Glassdoor

Jane Wells, CNBC Reporter and Funny Business Blogger has been reporting all day today on Glassdoor.com. Jane stopped by our offices to do the taping right before Christmas (which also happened to be the day after our Glasssdoor.com holiday party - if people seem a little sluggish that’s because they were!) in the multi-segment series on her blog, check out further details from our CEO ratings report, discussion about the future of Glassdoor and information about bonuses. In addition, she’s gone a little deeper into companies like Dell and Chrysler. 

Part 1:  Do You Love or Hate Your CEO? 

Part 2: Can This Web Start Up Make Money?

Part 3: Who’s Getting a Bonus This Year? 

Part 4: Michael Dell: Closer You Look, Less You Like 

Part 5: Chrysler Workers Feel ‘Hopeless’

In addition, check out some of the polls CNBC is included at the bottom of the CNBC blogs. For example, CNBC polls readers of the Chrysler blog about their sentiments toward the approval and disapproval ratings of the Big Three Auto manufacturers. As of 3:30 p.m. PT, 106 readers voted: 

Funny Business Poll

Do you agree with the approval/disapproval ratings for Bob Nardelli?   * 106 responses       Nardelli is the best of the three 3.8%     Nardelli deserves better than 19 percent 37%     19 percent is too kind to him 59% Not a scientific survey.

 

 

In another CNBC online poll, readers were asked who’s the worst CEO in tech, have a look at what more than 375 readers had to say: 

Funny Business Poll

Who’s the worst CEO in tech?   * 376 responses       Jerry Yang 55%     Mark Hurd 11%     John Chambers 2.9%     Larry Ellison 9.8%     Steve Ballmer 17%     Steve Jobs 3.7% Not a scientific survey.

Both on Glassdoor.com and with the above CNBC poll, Jerry Yang pulls in the lowest ratings. On Glassdoor, Jerry Yang receives a low 35% approval rating, followed by: HP’s Mark Hurd (42%), Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer (44%), Oracle’s Larry Ellison (63%), Cisco’s John Chambers (77%) and Apple’s Steve Jobs (90%).  You can also check out our recent analysis on the naughty and nice CEOs of 2008 and how the chief execs rate for the best places to work… and the worst places. 

If you haven’t had a chance to see Jane’s video reports (that show our Sausalito offices), you can visit the video at the bottom of the page on this link here.

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As some you may know we closed out 2008 by highlighting the Best Places to Work, an employee’s choice award. General Mills took home the number one spot and to help show why this company rates so highly in the eyes of the employees we took a look at the many reviews current and past employees have submitted on Glassdoor. Interestingly enough, this month’s winning review from the #1 Best Place to Work does not come up entirely smelling of roses. 

The following review was selected as the December Review of the Month for its candidness toward what works at the company and what doesn’t. One of the reasons we ask for pros and cons and advice to senior management is so that we can present a balanced perspective.

The winner of the Review of the Month, a financial analyst for General Mills in Minneapolis Minnesota, kicks off the review by saying:  “General Mills is a great place to work, but not perfect.” 

Here is what this one current employee likes about General Mills…

“Being apart of a rotational program has made General Mills a good place to work. Analysts within the program switch jobs about every 1.5 to 2 years. I enjoy this since I am able to work in several different departments and functional roles to see what I like best.”

“The people are another reason I enjoy working at General Mills. We have a good mix of people (different schools, races, and ages). I am impressed with how smart our employees are. I have worked in investment banking and consulting, and have found the employees General Mills to be at a much higher level.”

“Perks: drying cleaning, half-day Fridays, car maintenance, start with 3 weeks vacation plus 3 personal days, along with 9 company holidays, get to take home many new products, etc.”

 And here are some things that this one employee views as the downsides of working at General Mills:

“Reward for performance: General Mills needs to reward its highest performing employees better. In terms of bonuses, the dollar amount between the highest performing employee and the lowest is very minimal. Also, they need to have the employees have more of a say in which area they would like to rotate to.”

“Pay: The pay for new employees is decent, but after it lags behind other companies. I have seen several highly talented employees leave for higher pay for similar job duties.”

Competition among employees: A competing culture is slowly developing among new employees, which is leading to a lack of knowledge sharing and inviting culture

All in all, it appears that the employee doesn’t think the leadership team is doing all that bad. In advice to senior management, the reviewer writes in “Keep up what they are doing. They are very knowledgeable and personable.” 

