NEW YORK -- Valero Energy and QuikTrip have once again been recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine. The publication’s ninth-annual listing of top employers was released yesterday, and will appear in the January 23 issue of Fortune.
The top spot on the 2006 list goes to the biotech firm Genentech, replacing last year’s winner, Wegmans Food Markets, which fell to number two in this year’s rankings.
“Genentech’s secret, anybody here will tell you, is its culture. And that is what has propelled the company to the top of this year’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For,’” noted Fortune. “Employees there overwhelmingly believe their jobs have meaning, that their CEO wants their feedback and that work/life balance is more than just a buzzword.”
Valero Energy jumped an impressive 20 spots to reach third in this year’s rankings. The magazine singled out the company for its efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “When disaster strikes, this team pulls together. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, Valero dispatched semis filled with supplies, set up temporary housing for employees, fed volunteers--and donated $1 million to the Red Cross and got its refineries back up and running before the competition did.”
In addition to its 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, Valero is also one of the nation's largest retail operators with approximately 5,000 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under brand names including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar and Beacon.
QuikTrip made Fortune’s list for the fourth consecutive year, landing at number 21.
“How can a gasoline station/convenience store be a good place to work?” Fortune asked--and answered--“If employees are respected and valued. Eighty-seven percent of them say, ‘Management trusts us to do a good job without watching over our shoulders.’” And the results are impressive--the company reported that voluntary turnover last year was 16 percent.
“This recognition is great for QuikTrip, and it’s great for the industry as a whole,” said Mike Thornbrugh, manager of public relations and government affairs for QuikTrip. “It is a strong reaffirmation that our industry is a great place to work,” he said.
The “100 Best Companies to Work For” list is compiled for Fortune by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco. The list is based on two criteria: an evaluation of the policies and culture of each company, and the opinions of the company’s employees. More than 100,000 employees from 466 companies participated in the survey this year, up from 356 candidate companies last year. Companies that are at least seven years old and have 1,000 or more employees are eligible for the list.