A great corporate culture isn't something you can buy. It's organic; it has to be cultivated. Inc.'s Best Workplaces celebrates companies that actively strive to build vibrant and engaging cultures. More than 1,600 companies applied this year--three times as many as last year. Together with my company, Quantum Workplace, a leader in employee-feedback software, Inc. assessed these companies according to their employee-engagement and people practices.
Employee engagement is a measure of the behavioral and emotional connections workers have with their companies. Each participating company administered an employee survey on issues like career development, communication, trust in leadership, team dynamics, and individual needs. Employees answered 30 questions using a six-point scale ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. To have its results qualify, each company had to achieve a statistically significant response rate based on employee count. Survey scores account for employer size to level the playing field between small and large businesses.