Stay tuned for next month’s winning review as it may just happen to be you!

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Editors Note: Rusty Rueff is a regular guest contributor on employment practices and careers to the Glassdoor.com blog and also a member of the Glassdoor board of directors.  As co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business, (Prentice-Hall. 2006), Rusty provides unique perspectives from an employer’s point of view combined with practical career advice for employees and jobseekers.  Rusty was most recently CEO of SNOCAP, the digital music commerce provider for MySpace, until its sale to imeem in April 2008. Previously, he held senior positions in Human Resources at Pepsico and later Electronic Arts, where he was an executive vice president responsible for global human resources, talent management, corporate communications, government affairs, and corporate services and facilities.

Most recruiters don’t grow up being recruiters or end their careers as recruiters.  The work is hard and never-ending and every minute that you’re not working you are disappointing either a client or a candidate who thinks you only work for them.  The short-career span for recruiters is even more evident in corporate recruiters who do it for a “stint” and then want to move on to a different role in the company.  Because of the short cycles for most, there are not many who have seen the economic environment we are in today and they don’t know how to respond to the type of job-seeker who is out there right now.  This is not business as usual.  

These are times that demand each of us to think differently and tune ourselves into people in a different way.   This is a time where extra grace is required.  Hank Stringer, the co-author of my book, Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business, has spent a career as a recruiter and a recruiting technology entrepreneur trying to teach, establish and build grace into the recruiting process.  I have listened with empathy when he talks about how blunt and ungraceful recruiters can be toward candidates in process and communication, or lack of both.  

Now is a time for all recruiters and executives to take an extra lesson on grace as the actions and reactions they have to the candidates of today can and will be an imprint on their employment brand of the future.  While grace may not currently be top of mind, remember when the cycle picks back up and the best talent is required, your company’s behaviors and actions during this time will be remembered - for better or worse.  

Remember, talent is not a commodity and over-supply should not cheapen them.  It’s important to keep your awareness and humility that hundreds of thousands of people are hurting out there and recognize it is a privilege that someone is applying to your company.  If you can ingrain this attitude in each recruiter and executive and then adapt behaviors to match this philosophy then you will be better than most and, in fact, probably differentiate yourself positively from your competition. 

Easy things to do now:

• Reply to each and every applicant with an authentic and sincere message. Now would be the time to return to the days of old and send a signed letter to each applicant telling them: you appreciate their time, energy and interest in your company and that while now is a tough time for your business, you realize that they are someone who you would like to know in the future and as such you encourage them to check back in with you in the coming months and year and to keep you up to date on their status. 
• Consider a referral program with other companies and executives that you know. If you don’t have a position for someone, then tell them that you will help them out and give them the names of competitors and friends who you can refer them to, using your name. 
• Collect each and every persons’ contact information for the future (personal email address and cell phone number) Use this data to establish a periodic (2x/year or once a quarter) business update to those people. You now have a relationship established with them, don’t lose it. You may also want to send this “community” regular updates on the overall job market or job-finding tips so that you are giving back in return for the time and energy someone has expressed on behalf of your company. These are the things that can set you apart. 
• Reward those who go above and beyond to cut through the clutter with an exploratory interview. The most creative will figure out a way to capture your attention. Don’t step on this entrepreneurial and creative spirit. Instead reward it. Tell them honestly that you don’t have a position for them, but they did gain your attention and if they are willing, you will provide them an exploratory interview and give them interview feedback at the end of the session as a thank you and recognition of their initiative and ingenuity. You may have just done more to keep someone’s hopes alive than you will ever know.

These are difficult times but these could be the best of times to get to know the talent of the future and to treat people right.  Each time you do so, you are building a positive reputation for your company.  The recruiters who have been around long enough know this to be true.

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Since launching early this year, nearly 75,000 employees have come to Glassdoor to anonymously contribute salary information and share opinions about their company’s work environment and rate their overall satisfaction. We decided to tabulate the results and see who rated highest… and lowest. We are proud to announce the ultimate Employees’ Choice Awards for Workplaces in our first annual Best Places to Work Top 50¹ list.

Congratulations to General Mills, which topped the list of companies rated by their employees with a 4.5 company rating (on a 5-point scale) while giving General Mills CEO Ken Powell a 96% approval rating. It’s not hard to see why when looking at reviews². One employee writes “I’m proud to work for GMI! They are good community partners, they genuinely care about diversity, and they are well respected as a company. They are consistently ranked among the best companies to work for and their pay/benefits are competitive. The headquarters…is rather impressive as well boasting an impressive cafeteria, health facility…You could probably live on campus if you wanted to. These amenities go a long way into making the real life more manageable so that you can focus on performing well at your job.”

