How do the best places work? You’ve got to pay to play: It all starts with good compensation and a solid benefits package.
Ad Age Best Places to Work 2022 honors 50 companies that did a standout job last year as the ad business rebounded, the talent pool tightened and the specter of COVID-19 remained omnipresent at work, at home—and at work at home.
The winning companies outranked other workplaces in factors ranging from pay and benefits to corporate culture and leadership.
The winners—top companies with more than 200 employees and top companies with 200 or fewer employees—reflect the highest overall scores based on an analysis of questionnaires submitted by employers and survey responses from employees.
What separates the best from the rest
Pay and benefits are paramount.
Employees at winning companies felt better about their overall compensation package than did employees at companies in the competition that didn’t make the ranking.
For employees, the best places over-indexed on the survey’s two most basic statements on pay and benefits:
- “My pay is fair for the work I perform.”
- “Overall, I'm satisfied with this organization’s benefits package.”
The winners outperformed on specific pay-and-perks points including:
- “I'm satisfied with the tuition reimbursement benefits”—the survey statement that had the biggest delta between winners and employers that didn’t make the ranking.
- “I’m satisfied with the retirement plan benefits”—the second-biggest delta on pay and benefits topics for the best versus the rest.
The Ad Age Best Places to Work 2022 ranking was produced by Best Companies Group, a research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work. Ad Age partnered with Best Companies Group on some past Best Places reports, most recently in 2017.
Best Companies Group conducted the surveys, analyzed the data and determined the winners.