What makes a tech company one of the best to work for? Pay is a factor, but it’s not the only one. Find out what attracts top talent in the tech industry
Professionals and tech geeks dream of joining one of the top tech companies to work for. There are a number of reasons: learning from the brightest minds in tech. Working on cutting-edge projects. Being part of an innovative culture.
Then, of course, there’s the pay. Tech companies are known for paying high salaries. But is that enough to make a tech company – or any company, for that matter – one of the best places to work for? What accounts for employee satisfaction?
HRD spoke with Dinah Palaima, VP of Human Resources for North America at Harv 81 USA Inc. When it comes to satisfaction at work, she narrows it down to two points: culture and benefits.
Ms. Palaima says that culture starts with the leaders, but the driving force is the people.
"It’s about looking at the people we bring on board to make sure they mesh with our culture, with our values...they need to have the same mission and vision that we all have,” she says.
The other point that accounts for satisfaction at work is benefits, and the pandemic was a major factor. “Putting COVID in the rearview mirror, I think it's created a lot of flux as far as what people are looking for in a company. A remote hybrid work environment is something that is not going away for a long time.”
Ms. Palaima also says that emerging from the pandemic comes with other challenges. “People want more than just a hybrid work schedule,” she explains. “They want to enrich the benefits. They want more in compensation. They want more time off...we're revisiting those things on a reoccurring basis and reevaluating.”
As HR professionals pivot to attract top talent in this post-pandemic world, let’s look at how tech companies succeed in that area.
We looked at various sources on the internet, including each company’s annual report and benefits and culture pages, to come up with our list. Most of them are familiar names with interesting perks; one is a maverick that aims to dislodge a market leader in video conferencing services.
So here they are, listed in alphabetical order:
Year established: 1982
Earnings in 2022: $17.61 billion
Average salary: $126k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
The pioneer in digital media is also an innovator when it comes to employee benefits.
Adobe’s “work and life” page on its website shows 10 subsections – personal and family services, commuter benefits, legal insurance, and pet services among them. (They even have a pet community on Slack called Adobe Pets.)
The company offers extensive benefits covering time off, financial, and health and wellbeing. They also support employees through major life changes like having or adopting a baby, getting divorced, or end-of-life planning.
Aside from being one of the best tech companies to work for, Adobe is also part of HRD’s list of companies with the best workplace cultures.
Year established: 1976
Earnings in 2022: $394.33 billion
Average salary: $143k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
At Apple, competitive salaries and exceptional medical coverage come with an array of perks like employee discounts on Apple products.
The company promotes work-life balance through flexible work options, generous paid leave, and wellness programs. Apple's stock options and performance-based bonuses offer lucrative incentives to employees.
Employees can access Apple University to learn more about the organization’s culture and values. The platform also has online classes and seminars as part of its L&D offer.
A great example of how much Apple cares for its employees came at the height of Covid lockdowns in 2020. Apple sent its employees in Wuhan care packages to help them through the challenging time.
Year established: 2004
Earnings in 2022: $116 billion
Average salary: $127k
Some employee benefits:
Facebook’s parent company Meta offers generous compensation and paid leave benefits. They also have wellness programs on the Menlo Park campus. These include chiropractic, acupuncture, coaching, and sports medicine services, to name a few.
Meta also promotes work-life integration by offering flexible work options. Remote work is available for some jobs. Onsite employees can also work remotely if that works best for them.
The company is past the mid-point mark of its “Year of Efficiency” after trimming 13% of its workforce last year. According to a report by Vox, more belt-tightening measures are coming.
But in a surprising and welcome turn of events, Meta has begun hiring back employees it laid off. And the perks are back, too – and so is employee morale.
Year established: 1998
Earnings in 2022: $279.8 billion
Average salary: $124k per year plus 17k in bonuses
Some employee benefits:
Google consistently ranks among the best tech companies to work for. This tech giant offers employees competitive salaries, comprehensive medical coverage, and an extensive range of benefits.
The company supports flexible work options for its “Googlers” and offers some on-site perks too. There are free meals and snacks, fitness centers, massage programs, and creative spaces to work and collaborate with other Googlers. Pet lovers also enjoy having emotional support dogs around.
Google is also among the most diversity-friendly employers in tech. Case in point: Google has scored 100% on the Disability Equality Index for 3 years in a row.
Year established: 1911
Earnings in 2022: $60.5 billion
Average salary: S124k
Some employee benefits:
IBM attracts among the brightest minds in tech, and the company has a robust benefits package to match top-tier talent.
Financial benefits include home mortgage/refinancing tools, an employee stock purchase plan, and optional term life insurance, among others.
IBMers also have access to a MoneySmart coach; confidential financial counselling and planning services are available by phone.
These financial coaches are well-versed in IBM benefits and are credentialed with Ayco Company and Fidelity Investments. With this free service comes expertise from IBM and two of the country’s leading wealth management firms. Clearly, IBM is not pinching pennies when it comes to financial literacy for its employees.
These are some of the reasons why IBM remains a favorite among the best tech companies to work for.
This may sound absurd, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time working at IBM (for over a decade). pic.twitter.com/GFCNey6AOr
— Wizard of Aus (@MrAlexBoz) July 18, 2021
Year established: 1968
Earnings in 2022: $63.1 billion
Average salary: $132k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
Intel boasts a compensation package that’s fitting of a Fortune 500 company.
