Wegmans again ranked No. 3 on Fortune's list of Best Companies to Work For. (Photo by Ashley Nickle)
Wegmans, Publix and Nugget Market earned spots on Fortune’s annual list of the 100 best companies to work for.
Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans ranked third on the list, Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix was No. 39, and Woodland, Calif.-based Nugget Market checked in at No. 79.
Fortune describes Wegmans, which has been on the list for 23 years, as a grocer with a cult following.
“Top brass offer produce workers the chance to be farm-to-table ambassadors on the organic farms supplying their stores and connect all employees to (senior vice president) of operations Bob Farr through a Q&A platform titled ‘Ask Bob’ (with more than 16,000 answered queries to date),” Fortune writes. “Notes one employee: ‘When management says they care, it actually shows in their actions.’”
Fortune touted tuition reimbursement as one of the key differentiators for Publix, which has also been on the list for 23 years. For any employee performing well, working at least 10 hours a week on average, and with a continuous tenure of at least six months, Publix offers tuition reimbursement in an approved area of study, according to Fortune.
“Information systems programmer Kelly Amig says she started at the company as a part-time cashier while in high school and then completed four years of college without a single student loan, thanks to the program,” Fortune wrote.
Education and acknowledgment were among the positive elements attributed to Nugget Market, which has been on the list for 15 years.
“Employees have found that knowledge programs at the family-owned grocery — such as the Passport Program, allowing them to learn every department in their store, and the sustainability commitment, which reduces landfill tonnage each consecutive year — also result in additional career opportunities,” Fortune wrote. “Meanwhile, appreciation programs abound: ‘We are encouraged to write cards complimenting a job well done, and if that card gets selected at random, the associate ... gets to spin for money’ and take home a prize worth up to $100.’”
The top 10 companies to work for across all industries, as selected by Fortune, are Hilton, Ultimate Software, Wegmans, Cisco, Workday, Salesforce, Edward Jones, Stryker, American Express, and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.