Another General Mills employee adds this review:

“Pros: Incredible work life balance! I started with General Mills many years ago in a interesting and challenging part-time position. Even during my part-time years, opportunities for growth were made available. Once my kids were older I returned to a full time schedule and pursued a management track.

Cons: The upsides of working for General Mills outweigh the downsides 100-1. The only observation I have is that General Mills is sometimes too good to their employees. The process for terminating an employee is so onerous that many managers just avoid it. Poor performers can linger for months or even years before someone takes action.

Advice to Senior Management: Outstanding company to work for!”

We know there are a number of lists out there where companies must nominate themselves and then spend considerable time and money to put together extraordinary marketing packets of information in hopes of being considered – let alone make the list. We’ve designed these awards with the same spirit of transparency on which we founded Glassdoor and think an award based exclusively on Employees’ Choice is an important reflection of that openness. (Particularly given the year we’ve all had!) In this first year, we’ve focused on companies that have U.S.-based employees because that’s where we have the most content to date, but we hope to expand the awards in the future to encompass other countries and companies with smaller employee bases. So without further ado, here are the 50 Best Places to Work according to the people who know best – their employees.

Glassdoor 50 Best Places to Work
Company	Company Rating	CEO	CEO Approval Rating (%)
General Mills	4.5	Ken Powell	96
Bain & Company	4.5	Orit Gadiesh	88
Netflix	4.4	Reed Hastings	100
Adobe	4.3	Shantanu Narayen	82
Northwestern Mutual	4.2	Edward J. Zore	98
Whole Foods	4.2	John P. Mackey	85
Google	4.1	Eric E. Schmidt	89
SAP	4.1	Henning Kagermann	75
Continental Airlines	4.1	Larry Kellner	79
NetApp	4.0	Dan Warmenhoven	79
Intuit	4.0	Brad D. Smith	78
McKinsey & Company	4.0	Ian Davis	85
FactSet	3.9	Philip A. Hadley	91
Boston Consulting	3.9	Hans-Paul Bürkner	71
Procter & Gamble	3.9	A.G. Lafley	86
Caterpillar	3.9	Jim Owens	85
Genentech	3.8	Art Levinson	94
CareerBuilder	3.8	Matt Ferguson	86
Apple	3.8	Steve Jobs	90
Juniper Networks	3.8	Kevin Johnson	n/a
Marriott	3.8	Bill Marriott Jr.	82
NIKE	3.8	Mark G. Parker	100
Ernst & Young Global	3.8	Jim Turley	79
MITRE	3.8	Alfred Grasso	53
Chevron	3.8	Dave O’Reilly	73
Goldman Sachs	3.8	Lloyd C. Blankfein	86
Nordstrom	3.8	Blake W. Nordstrom	75
Citrix Systems	3.7	Mark B. Templeton	77
Schlumberger	3.7	Andrew Gould	70
Booz Allen Hamilton	3.7	Ralph W. Shrader	61
National Instruments	3.7	James J. Truchard	74
Novell	3.7	Ron Hovsepian	64
PricewaterhouseCoopers	3.7	Sam DiPiazza Jr.	59
American Express	3.6	Ken Chenault	80
Cisco Systems	3.6	John T. Chambers	79
USAA	3.6	Joe Robles Jr.	83
EMC	3.6	Joe Tucci	60
Capital One	3.6	Rich Fairbank	68
QUALCOMM	3.6	Paul E. Jacobs	75
MetLife	3.6	Rob Henrikson	53
Lockheed Martin	3.6	Robert J. Stevens	63
Texas Instruments	3.6	Rich Templeton	64
US Army	3.6	Pete Geren III	50
Deloitte	3.5	Jim Quigley	64
Wells Fargo	3.5	John G. Stumpf	65
Best Buy	3.5	Brad Anderson	64
salesforce.com	3.5	Marc Benioff	69
Accenture	3.5	Bill Green	67
FedEx	3.5	Fred Smith	67
Paychex	3.5	Jon Judge	59

To find out more about the top 50 workplaces and read employee reviews of these companies, we invite you to visit: 2009 Employees’ Choice Awards. A complete copy of the Glassdoor survey along with additional information about the Glassdoor Best Places to Work methodology may be requested via email: BestPlacestoWork@glassdoor.com.