Apart from the standard package – pay, medical benefits, leave allocations – Intel also offers wellness benefits and an employee assistance program.
The company supports its employees beyond the workplace through fertility and adoption benefits and childcare/elder care programs.
Recognizing that long-term illness could be stressful for employees and their families, Intel also offers life and critical illness insurance options.
Here's the most jaw-dropping perk: access to one of Intel’s private jets! They fly employees weekly across Intel offices in the US to meet with clients and colleagues.
Boarding the @intel jet this morning! I'm so excited! I'm looking forward to speaking with the CEO! pic.twitter.com/atbFhLW54K
— Alexandra Forsythe (@AlexJForsythe) August 7, 2019
Year established: 1975
Earnings in 2022: $198 billion
Average salary: $120k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
Microsoft, a leader in the software industry, consistently ranks high in terms of employee satisfaction.
After a couple of weeks working at Microsoft, I can say that I like the culture here!
— Jan de Vries (@Jan_de_V) May 17, 2022
Everyone is empowered to be the best of themselves! The colleagues (peers & SLT) are very passionate & knowledgeable and always try to find time to help out.
Really love working here!
The company offers competitive pay, comprehensive medical coverage, and an array of benefits.
Microsoft embraces a flexible work environment, allowing employees to work remotely or in hybrid setups. Microsoft calls this “hybrid workplace flexibility”.
Under this setup, employees can work up to 50% from home, up to 100% from home, or 100% on-site depending on the nature of the role. They can also work anywhere (depending on the job) and work during the hours that best suit them.
Not only is Microsoft among the best tech companies to work for, it was also part of HRD’s most admired companies in 2021.
Year established: 1997
Earnings in 2022: $31.6 billion
Average salary: $145k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
Among all the companies on this list, Netflix’s benefits page perhaps offers the least amount of detail. None of the nitty-gritty, but with a good overview of how employees are rewarded at Netflix.
This is in line with the company’s ethos of “context, not control” to give each employee a wide latitude in doing their job. The overarching guideline is to “act in Netflix’s best interest.”
And that simplifies things a great deal. For example, their vacation policy is summed up in 2 words: “take vacation.” Parental leave is “take care of your baby and yourself” (in general, though, parents take 4 to 8 months).
Diversity and inclusion are also a big part of working at Netflix. As the company says, “inclusion on-screen starts with inclusion in the office.” And to prove that point, Netflix has 18 employee resource groups for the different communities under its roof.
I completely forgot to update that I recently started working at Netflix Animation. It's been a little over a month now and I still can't believe this is real I'm so excited to have a chance to learn everything I can in such a supportive environment! pic.twitter.com/kaGbFwGGDb
— Sky (@SkyWinley) December 13, 2022
Year established: 1999
Earnings in 2022: $31.35 billion
Average salary: $114k including bonuses
Some employee benefits:
From what we have seen, Salesforce has one of the most extensive benefits on this list of best tech companies to work for. These benefits cover physical health, mental wellbeing, family care, financial and legal support.
A cornerstone of Salesforce’s company culture is its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The company publishes equality reports yearly as part of its “journey to equality for all.”
Proud that we walk the walk....#salesforce #dei
— dansmillie (@dansmillie) February 10, 2022
Our 2022 Annual Equality Update: Accelerating Representation and Racial Equality https://t.co/MdD7hlsEui
They have a Racial Equality and Justice Task Force and equality groups for communities like veterans, LGBTQ, South Asians, Blacks, and Latinx, among others.
Salesforce is also committed to equal pay, addressing pay gaps every year. In a welcome move in 2022, variable pay for Salesforce executives were based on how well they met DEI and sustainability targets. How could we not include Salesforce on this list of best tech companies to work for?
Year established: 2013
Earnings in 2022: $7.6 million
Average salary: not available online but published in job ads and discussed at interviews. A detailed pay framework is in their employee handbook
Some employee benefits:
Thanks @Flexa_careers for re-verifying Whereby as a truly flexible employer for our flexible working approach 🎉
— Whereby (@whereby) March 31, 2022
🌎 Fully remote
⏰ Fully flexible hours
🌴 Unlimited annual leave
Find out more about working at Whereby, our policies and open roles here ⬇️https://t.co/LzAfzaap44 pic.twitter.com/AGDxGtLJPG
What started out as a summer intern project in Norway has now become a challenger to video conferencing leader Zoom. But that’s not the only thing Whereby is known for.
Whereby is gaining a reputation for its progressive management practices – its set up is fully remote and offers unlimited annual leave, among other things.
The company’s credo is “Do whatever is in the best interest of Whereby”. This could mean using the home working stipend to spruce up the home office or buying a latte at a coworking space. It could also mean logging on and off at hours that suit its employees.
This degree of freedom and autonomy contributes to a culture of innovation, creativity, and courage.
Apart from making this list of the best tech companies to work for, Whereby is also part of HRD’s Best Places to Work in 2023.
To summarize, there are many factors that make a company an ideal place to work. There’s compensation, of course, but in this post-pandemic age, non-monetary benefits like time off, flexible working, and wellbeing programs have emerged as major factors too.
It’s time to include these in standard compensation and benefits packages to attract the best talent. Just take it from the ten best tech companies to work for.
