(February 3, 2012) Each year, Fortune magazine reveals which companies in the nation are considered the best to work for, and each year, many California Chamber of Commerce members grace the magazine’s list.

For 2012, 27 CalChamber members have been featured in the magazine’s rankings, which list employers that “offer dream workplaces.”

Companies nominate themselves by going through a detailed application process. Two-thirds of each company’s score relies on an employee survey sent to a random sample of employees from the company. The remaining third is based on Fortune’s audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefits, and open-ended questions on hiring, communication and diversity. 

Best to Work For

The following CalChamber members made Fortune’s 2012 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Company headquarters are noted in parentheses.

• NetApp (Sunnyvale, CA). Ranked 6. The data storage firm’s pay-for-performance program triggered huge bonuses last year when revenues shot up from $3.9 billion to $5 billion. Employees received payouts of up to 31% of their salary.
• Mercedes-Benz USA (Montvale, NJ). Ranked 12. To celebrate the 125th anniversary of Karl Benz’s invention of the automobile, the company gave bonuses based on tenure—workers in the U.S. with more than 14 years of service got $1,400.
• NuStar Energy (San Antonio, TX). Ranked 15. The company has never had a layoff, pays 100% of its workers’ health insurance premiums, and matches 401(k) contributions up to 6% of pay. It also lends the corporate jet to employees in times of crisis.
• USAA (San Antonio, TX). Ranked 20. Employees at the financial services firm for military members work in the largest private office building in the U.S. Among its features: a medical clinic, an indoor walking path, and tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.
• The Container Store (Coppell, TX). Ranked 22. Employees here heap praise on management for avoiding layoffs during the recession and for an attentiveness to well-being that includes handing out cold water at distribution centers during the summer months.
• Alston & Bird (Atlanta, GA). Ranked 24. Support staff at law firms are often ignored, but here they join task forces with lawyers and meet regularly to discuss operations, which the firm says “creates opportunities for all our staff members to make contributions.”
• Bingham McCutchen (Boston, MA). Ranked 30. “Prima donnas and malicious jerks are practically unknown here. Yes, we’re a law firm! I know, it’s miraculous.” That employee comment—plus generous benefits—explains why Bingham is an eight-year veteran of Fortune’s list.
• Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX). Ranked 32. Occupy protesters might look kindly at the nation’s biggest natural-foods grocer, since it caps salaries of executives at 19 times the average full-time salary. Co-founder John Mackey’s 2006 pay reduction to $1 a year is still in effect.
• Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Co. (Cambridge, MA). Ranked 35. Motivated by a mission, well-compensated scientists work here to develop cancer-fighting treatments—and are rewarded with rich pay and benefit packages rivaling those of top-tier drug companies.
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis, TN). Ranked 39. No family, regardless of income, pays anything out of pocket for care at this prestigious Southern non-profit. Employees take pride in that—and enjoy a wide range of perks, including a company garden and subsidized tuition.
• SVB Financial Group (Santa Clara, CA). Ranked 40. At this Silicon Valley bank serving the tech, finance and winery worlds, employees get to share warrants enabling them to participate in the equity offerings of its startup clients when they go public.
• Intel (Santa Clara, CA). Ranked 46. The chipmaker moves people to new positions every 18 to 24 months, on average, to encourage them to explore new fields. (New hires are told, “Welcome to your next five jobs.”)
• American Fidelity Assurance (Oklahoma City, OK). Ranked 47. Nearly half this insurer’s workforce is over age 45, and 18% have been here more than 20 years. All employees get an annual holiday bonus or incentive package, plus a defined-benefit pension plan.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (New York, NY). Ranked 48. The global consulting firm recently launched a “reverse-mentoring program” where junior staff help senior staff understand Millennials.
• Ernst & Young (New York, NY). Ranked 59. Last year the firm launched “EY Connect Day”—employees logged more than 38,000 volunteer hours and celebrated in 60 locations in the Americas.
• Nordstrom (Seattle, WA). Ranked 61. The average wage for retail salespeople is $12 an hour; at Nordstrom it’s $19.18. With commissions, some make more than $200,000 a year.
• General Mills (Minneapolis, MN). Ranked 63. The food giant says it offers careers, not jobs: 85% of officers were promoted from within, and nearly half started in entry-level positions.
• Deloitte (New York, NY). Ranked 67. Consultancy doubled down on employee development last year with the addition of a new $300 million training campus in Westlake, Texas.
• Starbucks (Seattle, WA). Ranked 73. The company’s massive part-time workforce—some 95,000 employees—gets full health insurance benefits, stock awards—and free coffee.
• Microsoft (Redmond, WA). Ranked 76. Software engineers are paid an average of $118,000, with a $13,800 bonus, and there are perks galore here, including an organic spa.
• Mattel (El Segundo, CA). Ranked 79. The offices close at 1 p.m. every Friday at the world’s largest toy company, and everyone gets paid time off to volunteer in schools.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions (Watertown, MA). Ranked 83. The company offers benefits rare for the child-care industry, including higher pay, a generous 401(k) plan, and access to training and development programs.
• Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean, VA). Ranked 84. Two-thirds of employees work compressed workweeks or flexible hours at this management consultancy, which went public in November 2010.
• Cisco (San Jose, CA). Ranked 90. A rough year that included major layoffs made employees uneasy—and triggered the biggest drop in the rankings. But benefits are generous—and intact.
• CarMax (Richmond, VA). Ranked 91. CEO Tom Folliard shows up at sites that meet sales goals and serves up a steak dinner—sometimes twice to make sure both shifts are honored.
• Accenture (New York, NY). Ranked 92. Of the management consultancy’s top 23 officers, five are women. The firm also spends $600 million each year on training and development.
• KPMG (New York, NY). Ranked 94. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the audit firm gave each employee extra paid time off to volunteer, on top of the 12 hours given annually.

More Information

The “Best Companies” complete list can be viewed at money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012. The ranking will be featured in the magazine’s February 6 issue.