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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I am curious why a particular company is on your best companies list.  What criteria do you use to determine your lists?

The primary criteria for list inclusion is whether a company's employees themselves say their organization is a great workplace. Two-thirds of the scoring of each company is based on employees' responses to a randomly distributed employee survey, which is taken anonymously and is a representative sample of each company's population. The remaining third is based on our analysis of the company's programs and practices compared with other applicants.

We conduct several audits of the data that we receive to ensure that we receive accurate data, and will disqualify companies if we find that surveys have not been distributed randomly or there was any pressure to reply in a certain manner. If you have additional information you feel would be important to bring to our attention, please contact us through the website of the country that has hosted your list competition and let us know. It is absolutely essential for the integrity of our evaluations that we ensure we are receiving accurate data, and we welcome you to contact us if you have reason to believe this is not the case so we can pursue this with your organization.

I am curious to know what happens if my organization participates but does not make it to the list.

We do not release the name of any organization or company that participates and does not make the list. This is strictly confidential information. We strive to provide only positive recognition.

Do you ever give our information to a third party?

No, we do not share an organization’s data with third parties. Great Place to Work® Institute does combine data from all organizations on the list to create benchmarks and for research on workplace issues. The Best People Practices© from winning organizations may also be featured in The Globe and Mail publication and on the Best People Practices Report.

How can you compare organizations in different sectors, and get a usable result?

Our trust-based evaluation model is universal, focusing on fundamental relationships in the workplace. Our research shows that the model predicts employee perceptions of great workplaces, and organizational performance, across all types of organizations in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. We have applied the model in more than 46 countries worldwide to know that we get usable results.

I am part of a multinational organization and I want to apply to best company lists or  engage your services in multiple countries. What should I do?

Great Place to Work® has experience working with multinational organizations to create a consistent workplace culture across cultural boundaries and structural or programmatic differences. Consulting services and application to best companies lists can be centrally coordinated to save your leaders time and centralize the collection and analysis of international results. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , who is head of our corporate business development team, who can walk you through the options available to you.

I have a question about your Latin American or European regional lists.

These regional lists are produced out of our global headquarters and determined based on data collected through individual countries' list applications in Latin America and Europe.

  • If you want to apply to this list using data from a single country in which you operate, please visit your local country's Great Place to Work® website which will include application information specific to your country's lists.
  • If you are interested in centralizing your application to multiple countries' lists, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in our global office who can walk you through your options and make this process easier for you.
  • If you have questions about how the regional lists are determined, or are a member of the media and have questions about profiled organizations, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in our global office.

Do you have a list of the world's best workplaces?

A list of best companies to work for in the world is scheduled to be published in October 2011. It will be based upon data collected as part of our national list projects. Please check back often for updates on publication release.

Is there an option where my organization can participate in the list process without incurring a cost?

There is no cost to participate in the list competition if your survey is 100% online. Because our list is 100% GREEN, a $5 fee applies to each paper survey completed (proceeds directed to offset the carbon footprint).

How can I get your founders, senior leaders or consultants to speak at my conference?

Our founders, CEO, and other senior leaders are happy to consider speaking at your conference or for your leadership group. Please contact us and a staff member will follow up with you shortly to discuss the opportunity further.

I have a great story to tell about my company. With whom should I speak to get your help sharing it?

Great Place to Work® offers numerous opportunities to publicize success stories for great workplaces. It's part of our mission — as it provides recognition to great workplaces, motivation to others to follow your example, and best practices that help others succeed. Please contact us and a staff member will follow up with you to discuss opportunities, which typically may include speaking engagements at conferences and networking events, being highlighted in webinars and Great Place to Work trainings, being invited to apply to our list competitions, or being highlighted in Great Place to Work reports, business case studies or via media partnership coverage.

I am writing a research paper for my academic program and would like access to your data set. Can you provide it?

Given to the high-profile and unique nature of the long-term data we have collected internationally, we receive an extremely high number of requests for access to our data. We are unable to support the vast majority of requests as our strict confidentiality requirements preclude many possible projects.

Researchers and/or writers who have a track record of publication and are requesting data to support papers or books that will be written for recognized journals or publishing houses may contact us to initiate a discussion about the possible use of research data to support your work. Students who are interested in using our data are encouraged to review our Careers page and take advantage of our numerous internship opportunities internationally.

What do you do, other than publish lists?

Great Place to Work® exists to create a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces. Lists are an important part of our work, as they gather data and research that we can use as resources to help any organization learn from the best and improve their workplace; they provide important motivation and recognition in the marketplace for those companies who are successful in creating outstanding workplaces.

At our core, our business is about analyzing and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of individual organizations as they seek to create great workplaces. We provide data, analysis, recommendations, as well as resources in the form of events, peer networking, research and publications that will help any company in any industry anywhere in the world to create a great workplace.

To find out more, read about Why We Do What We Do and Our Services.

Do I need to be a consulting client or purchase reports to have my company make it on one of your lists? Can you help me get on one of your lists?

No. Great Place to Work® is not in the business of helping organizations get on lists. Our list evaluation is based on an objective interpretation of your company's employee survey and Culture Audit data and the system does not take into account any broader purchase history or engagement with Great Place to Work. We encourage participants to make use of the survey data and analysis that is available as part of the process in order to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their workplaces, but decisions to purchase reports and other services have no bearing on your analysis.

Organizations are eligible to apply to our lists and are successful achieving recognition on them regardless of whether they choose to consult with us or use our management training services. The integrity of our list evaluation process is of utmost importance to us.

We do believe that years of dedicated analysis of the best companies gives us unique insight into how companies can create great workplaces and we are passionate about helping companies to be successful doing so. We set clear expectations up front with all clients that we are in the business of helping organizations improve their workplace culture, not helping clients to appear on one of our lists.

There are a lot of best companies, best workplace, and best employer lists in my market. What's the difference between them? Which do you publish?

Great Place to Work® is proud to be the founder of the great workplace and best employer movement. Co-founder Robert Levering spearheaded the recognition of great workplaces as an important business goal with the publication of his book the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 1984. The Institute's first lists, published in Exame in Brazil and in FORTUNEin the United States in 1997 soon expanded to a global movement.

Great Place to Work is distinguished in the market by employers, media and the public by our outstanding and reliable methodology and premiere media partnerships. Great workplaces have been our exclusive research focus since the founding of our business. Our evaluation methodology is rigorous and known in the market to be objective, thorough and credible. Recognition by the Institute is held as the highest accolade of great workplace performance by business leaders and job seekers and provides the opportunity for employers not only to receive recognition, but to receive data and analysis that help them substantially improve.

To find out more about the media partners for our lists, please see Our Locations.

I see you don't have an office in my country. I am interested in starting up a Great Place to Work® business here. Who can I contact about this?

Great Place to Work currently has expansion plans in several global markets. To find out more about these opportunities, or to propose a new business partnership, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in our global office.

Is it possible for my organization to participate in the list process but not compete in the Best Workplaces competition?

Although we are famous for our lists, we specialize in helping companies create better workplaces! Organization have the option of participating in the Trust Index© Employee Survey and/or Culture Audit© without competing in the Best Workplaces list competition. This allows companies to receive quantitative results, valuable feedback and benchmark against the best workplaces. There is no deadline to submit a nomination for the non-competition participation option.

I have another question that you haven't answered. Where can I go?

Please contact us! Our staff will be happy to direct your question appropriately.