(February 24, 2010) Forty-one members of the California Chamber of Commerce have been ranked among the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine.

Companies nominate themselves by going through a detailed application process. Three hundred forty-three companies participated. Companies must be at least seven years old and have at least 1,000 employees to qualify.

Two-thirds of each company’s score relies on an employee survey sent to a random sample of employees from each 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 2010 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Company headquarters are noted in parentheses.

• Accenture (New York, NY). Ranked 84. Management consultant adopted new Smart Work program to cut down on time employees spend at client sites. In addition, 36 offices have videoconferencing facilities.
• Alston & Bird (Atlanta, GA). Ranked 30. The law firm invites all employees—everyone from receptionists to shipping clerks to legal secretaries—to attend a monthly firm meeting marked by the review of a project and kudos to all who contributed.
• American Fidelity Assurance Co. (Oklahoma City, OK). Ranked 35. Family-owned insurer looks for colleagues wanting long-term careers. A quarter of the staff has been with the company more than 15 years while the turnover rate is only 7 percent.
• Bingham McCutchen (Boston, MA) Ranked 12. Diversity has a high priority at this corporate law firm. Retreats bring together lawyers of color and openly gay and lesbian lawyers. In response to employee feedback, health insurance was amended in 2009 to cover additional benefits for transgender employees.
• Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean, VA). Ranked 52. This 95-year-old consultancy set up a social-networking  site, Hello.bah.com, to help staff connect and gather input on everything from recruitment to pay.
• Bright Horizons (Watertown, MA). Ranked 89. Caregivers got a big pat on the back from First Lady Michelle Obama, who gave a speech urging employers to follow the lead of innovators like Bright Horizons. “We need to discuss quality on-site care, something that keeps us up at night,” she said.
• Brocade Communications Systems (San Jose, CA). Ranked 61. To avoid layoffs, this Silicon Valley equipment supplier shut down its plant for a total of 10 days last year, mandating two weeks of unpaid furlough for employees.
• CarMax (Richmond, VA). Ranked 56. Through its policy of no haggling and straight-talking, CarMax has become the nation’s largest seller of pre-owned  cars.
• Cisco (San Jose, CA). Ranked 16. The Silicon Valley stalwart has become one of the nation’s largest providers of on-site child care with the opening of a second center; 800 children are enrolled, and parents at headquarters can track their kids via computer.
• Container Store (Coppell, TX). Ranked 36. Women play key roles at this storage and organizer retailer: 63 of 111 store managers, 12 of 14 vice presidents, and 30 of the 52 directors.
• Deloitte (New York, NY). Ranked 70. This firm has invested $300 million in Deloitte University, a 107-acre campus in Texas that opens in 2011 and will be the “symbolic heart” of the organization.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG (Glendale, CA). Ranked 6. Animators love the culture of collaboration and openness. The studio has upped releases from two per year to five every two years.
• Ernst & Young (New York, NY). Ranked 44. Offers a traditional pension in addition to a 401(k). The firm is courting alumni via a new magazine, Connect. 
• FedEx (Memphis, TN). Ranked 91. FedEx reinstated merit salary increases and half of the 401(k) match that was suspended a year ago amidst the economic slump; package deliverer laid off 1,000 salaried workers, less than 1 percent of the global workforce.
• Four Seasons Hotels (Toronto, Canada). Ranked 58. Now owned by Isadore Sharp, Bill Gates and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, this chain offers benefits unusual in the field: automatic 401(k) contributions, 78 percent coverage of health insurance and free dental.
• General Mills (Minneapolis, MN). Ranked 90. Family-friendly benefits abound at this 143-year-old food purveyor (Cheerios, Yoplait, Progresso, Betty Crocker), where 800 employees are married to a co-worker. Infant-care center at headquarters was expanded by 43 percent last year to accommodate 60 infants; company subsidizes 25 percent of the cost.
• Gilbane (Providence, RI). Ranked 92. Fourth-generation Gilbanes run this construction company, and they give every new hire a laptop computer on their first day of work. They also bring all new hires to Providence headquarters for an orientation that includes a half-day class on the company’s traditions and values taught by President Bill Gilbane Jr.
• Google (Mountain View, CA). Ranked 4. The search engine king is hiring again: Google plans to add thousands of employees to its payroll in 2010. Alhough a few perks have been cut in recent years, Google last year increased 401(k) matching and added a stock-option exchange program to help employees with underwater options. Engineers still get to devote 20 percent of their time to projects of their choosing.
• Intel (Santa Clara, CA). Ranked 98. Employees feel proud to work at the world’s largest semiconductor-chip maker. One engineer said, “We are undoubtedly changing society and the world. It is a magnificent feeling to be a cog in such an important machine.” Last year, 6,000 employees took advantage of the most generous sabbatical program in American business: eight paid weeks every seven years.
