How we chose the Top Places to Work
There's only one way to find out which employers deliver the most rewarding work experience: Ask the employees.
The Globe 100's Top Places to Work ranks Massachusetts employers based on seven factors:
Direction: Do employees have confidence in the leader of the company, believing the company operates ethically and is moving in the right direction?
Execution: Do employees believe senior managers have a good understanding of what the company needs to do to succeed, and are they sharing information well?
Inclusion: Does the company embrace diversity, appreciate people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and offer opportunity to all?
Managers: Do managers listen to employees, praising good work and making good use of people's skills?
Career: Does the company offer formal training and other opportunities to learn and grow, and does it reward good performance?
Conditions: Is the work environment free from hostility, and does the company help workers to balance career and family life?
Pay and benefits: Are workers fairly compensated?
The Globe invited more than 600 companies to participate in our inaugural Top Places to Work ranking, and 293 completed the survey process. Research partner WorkplaceDynamics of Exton, Pa., specialists in employee engagement and retention, then surveyed more than 120,000 employees at those companies - 70,000 of whom completed the surveys - asking each to grade the company's performance according to 24 distinct statements, ranging from "This organization's culture encourages inclusion and respect" to "It's easy to tell my boss the truth."
Results were weighted based on the size of the company. Smaller companies tend to perform better than midsize and large companies in workplace surveys for several reasons. One is the exposure employees have to company leaders. In smaller companies, employees tend to interact more with top management, giving them a greater sense of involvement.
All of the participating companies were placed into one of three size bands, based on the number of employees in Massachusetts to account for the "small company effect" found in such surveys, and because the story to be told is what the worker experience is in the state. Small workplaces were defined as those with 100 to 249 employees; midsize workplaces were defined as those with 250 to 999 employees; and large workplaces were companies with 1,000 or more workers. All companies were then ranked within their size band. The results were compiled in the three charts included here: Top 40 Small Workplaces, Top 35 Midsize Workplaces, and Top 25 Large Workplaces.
For the master list ranking the 100 Top Places to Work, scores were weighted within each size band, so that the truly exceptional companies appear at the top of the list. 