Credit: Laura Morton
Members of the Charles Schwab marketing team meet with one another during a donut breakfast event at the company’s San Francisco office in 2022. In this year’s Top Workplaces, the business won first place for large companies.
After the global turmoil these last few years, questions continue to swirl about what work will look like in the future. Employees are continuing to search for work-life balance, inflation’s impact on salaries is still a challenge, layoffs are frequently in the headlines and there are growing concerns about artificial intelligence replacing real people.
At the same time, employers are looking for ways to attract top talent. Increasingly, companies need to stand out and showcase why a job with them can be much more fulfilling than just “a job.” One way to do that is by being named to the San Francisco Chronicle Top Workplaces in the Bay Area list, which salutes companies that go the extra mile to make their employees feel empowered and appreciated.
To find the winners, the San Francisco Chronicle and Energage surveyed local employees about their thoughts on where they work. This year, 128 winners were honored as Top Workplaces, which is the highest number of winners since Energage started surveying employees in the Bay Area 14 years ago.
Credit: Robust Intelligence
Employees of Robust Intelligence, which specializes in AI risk, spend the day team-building on a boat. The company won first place for small businesses in this year’s Top Workplaces.
While many businesses have won the award for multiple years, some are making it onto the list for the first time, like Robust Intelligence. The San Francisco-based business specializes in AI risk and took first place in the small companies category.
“We’re proud to be a Top Workplace award winner as voted by our incredible employees,” said Chief People Officer Riffat Jaffer. “We prioritize employee well-being, fostering growth opportunities and nurturing a supportive culture.”
For two years, Energage and the San Francisco Chronicle have partnered on the program and this year, they collected detailed information from more than 31,000 staff members in the Bay Area alone.
“The Chronicle is thrilled to partner with Energage once again to honor and celebrate workplaces that go above and beyond in the Bay Area,” publisher and CEO Bill Nagel said. “With all the changes in how people work during the last few years and Bay Area businesses being global leaders in many industries, it is more important than ever to recognize companies that are creating positive workplace cultures.”
Any public, private, nonprofit or government organization with more than 35 employees in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma or Solano counties is eligible to participate in Top Workplaces, and all companies are chosen from nominations by their employees.
After companies are selected, Energage asks permission to poll their workers on what they like and dislike about where they work, including questions on fair pay, work-life balance and how employers handled remote work during the pandemic.
Then, each company is analyzed in-depth, focusing on which businesses are determined to have the most positive employee engagement. Of thousands of Bay Area companies, the nominees are pared down to the cream of the crop.
Credit: Restoration Management Company
Employees at Restoration Management Company, a disaster management, restoration and commercial reconstruction business, have a meeting. In this year’s Top Workplaces, the business won second for large companies.
Divided into three categories, this year’s 128 winners resulted in 12 large companies with 500 or more employees in the region, 36 midsize with 150-499 employees in the region and 80 small with 149 or fewer employees in the region.
In the large category, the top winners include asset and investment management giant Charles Schwab, disaster management, restoration and commercial reconstruction company Restoration Management Company and semiconductor manufacturer Microchip Technology Inc.
For midsize companies, Legacy Real Estate & Associates, Dudum Real Estate Group and the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara took top honors.
The small category winners include Robust Intelligence, J&J Air Conditioning and Syncari, a data automation platform.
Robust Intelligence employees emphasized the positive work environment.
“The people are genuinely kind, intelligent and interesting, all of which are not things I take for granted,” an employee wrote on the survey. “I feel like there is a lot of work to be done, and that people are proactive about making our company a better place and create the vision we want for the world.”
As Jaffer noted, artificial intelligence is a fast-evolving landscape requiring integrity and transparency with great reliance on trusted, dedicated employees to shepherd clients through.
“Our team is united by a shared mission to eliminate AI risk and firmly believes in our contribution to creating safe and responsible AI systems,” he said. “Attracting and hiring exceptional engineers and operators is pivotal in pursuit of our ambitious goals.”
Credit: Dudum Real Estate Group
Dudum Real Estate Group hosts a grand opening at one of their offices. The business was named second place for midsize businesses in this year’s Top Workplaces.
More than a dozen of 2023 Top Workplace winners also received special awards, based on standout scores in particular survey categories including leadership, direction, meaningfulness and work/life flexibility. Robust was called out for a “new ideas” award, based on its employees saying that they feel their thoughts and recommendations are welcome.
The Top Workplaces results honor organizations that go above and beyond and provide valuable information for talented workers seeking their next career role. The companies benefit, as well, gaining feedback on what their employees really think, where their management shines and where they might improve to attract even more talent.
“This award not only acknowledges our standing as a premier workplace but also demonstrates our commitment to providing a positive and fulfilling work environment for all,” Jaffer said.