To produce the Best Workplaces in Chicago, Fortune partnered with the people analytics firm Great Place to Work®. The list is determined using Great Place to Work's For All methodology to evaluate and certify thousands of organizations in America’s largest ongoing annual workforce study, and based on over 1 million employee survey responses and data from companies representing more than 6.1 million employees, this year alone.
The survey enables employees to share confidential quantitative and qualitative feedback about their organization’s culture by responding to 60 statements on a 5-point scale and answering two open-ended questions. Collectively, these statements describe a great employee experience, defined by high levels of trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. In addition, companies provide organizational data like size, location, industry, demographics, roles, and levels.
Great Place to Work measures the differences in survey responses across demographic groups and roles within each organization to assess both the quality and consistency of the employee experience. Statements are weighted according to their relevance in describing the most important aspects of an equitable workplace.
Survey data analysis and company-provided datapoints are then factored into a combined score to compare and rank the companies that create the most consistently positive experience for all employees, with companies appearing on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list ranking at the top. Many companies survey every employee, far surpassing the minimum threshold of 5,000. While company datapoints provide important context for rankings, only survey data can garner a list placement.
To be considered for the list, companies must be Great Place to Work-Certified™ and be headquartered in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area. We require statistically significant survey results, review anomalies in responses, news, and financial performance, and investigate any employee reports of company incompliance with strict surveying rules to validate the integrity of the results and findings. Data is also normalized to compare companies fairly across sizes and industries. Companies with 10 to 999 people are considered for the small and medium category; companies with 1,000 employees or more are considered for the large category.
To find out more about how to become Great Place to Work Certified™ or to apply to this or other Best Workplaces lists, visit greatplacetowork.com.
