12 Employee Retention Secrets from Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work

If you want to retain a greater percentage of top-performing employees through any bouts of “spring fever” that break out in your office this year, it can be helpful to look at the retention strategies used by industry-leading companies that are highly rated for employee satisfaction.

Your company may already offer employee perks, but you’re not the only company on earth and it is much easier to make a counteroffer when your employee perks are similar or identical to industry leaders in employee satisfaction.

GlassDoor has just released its yearly Best Places to Work ranking, and the companies on this list earn this ranking by supporting their employees with bountiful resources, benefits, and even rich life experiences. Here are the top 15 companies for employee satisfaction in the Large and Small/Medium categories:

Top 15 Large Companies to Work For

  1. Bain & Company
  2. Facebook
  3. Boston Consulting Group
  4. Google
  5. World Wide Technology
  6. Fast Enterprises
  7. In-N-Out Burger
  8. LinkedIn
  9. Adobe
  10. Power Home Remodeling
  11. McKinsey & Company
  12. The Clorox Company
  13. Nestle Purina
  14. Paylocity
  15. SAP

Top 15 Small/Medium Companies to Work For

  1. Greenhouse Software
  2. Illuminate Education
  3. Entelo
  4. SailPint Technologies
  5. SeatGeek
  6. MetroMile
  7. Classy
  8. Asana
  9. Senero
  10. LiveRamp
  11. Health Catalyst
  12. Jusworks
  13. EverFi
  14. Novus Partners
  15. Kelper Group

Here are some of the most commonly used perks and retention practices offered by the top-rated companies to work for in the US.

1. Free Lunch

Free food is a common perk boasted by companies on this list, and keeping everyone fed and happy at work will cut down on lunch costs for employees and fatigue from not eating while they’re at work. Whether it’s catered/ordered lunches or a fully stocked snack bar, providing employees with bountiful food is a good way to get on their good side.

2. Bonuses and Equity Grants

Money is one of the most common motivators for top performers changing jobs. By offering incentive and growth-based bonuses and equity grants to employees, you’ll be putting your money where your mouth is in terms of offering your appreciation for their hard work.

3. Health Insurance

Providing comprehensive health insurance to employees and their families is a great retention-geared benefit to invest in. Health insurance also pays off when a valuable employee experiences a medical emergency, and the coverage you provide them with helps toward their speedy return to work.

4. Life Insurance

This benefit really demonstrates the strength of your commitment to your employees and their families. Google offers generous benefits to surviving spouses of deceased employees, paying them 50% of the deceased’s salary for 10 years.

5. 401K

Offering a 401k plan/401k management/matching is a great way to promote retention at your company. Many of Glassdoor’s top-rated companies have 401k policies for their employees, and the ones without fully comprehensive plans tend to get comments about this fact in their reviews.

6. Maternity and Paternity Leave

Having a child is a major life event whether you’re the mother or the father, and parenting benefits will go a long way with top performers who have families or plan on starting families. Winner of 1st place in the Large Businesses category, Bain and Company, offers newborn mothers 12 weeks of paid leave

7. Employee Outings

Employee outings are a great way to promote retention, build connections between employees, and attract top talent to your company. Here’s a quote from one of the top employee reviews of Google that helps the company live up to its legendary reputation:
“Aaaaaamazing holiday parties (at Waldorf Astoria, NY Public Library, MoMA, etc.); overnight ski trips to Vermont; overnight nature trips to the Poconos …”

8. Paid Time Off

The amount of paid time off varies for companies on the Best Places to Work, but most of them offer this benefit to one degree or another. While some companies are praised by their employees for 15 or 20 paid days off, Asana boasts “Untracked PTO” for its employees. Clearly, having placed in the Top Places to Work, this policy is paying off with employee satisfaction.

9. Unlimited Sick Days

Having unlimited sick days demonstrates the commitment that your company has to your employees and the trust you place in them. Though companies will often make arrangements with employees who are seriously injured or seriously ill, this policy lets injured employees rest easy, not dreading an impending “get-better-by-or-fire-by” date. SeatGeek, 5th of the Best Small/Midsized Places to Work, offers: “Unlimited sick days, fully stocked food and alcohol in kitchen, Citibike membership, and team events!”

10. Commuter Benefits

These benefits are great for companies located in urban locations or for any company with a high percentage of people commuting over an hour or more to work. Arranging carpools, public transport stipends, Uber/Lyft credits are some of the most commonly used commuter perks that top companies are using to attract and retain talent.

11. Health/Recreation Benefits

Just like health insurance, offering health/recreation benefits will help your employees feel healthier and more engaged in their work. If you enable your employees to blow off steam at the gym, on the court/field, or in a yoga class, they can experience a better work-life balance and have you to thank for it.

12. Phenomenal Company Culture

One of the best retention tools at your disposal is your company’s culture. All the companies on this list have employees singing their praises online, and one of the first things that these employees mention is how positive the culture and the people make their workday. Besides investing in supporting your employees, invest in your company’s culture to promote retention. This way, your current employees will stay longer and give you the kind of reviews that got these companies onto “The Best Places to Work” this year.

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