Talent Retention Tied to Purpose at Work at the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®

Great Place to Work® and Fortune announce 19th Annual 100 Best Companies to Work For® List

San Francisco – While companies of all sizes struggle with growing talent defections, the best workplaces have found a way to cut attrition in half. Their secret? It's not the lavish perks often linked with great workplaces. No, the strongest factor associated with employees' desire to stay at these companies "for a long time" is a sense of meaning at work. This link between people retention and purpose on the job is among the findings as research and consulting firm Great Place to Work® and Fortune announce the 19th annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

"The best workplaces know that retaining talent goes beyond perks and other rewards," said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work®. "At the best workplaces, employees' desire to stay is most closely associated with the meaning they find on the job, the pride they feel at work and whether they feel they make a difference."

To see this year's list, click here.

Applicant companies opt to participate in the selection process for the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, which includes an employee survey and an in-depth questionnaire about their programs and company practices. Great Place to Work® then evaluates each application using its unique methodology. Great Place to Work® has found that employees believe they work for great organizations when they consistently trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with.

Among the 2016 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, voluntary turnover rates are approximately half those of industry peers—in keeping with the trend of low turnover among these high-trust organizations year over year. A new Great Place to Work® study concludes that the ability of these top employers to retain employees is closely associated with pride and meaning at work. The report, Connecting People and Purpose: 7 Ways High-Trust Organizations Retain Talent, includes practical suggestions for companies of all sizes and industries to enhance employees' sense of purpose on the job.

Other Great Place to Work® research findings from the Fortune 100 Best this year include data showing that the Best Workplaces have outperformed their peers in the stock market by a factor of nearly 2x since 1998. The Fortune 100 Best also report that one of the top business benefits associated with investing in a great culture is improved customer service.

For more insights and lessons from the 2016 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, click here.

The annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list is one of many best company lists Great Place to Work® produces with Fortune. The lists are part of Great Place to Work®'s efforts to create a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces into high-trust, high-performing cultures.

"The 100 Best Companies are at the vanguard of an emerging movement," Bush said. "It's a movement of great workplaces for all—for people of all backgrounds, geographies and job titles. The 100 Best and those that join them are enjoying better business outcomes even as they build a better society."

To see the schedule for all the Great Place to Work®-Fortune workplace lists and more information on how to apply, visit Great Place to Work®'s website.

About Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work® produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®" list and a series of Great Place to Work® Best Workplaces lists including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industry lists.

Follow Great Place to Work® online at www.greatplacetowork.com and on Twitter at @GPTW_US.