We look forward to seeing how these companies fare throughout 2009. Sending you best wishes and greater workplace transparency in the New Year!

¹To be eligible for the inaugural Employees’ Choice Awards for the Best Places to Work companies must have received at least 25 reviews from U.S.-based employees who are currently employees or who were employed at some time during 2008, maintain an above 3.5 cumulative average overall and across eight workplace factors addressed in the company’s voluntary 20-question survey, and the CEO must have an approval rating higher than 50%.

²Glassdoor carefully reviews each ratings survey, company review and salary report submitted through its website and only those surveys and reports that are approved by the Glassdoor research team are eligible for the list.

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With a New Year right around the corner, it may be time for some companies to take a look at what’s working and what’s not. We all know and recognize that things are tough right now, and for employers this is an opportunity to take a look inside so that you retain your talent and get the most out of your employees while keeping them happy. As we thumb through the data collected throughout this past year, there are companies who shine (stay tuned for top companies) and there are those who - well, let’s just say their ratings aren’t a bright spot. 

For your perusal, we have identified some of the lowest rated companies on Glassdoor.com¹. DHL Express ranks as the least favored company on Glassdoor (of those with at least 25 employee reviews). DHL Express is headquartered in Plantation, Fla. and receives a 1.7 company rating (on a 5-point scale). United Airlines headquartered in Chicago, Ill.  takes the number two spot, followed closely by automotive supplier Reynolds & Reynolds headquartered in Kettering, Ohio. Both Reynolds & Reynolds and United Airlines receive a 2.0 company rating². 

What’s also interesting to note is which CEOs from the 50 lowest rated companies recently made our CEO Watch List that was highlighted in our “Naughty and Nice CEOs of 2008″ post. 

Glassdoor: Lowest Rated Companies Based on Employee Satisfaction
Rank	Company	Overall Rating	CEO	CEO Approval Rating
1	DHL Express (USA)	1.7	N/A	N/A³
2	United Airlines	2.0	Glenn F. Tilton	12%
3	Reynolds and Reynolds	2.0	Bob Brockman	8%
4	Farmers Group	2.0	Paul N. Hopkins	6%
5	Gibson Guitar	2.1	Henry E. Juszkiewicz	17%
6	RadioShack	2.1	Julian C. Day	11%
7	Rain Bird	2.1	Anthony LaFetra	9%
8	CSAA Inter-Insurance Bureau	2.2	James R. Pouliot	12%
9	Office Depot	2.2	Steve Odland	4%
10	Compuware	2.4	Pete Karmanos Jr.	16%
11	Affiliated Computer Services	2.4	Lynn R. Blodgett	10%
12	Harrah’s Entertainment	2.4	Gary W. Loveman	30%
13	Convergys	2.4	Dave Dougherty	20%
14	Qimonda	2.5	Kin Wah Loh	19%
15	NCR	2.5	Bill Nuti	27%
16	Tata Consultancy	2.5	Subramanian Ramadorai	37%
17	Countrywide Financial	2.5	Angelo R. Mozilo	3%
18	Chrysler	2.5	Bob Nardelli	17%
19	Fidelity National Information Services	2.5	Lee A. Kennedy	15%
20	Acxiom	2.5	John Meyer	Not Rated
21	LexisNexis	2.5	Andy Prozes	13%
22	Unisys	2.5	Ed Coleman	Not Rated
23	Dominion Enterprises	2.5	Conrad M. Hall	25%
24	Borders	2.6	George L. Jones	16%
25	Rite Aid	2.6	Mary F. Sammons	28%
26	Coca-Cola Enterprises	2.6	John Franklin Brock	19%
27	EDS	2.6	Ron Rittenmeyer	11%
28	Nationwide	2.6	Jerry Jurgensen	31%
29	AT&T Mobility	2.6	Ralph de la Vega	36%
30	Red Cross	2.6	Gail McGovern	Not Rated
31	OfficeMax	2.6	Sam K. Duncan	23%
32	Marvell Technology	2.6	Sehat Sutardja	27%
33	Level 3 Communications	2.6	Jim Crowe	21%
34	Motorola	2.6	Greg Brown	10%
35	CA	2.6	John A. C. Swainson	57%
36	Gannett	2.6	Craig A. Dubow