• Intuit (Mountain View, CA). Ranked 94. This firm known for financial software has an innovative work-life balance: $650 match of contributions to pre-tax dependent-care accounts, ability to telecommute, and a $65 daily subsidy for in-home care when child is sick or school is closed.
• J.M. Smucker (Orrville, OH). Ranked 47. Smucker family members still run the show. New hires get a gift basket sent to their homes; employees enjoy softball games and bowling nights.
• Kimley-Horn (Cary, NC). Ranked 62. Hit hard by the recession, engineering consultant laid off 455 staff members. Firm softened the impact with relocations and an innovative cost-cutting plan linked to community service.
• KPMG (New York, NY). Ranked 88. This audit firm introduced a sabbatical program allowing employees to take leaves of four to 12 weeks at 20 percent of pay. Some 450 employees immediately signed up for it. Employees average 25 paid days off.
• Marriott International (Bethesda, MD). Ranked 82. CEO Bill Marriott’s annual letter to associates is distributed in 28 languages to its diverse workforce. In the United States, 60 percent of associates are non-white.
• Mattel (El Segundo, CA). Ranked 78. The world’s largest toy company celebrates a lot, including milk-and-cookie socials, potluck breakfasts, volunteering days and summer picnics.
• McCormick and Company (Sparks, MD). Ranked 72. Some 24 percent of the workforce has been at the spice maker for more than 20 years. Fourteen “junior boards of directors” give employees at all levels input into decision-making.
• Mercedes-Benz USA (Montvale, NJ). Ranked 49. Sales and marketing arm of the German automaker prides itself on a culture of openness. The company’s new blog, MB Community, lets employees share ideas for change. 
• Microsoft (Redmond, WA). Ranked 51. Thousands of “Softies” worldwide hosted parties to celebrate the launch of the company’s new operating system, Windows 7. Developers average $106,000 salary.
• Nordstrom (Seattle, WA). Ranked 53. Retailer survived the recession with zero layoffs. Employee entrances carry signs like this: through these doors pass the world’s most courteous people.
• NuStar Energy (San Antonio, TX). Ranked 21. Publicly traded partnership showers employees with benefits like no-cost health insurance for them and their families and an old-fashioned pension plan while adhering to a no-layoff policy. Full-time turnover rate is just 3 percent.
• Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (San Francisco, CA). Ranked 95. Recession prompted law firm to ask incoming associates to defer their entry until fall 2010 and offer to place them in legal jobs at non-profits and government agencies, paying them an honorarium of $60,000 and a $15,000 bar stipend. Fortythree incoming lawyers (56 percent of the class) agreed to the deferment.
• Paychex (Rochester, NY). Ranked 54. Payroll provider restocked its vending machines with healthy snacks and nuts, and employees get checks ranging from $100 to $300 for trying to get fit.
• PCL Construction Enterprises (Denver, CO). Ranked 31. General contractor offers unique benefits: unlimited paid sick time (for employees or their ill children and spouses), a $200 reimbursement for employee enrollment in an exercise plan or health club membership, company-paid life insurance up to four times salary and stock ownership for all salaried employees.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (New York, NY). Ranked 71. Accounting firm had minor layoffs (less than 1 percent of the staff), canceled 2008 year-end holiday parties and gave two extra paid holidays to employees.
• Qualcomm (San Diego, CA). Ranked 9. Wireless pioneer works hard to provide an environment where “good people can do their best work.” Some elements: stock options on hire, baseball games, surfing lessons, kayaking tours, white-water rafting, bonfires, bowling and volunteering opportunities.
• S.C. Johnson & Son (Racine, WI). Ranked 83. For the first time in 92 years, no profit-sharing checks were issued, but the household-products maker was able to stick to its 123-year-old no-layoff policy.
• Scripps Health (San Diego, CA). Ranked 40. The Southern California hospital system matches employee contributions to retirement plans dollar for dollar up to 6 percent of pay—and adds another contribution of 1 percent of pay on top of the match. For employees with more than 20 years of tenure – they number more than 1,200—the match is two for one.
• Starbucks (Seattle, WA). Ranked 93. Employees are called “partners,” but there are 30,000 fewer worldwide than last year because of store closings and other cutbacks. Still, baristas say they love working at Starbucks because of the camaraderie—and part timers, who make up nearly 90 percent of the workforce, are grateful for the health insurance benefits. More than 150,000 people applied for jobs here last year.
• Umpqua Bank (Portland, OR). Ranked 23. Chain with a small-town feel has ballooned in 15 years from six branches and $150 million in assets to 154 “stores” (in Oregon, California and Washington) and $9 billion in assets.
• USAA (San Antonio, TX). Ranked 45. Financial group that offers services to the military and their families boasts top-of-the-line benefits such as a 401(k) match of up to 8 percent of pay and performance bonuses of up to 18 percent of pay.
• Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX). Ranked 18. Attacked from the right (too elitist, too New Age) and the left (too pricey, too anti-union), the grocery chain added 14 new stores in 2009, attracting a workforce that is young and idealistic. Salary cap limits top earner to 19 times the average hourly wage of $16.98. CEO John Mackey draws a salary of $1 a year.