Media contact: Kim Peters, 415-844-2574 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Aug. 9, 2021
Great Place To Work®, the global authority on workplace culture, has determined the Fortune Best Small & Medium Workplaces™ 2021, based on confidential employee opinions representing over 280,000 employees at companies in more than 18 industries across the US.
Two tech-based personal finance companies came out on top this year, with You Need A Budget holding onto its first place ranking on the Small list for the second year in a row, and NerdWallet claiming top spot on the Medium list, jumping from #17 last year.
Another financial firm, Nationwide Mortgage Bankers, was also a notable standout, as the biggest mover on the Medium list—leaping from #72 last year to #6 this year.
It was a strong year for new entries, with 85 companies joining the list for the first time, and several of those breaking into the top 10. On the Small list, newcomers InfoTrust, a digital analytics consultant, and Mediavine, a digital ad agency, claimed the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. And on the Medium list, homeownership platform Better.com came in strong at #2, while tech training and consulting firm Bitwise Industries debuted at #9.
“These companies may be small in size, but their impact and commitment to improving employee experience stacks up against some of the world’s largest corporations,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work. “Their ability to scale business while maintaining a high level of employee care is nothing short of amazing. A job well done to the Best Small & Medium Workplaces.”
In the survey that determined the rankings, employees were asked to rate how much they agreed with statements that measure company culture dimensions including equity, collaboration, camaraderie, fairness, pride, innovation and leadership effectiveness.
After a year of upheaval and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that companies that demonstrate strong leadership and a commitment to employee experience are among the top-ranking workplaces in the US. On average, 87% of employees at the Best Small & Medium Workplaces said they have a great deal of confidence in leadership and 66% said they have “a lot” of meaningful innovation opportunities to develop new and better ways of doing things.
This is a stark contrast to data collected by Great Place To Work for the average U.S. workforce. At other organizations, just 18.1% say they have a lot of meaningful innovation opportunities, while 14.1% say they have none.
Such factors are particularly important for businesses looking to recruit and retain talent right now, as the US undergoes what some economists are calling the Great Resignation. Frustrated, burnt-out workers are re-assessing their priorities in a post-pandemic world, whether that’s the flexibility to continue working from home, a farewell to the standard 9-to-5 or pursuing a new career path altogether.
Companies that supported employees’ mental health and wellness during the pandemic are well-poised to survive—and even thrive—during the current hiring crunch.
Some notable initiatives include Better.com’s free virtual therapy and professional development programs, and NerdWallet’s ‘Do Not Disturb’ Wednesdays, in which employees can use their time however they like—whether that’s taking a walk, focusing on a personal project, or playing with their children. And Bitwise made the dramatic move of putting every employee at 60% time while still paying their regular full-time pay, so that staff could prioritize their mental health and take time for themselves and their families.
See the full list of the Best Small & Medium Workplaces 2021.
Who are the best small and medium companies to work for in 2021?
Small category
|
Medium category
|
About the Best Small & Medium Workplaces
To determine the 2021 Best Small & Medium Workplaces list, Great Place To Work® analyzed confidential survey feedback representing more than 280,000 employees working in small-sized (10 – 99 employees) and medium-sized (100 – 999 employees) businesses in the United States. Employees responded to over 60 survey questions via Great Place To Work’s proprietary Trust Index™ survey describing the extent to which their organization creates a Great Place To Work For All™.
Eighty-five percent of the evaluation is based on what employees say about their experiences of trust and reaching their full human potential as part of their organization, no matter who they are or what they do. Great Place To Work analyzes these experiences relative to each organization’s size, workforce make up and what’s typical relative to their peers in the industry.The remaining 15% of the rank is based on an assessment of all employees’ daily experiences of innovation, the company’s values and the effectiveness of their leaders.
About Great Place To Work
Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place To Work helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Their unparalleled benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place To Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in the US and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World’s Best Workplaces™ lists published annually in Fortune. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a Great Place To Work For All™.
