Cisco sixth in Fortune '100 Best Companies to Work For' list

Work/life integration, competitive salaries and bonuses, and innovation in communications are all attributes that have given Cisco a leading spot on the recently released Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008 list.

Cisco ranked number six overall on the full US companies list and ranks number four among large companies. It is also featured on the All-Star list as a result of being included on the Best Companies list every year since it was first published in 1998. Cisco ranked number one in telecommuting options, and also made the top lists in the 'salary', 'bonus', and 'companies with lowest turnover' categories. According to The Great Place To Work Institute, which works with Fortune to compile the list, "the 100 we select are beacons for the rest of the business world".

During the evaluation process, employee opinion accounts for two-thirds of the score in determining a company's position on the list; 400 employees were randomly selected to participate in the survey process.

"What makes these results gratifying is that our employees are very involved in the survey process from the start, and their input is instrumental in helping us make this important list," said Don McLaughlin, VP, Cisco Staffing.

This year's survey focused on a wide range of topics that included Cisco's efforts in the areas of environmental awareness, corporate social responsibility, technology (including TelePresence), use of new media-including blogs and video blogs-along with information about employee-related benefits, perks and HR practices. Fortune noted that "CEO John Chambers won praise for his leadership and his new blog, 'On My Mind', which solicits employee ideas."

Several factors go into the Fortune ranking, including an evaluation of the policies and culture of each company. Companies are scored in five areas: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. The list is co-authored by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, who surveyed nearly 100,000 employees from 446 different companies to come up with the list.

To be eligible, organisations must have a minimum of 1,000 regular full- and part-time US employees; have been in operation for at least seven years by the nomination deadline; and be publicly owned.

The full ranked listing is available at www.fortune.com and also at the Great Place to Work Institute's website www.greatplacetowork.com.