Fortune magazine has released the list of the best 100 companies to work for.  This survey covered only the American companies.

I was amazed to see that Google, not only leads the web by miles and mails with its innovative services, also finds a spot at the Top 10 of this list – it is ranked 4th in the list and had a 40% growth in recruitment in the last year when all sundry were retrenching people.  This achievement is phenomenal if one appreciates the fact that Google is just 10 years old.

The flipside however is that Google was the No.1 company last year in the top 100 list and has slipped three notches mainly due to slowdown (?) in recruitment in 2008.  Fortune records that Google received 777,427 (I didn’t put all those 7s ok? It must be the lucky number of the HR head of Google and so mus have given out like that to Fortune magazine).   40% growth in recruitment in a recession year and you slip 3 notches in the ranking?

I wonder if there is any ICC guy is there in the ranking team of Fortune Magazine.

The list is led by NetApp and this is what Fortune magazine says about the No.1 ranked company, which moved up 13 notches from 14 last year.

What makes it (NetApp) so great?

Employee enthusiasm for the legendary egalitarian culture helped catapult NetApp to No. 1 after six years on our list.Typical of its down-to-earth management ethos, NetApp early on ditched a travel policy a dozen ­pages long in favor of this maxim: “We are a frugal company. But don’t show up dog-tired to save a few bucks. Use your common sense.” Rather than business plans, many units write “future histories,” imagining where their business will be a year or two out.

And the benefits are tops: five paid days for volunteer work, $11,390 adoption aid, and autism coverage — used by 43 employees since 2006 at a cost of $242,452. The company has gained market share during the slump, hasn’t had layoffs, and has more than $2 billion in cash on hand to help it ride out the global financial crisis.

Do you know what Google has done in its cost cutting exercise in these recessionary times? They have not cut salaries or jobs.  They have suspended the afternoon tea (served to approx 14K emloyees) and the annual ski trip.  Don’t know if they did this as a symbolic exercise.  I do not think a Company having annual revenues of US $ 17 billion will save much by cutting tea.

In India, when job cuts are to be made, we cut down the staff strength by sending out the tea boys from the company.  And they go and play “Who wants to be millionaire” with A R Rahman scoring music and give us Oscarian dreams.

I scaned through the top 100 list to see where the big daddy of software companies figures.  Microsoft is up there at 38 and is part of the job cutting companies handing out pink slips to 5000 people.  (Check if your relatives are there in that list).

Where are the Big 4 audit companies? I found Ernst & Young (worldwide revenues US $ 26 billion – that is US $ 9 billion more than Google) ranked at 51 with 0% net growth in new jobs, KPMG (global reveneus of US $ 21 billion)  at 56 with 7% net growth in new jobs.  Deloitte is ranked at 61 with revenues of US $ 39 Billion (Oh…my….God!) and 7% net new recruitment.

Our Satyam hero PriceWaterHouse Coopers is ranked at 58 (global revenues of US $ 29 billion – they might lose atleast a few millions this year) with -2% net job growth.  I do not know what will be their ranking next year.  But their (PWC) Chairman Dennis Nally, issued updates to employees, saying, “We have no plans to downsize, rightsize, or reduce our staffing levels.”  What he has probably not told is that they have washed their hands of atleast two partners in India

You can see the complete list here

In India Business Today does this survey each year and we used invariably find the tech companies ruling the top spots in the ranking.  This year, one company will be surely missing in that list and should I name it again?

Readers also liked

• சுபிக்‌ஷாவும் சத்யமும் ஒன்றல்ல (4)
• Satyam – Two in one (4)
• லாபகரமான பங்கு சந்தை அனுபவம் (11)
• Investigators reveal Satyam Fraud methodology (1)