Tech companies have a reputation for treating their employees well, but if reviews on job search engine and review site Glassdoor are to be believed, Shopify Inc. has gone above and beyond.
The Ottawa-based e-commerce firm came in at the top of Glassdoor’s Canadian list of the 25 best places to work in 2017, receiving an average rating of 4.5 out of 5, an honour it shared with human resources software maker Ceridian HCM, Inc., which came in at number two for the second year in a row.
Four other tech companies appeared among the top 10: Salesforce.com, which received a rating of 4.4 out of 5 and came in at number four; Cisco Systems Inc., which received a rating of 4.2 and came in at number five; Apple Inc., which also received a rating of 4.2 and came in at number six; and SAP SE, which also received a rating of 4.2 and came in at number 10.
Other notable companies among the top 25 included telecom giant Telus Corp. (number 12 with a 4.2 rating), and advisory firms Accenture PLC (number 17, 4.1), EY (number 20, 4.1), and Deloitte (number 25, 4.0).
In a Dec. 7 statement Glassdoor CEO and co-founder Robert Hohman emphasized the benefits that companies reap when building an appealing workplace for employees, while the release noted that the 25 winners spanned multiple industries, including tech, finance, travel and tourism, construction, and retail.
As usual with the survey, now in its ninth year, Glassdoor compiled reviews from multiple countries, including the U.S., U.K., France, and Canada, using different criteria for each. In Canada, where the survey was conducted for the second time, only companies with 1000 or more employees were considered, with the winners are ranked based on their average rating between Nov. 2, 2015 and Oct. 30, 2016.
Though multiple employers appear to have received identical ratings, there were no ties among the winners because Glassforce’s algorithms accounted for the quantity, quality, and consistency of each company’s reviews. Though rounded to the nearest tenth for clarity’s sake, the calculations behind the results actually extend beyond the thousandth, according to Glassdoor.
In addition to providing ratings out of 5, employees leaving a review on Glassdoor are encouraged to share what they consider some of the best reasons to work for their employer, any downsides, and advice for management. They are also asked if they would recommend their employer to a friend, whether they believe their employer will be successful during the six-month period after they post their review, and encouraged to rate both their CEO and five key workplace attributes: career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, senior management, and work-life balance.
It’s worth noting that in addition to coming out on top, Shopify made its first-ever appearance on this year’s Canadian list. Cisco and SAP also made their grand entrances, while Apple fell three places from last year, when it was ranked number 3 with a rating of 4.3.
The full list of 25 can be found here.
For a glimpse at why Shopify came out on top, check out the video Glassdoor made from interviewing the company’s employees below.
