In terms of corporate reputation, at the moment there is only one way business software firm SAS can go: down.
The reason? SAS, based in Cary, NC, landed No. 1 on Fortune’s 2010 Best Places to Work list, and because of that (coupled with quality products and services) the company is riding high on the reputation meter.
For a large public company, earning the top spot on a best place to work list may be just a small blip on the communications plan. But to a privately-held company like SAS, the designation is golden, says Pamela Meek, SAS’ director of external communications.
“Getting on the Best Places to Work list wasn’t part of our original strategy,” says Meek. “But based on our corporate culture story, we’ve managed to get as much media coverage as publicly held companies.” That coverage, adds Meek, invariably leads to additional mentions of the business end.
The SAS corporate culture has a decidedly “counter” ring to it, and is a big part of the company’s’ Best Places success. “We were originally modeled after a university environment—campus setting, schedule flexibility, and sports programs,” says Meek. Try on-site Swedish or orthopedic massages, too.
Thanks to perks like that, SAS has applied for and appeared on multiple best places lists for years, says Meek. In fact, the company has made the Fortune list all 13 years since it was established in 1998, and the 2010 ranking was the seventh time SAS has been in the top 10 and the fifth time in the top 5. With a record like that, you can be sure there is a comprehensive Best Places plan in place at SAS.
But, says Meek, any company can apply for the Fortune list. And you don’t have to have an SAS pedigree to do so. Organizations have a number of options in landing on a Best Places list. One way to do so is through Best Companies Group (www.bestcompaniesgroup.com), which works with local media and publishing partners in setting up Best Places to Work programs to recognize those companies in a defined geographical area or industry that have been successful in creating and maintaining workplace excellence. Think “Best Places to Work, Los Angeles,” or “Best Nonprofit Organizations to Work For.”
BEST INTERNAL BAROMETER
Susan Springer, Best Companies’ director of workplace assessments, says most organizations use its services as a way to gauge and improve employee morale as well as to help with recruiting efforts.
Best Companies partners with state organizations and local business publications to develop best places (or best companies) programs. “We administer an employee questionnaire sent to all the nominees, and come up with the rankings,” says Springer. Program participation and the ranking is free, but the results and analysis of the employee questionnaire costs about $1,000.
Springer says that most of the participating organizations feel that the feedback from the survey is valuable, particularly during these tough economic times. “It’s a good gauge of how employees are feeling, and organizations can benchmark their survey data against others on the list,” says Springer.
One organization that links important employee feedback with a Best Places list is Concurrent Technologies Corp. (CTC), which made a Best Companies Group-generated list in conjunction with The NonProfit Times. CTC earned a No. 7 ranking for the 2010 “Top 50 Nonprofits To Work For” list. “I’m proud that being named among the top nonprofits in the nation is largely a result of how our employees view the company,” says Edward J. Sheehan, Jr., CTC’s president and CEO. Sheehan adds that employee feedback was obtained from more than 50 different locations, making the ranking all the more important.
Employee relations and recruiting are also on Meek’s mind at SAS. After her team learned about the No. 1 ranking, a champagne toast, featuring CEO Jim Goodnight, was held in the SAS R&D building, with the press present to record the moment. The news was also uploaded on the SAS internal Web site. Meek says after the news hit, traffic to the SAS job pages increased by 4,100%. “We have people with master’s degrees in horticulture applying for landscaping jobs,” she muses.
EXTERNAL OUTREACH
Job interest aside, the external attention of being No. 1 is leveraged to the max by SAS. The news is Tweeted, spokespersons are immediately made available and worldwide outreach is arranged. Meek notes that most of SAS’ global outposts are ranked high on lists in their own countries, and there is plenty of interest from overseas reporters.
Another benefit of the ranking is the raised the profile of SAS CEO Goodnight, who has been featured in a number of books on great companies and is often invited to speak on the subject, says Meek. Her advice to aspiring Best Places organizations?
• ‘You don’t have to have all the benefits that we have here, but your employees need to care about the company (see sidebar).”
• “Be prepared to offer good examples of what it’s like for people to work in your organization. Work-life balance is important.”
• “Your presentation material for judging doesn’t have to be flashy, just effective.” PRN
CONTACT:
Pamela Meek, [email protected]; Susan Springer, [email protected].