the country:

•    Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., based in Boston, MA – ranked #24
•    McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., based in St. Louis, MO – ranked #39
•    Mortenson Construction, based in Minneapolis, MN – ranked #40
•    Toll Brothers, Inc., based in Horsham, PA – ranked #58

Claffey continued, “Too often, companies focus on perks such as free cappuccino, rock climbing walls, and nap rooms. While these employee benefits are nice-to-haves, they do not drive organizational health. Our research shows that companies that set a clear direction for the future, execute well and bring real meaning to work are the healthiest. That makes them both Top Workplaces AND successful organizations.”

He concluded, “We are delighted to see the number of companies participating in our Top Workplaces program continuing to grow. We expect that in years to come many more companies will participate in this important survey that provides a deep internal look at what drives employee engagement and company productivity.”

The full list of 150 companies and additional research is available at www.topworkplaces.com.

Founded in 2006, WorkplaceDynamics is the fastest-growing employee survey provider in the United States. Based on their “on-demand” employee survey, last year they surveyed more than 5,000 organizations, polled 1.7 million people and handled over a million employee responses.

The Top Workplaces program accurately reflects the opinions of employees through measurement of engagement, organizational health and employee satisfaction. The survey is utilized year after year by human resource professionals and C-suite executives nationwide as the gold standard in internal measurement of organizational health and employee satisfaction.