Best Workplaces for Parents

Global research firm Great Place to Work has released its annual list of Best Workplaces for Parents. The award has advantages for companies on the list, as well as for those that didn’t receive recognition.

Advantages for All

Winning companies have the benefit of media coverage, which helps attract candidates. Winners also get to tout the award at their careers site.
Other companies, meanwhile, have an opportunity to look to Best Workplaces for best practices.
Additionally, Great Place to Work shares insight from its analysis, which is valuable information for all companies. This year’s research includes these key findings:

• Parents are dedicated. Mothers and fathers are more likely than their colleagues to say their work has special meaning and is more than “just a job.”
• It’s not about time off. In fact, work-life balance is a comparatively small driver of retention for parents, compared to other factors. Mothers who express pride in their organizations, for example, are 15 times more likely to plan a long-term future with their employers.
• Pay fairly and communicate thoroughly. Parenthood doubles the gap between men and women in the perception that pay is fair.
• Leading employers cover kids. At Best Workplaces, health plans pay an average of 78 percent of premiums for dependents.

Evaluating Workplaces

To determine the Best Workplaces for Parents list, Great Place to Work compared 443,258 parents’ and non-parents’ responses to more than 50 survey questions anonymously rating their employers. The data revealed that after having children, parents – especially mothers – have a different experience than their colleagues of the inclusivity and opportunities for advancement at their organizations, among other differentiators.
To determine the list, Great Place to Work took into account organizations’ success in overcoming these differences in experience to create a great place to work for all employees, regardless of parenting status. The firm indicates that it focused analysis on parents’ overall feedback, analyzing how their experiences compare to that of their colleagues, and the quality of the benefits provided to support them.
Rankings were driven by parents’ feedback. To be considered, companies had to meet the Great Place to Work-Certified standard, have at least 50 employees, and survey results needed at least a 95 percent confidence level, and a 5 percent margin of error or better.

Best of the Best

The list of 2017 Best Workplaces for Parents includes 50 companies. Here are brief profiles of the top five companies, along with highlights of survey data that show why they are among the best:

1. Workday, Inc. This information technology company, based in Pleasanton, California, has more than 7,000 employees worldwide. Among the reasons it’s on the list: 97 percent of employees say “I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community”; 97 percent also say “I’m proud to tell others I work here.”
2. Ultimate Software. This information technology company, based in Weston, Florida, has more than 3,700 employees worldwide. Among the reasons it’s on the list: 99 percent of employees say “We have special and unique benefits here”; 99 percent also say “People celebrate special events around here.”
3. Deloitte. This professional services firm, based in New York, New York, has more than 87,000 employees worldwide. Among the reasons it’s on the list: 96 percent of employees say “I’m proud to tell others I work here”; and 94 percent say “I am given the resources and equipment to do my job.”
4. Comcast NBCUniversal. This telecommunications giant, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has 159,000 employees worldwide. Among the reasons it’s on the list: 93 percent of employees say “I am able to take time off from work when I think it’s necessary”; and 91 percent say “Management is honest and ethical in its business practices.”
5. Salesforce. This information technology company, based in San Francisco, California, has more than 27,000 employees worldwide. Among the reasons it’s on the list: 96 percent of employees say “People here are willing to give extra to get the job done”; and 95 percent say “People care about each other here.”