Various organisations internationally compile information on which companies make the best employers. Two of the most well-known lists of top companies to work for come from Fortune Magazine in the USA and the Sunday Times in the UK. Both publications compile lists of the 100 best companies in their respective countries. We look at the top five from each.Fortune top fiveFortune Magazine conducts the most extensive employee survey in corporate America, its data is much respected and companies eagerly await the annual results. Criteria include employees’ opinions on management’s credibility, job satisfaction and camaraderie, as well company-supplied information regarding pay and benefit programmes, hiring, communication and diversity.1) SAS is the world’s largest privately owned software company. Last year, 2009, it was ranked 20 on Fortune’s list, which means its ascendency has been astounding. Company highlights include unlimited sick days, a free medical centre, a free fitness centre, a lending library, child care facilities, and a summer camp for kids. It also pays 90 per cent of employees’ health insurance premiums, and allows for telecommuting and compressed work weeks.2) Edward Jones is an investment advisor and is distinguished by its claim that not a single employee was retrenched during the recession. It doesn’t offer quite the same number of benefits as SAS, but it does have subsidised gym membership and allows for telecommuting and compressed work weeks.3) Wegmans is a grocery store franchise and it does one better than Edward Jones’s boast of not laying anyone off during the recession; according to Wegmens, it has never laid anyone off, not in 94 years of operation. Its benefits are also not as great as SAS, but as 11 per cent of the workforce have been there for more than 15 years, the family environment and job satisfaction more than make up for it.4) Google, for all its famous perks is not the top employer that it once was, although holding onto its fourth position on the list means that it’s by no means near the worst. The recession took its toll on Google employees (meal-time perks were cut back, which is almost sacrilege) but the company has managed to keep the ones that are most important, such as engineers being allowed to devote 20 per cent of their working day to projects of their own. It also retains onsite child care, 100 per cent health care cover and telecommuting.5) Nugget Market is a supermarket chain that has worked its way up from 10th spot in 2009. Aside from 100 per cent health care coverage it doesn’t offer many big benefits, but as the company’s employees demonstrate, sometimes the little things count more. For instance, to combat the effects of the recession, Nugget started giving associates discounts on their monthly groceries. There are also regular employee-appreciation events.The Sunday Times top five1) Nando’s makes its Sunday Times list debut at number one. The restaurant chain, which originated in South Africa, is a clear favourite among its employees in almost all categories. It scored the best overall marks for Wellbeing (70 per cent), as well as manager and team perception (76 and 79 per cent respectively). It came second overall for Leadership (75 per cent) and scored highly for Personal Growth (72 per cent). The sunshine doesn’t end there, employees also waxed lyrical about their love for working at Nando’s (80 per cent) and the strong feeling of family (81 per cent). Furthermore, the chain is committed to employee development with 75 per cent of budget reserved for learning and development programmes.2) Goldman Sachs also makes an impressive debut on the list. Unlike most financial institutions that have suffered greatly (reputation-wise) during the economic downturn, employees at Goldman Sachs are supremely confident in their leaders, the principles of the organisation and the direction in which the company is headed (87 per cent, 87 per cent and 80 per cent respectively). Furthermore, employees believe that profit is not the organisation’s sole goal (61 per cent) and that its support for worthy causes is not driven by publicity (62 per cent).3) Sytner Group is a prestige car retailer that has moved up three places from 2009 to 2010. Employees are proud to work for the company (80 per cent) and love their jobs (74 per cent). This may have something to do with the team building activities held at regular intervals throughout the year, such as boat trips and barbecues. Employees also think their colleagues are fun to work with (82 per cent of) and are excited about the company’s future (73 per cent). Perks include child care vouchers and flexible working hours.4) PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also moved up three places to land 4th place, this may have something to do with the fact that employees believe that the opportunities to grow and learn within the organisation are limitless (70 per cent). They consider their work stimulating (75 per cent) and have confidence in the team of senior management team (77 per cent). The company be proud of the fact that their employees are proud to work there (82 per cent).5) Mothercare and Early Learning Centre leapt up from 13th place in 2009. As one would expect from an organisation devoted to children and learning, the workplace has an emphasis on fun -employees consider their colleagues fun to work with (83 per cent), and their jobs to be “far from dull” (69 per cent). The company offers free life assurance cover for everyone. Furthermore, the organisation makes allowances for flexible working hours and allows employees to work from home.All of the companies on each of these lists embrace the philosophy that happy employees are productive employees and productive employees mean higher ROI. Not all companies can afford free medical cover, but as some of the companies above demonstrate, it’s the recognition, the appreciation and the gestures that count. Every little bit counts.
Big “Buts” Sabotage Weight Loss, Health, and Fitness (Part 1 of 12)
What is Your Big “But?”It is time. From what you hear and read, you know that you should eat better and exercise more. You have seen too many people stricken with too many scary diseases, and you don’t want to be the next victim. You want to be around for your children and grandchildren.So it’s time to make some changes–now.You have a good idea what you should and shouldn’t do. You say to yourself: “I should eat more fruits and vegetables. I shouldn’t stop for that quick burger and fries. I should skip that morning coffee. I shouldn’t eat that chocolate. I should walk more. I shouldn’t eat so much meat. I should cut out the sweets and desserts. I shouldn’t drink that pop. I should go to the gym. And all those salty chips–they should be out of my life too.”You are just about to follow through with at least a few of those “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” on your list, but that big, pesky “yeah, but” keeps popping into your brain–sabotaging, once again, your good intentions. If one “yeah, but” doesn’t effectively stop you dead in your tracks, then another “yeah, but” steps up to neatly finish the job.And what’s a “yeah, but?”That’s the instant response to your “should” or “shouldn’t:” “I should eat more vegetable salads–”yeah, but why bother; I feel fine” or “yeah, but I have good genes” or “yeah, but the doctor told me I was healthy” or “yeah, but I don’t like salads, so I may as well eat what I have always eaten.”What is your big “yeah, but?” What “yeah, but” is stopping you from achieving your ideal weight and optimum level of health and fitness?The follow-up parts to this article will help you explore the big “buts” that may keep you stuck in a body less than your ideal.
The Journey to a Photography Education
It would have been nice, had I recognized my interest in photography when I was a lot younger. Who knows what might have been different. One difference, however, might have been how I went about learning both the craft and its art.I can only imagine what it would have been like to study photography at any one of the many great schools with a photography curriculum. We read about many of them or see their advertisements in popular photo magazines. I’ve always found the ads for schools like the Rocky Mountain School of Photography or the New York Institute of Photography inviting but have never found the time (or the money) to take advantage of them.I’ve had the pleasure of working with photographers who studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for example, and I’ve always been impressed by their knowledge.However, I’ve taken a different route and it’s one I think is quite common. I was first attracted to photography more than 30 years into my career as a custom publisher. While I’d been around photography all my working life, even taking a few photos myself over the years, it wasn’t until I received a subscription to Outdoor Photographer magazine that I caught the bug for nature photography.By this time I had a career, a business, and a family so the photography education had to be acquired in a less formal manner. I opted for workshops, The Nikon School, a George Lepp workshop at Union College in Schenectady NY, and others along the way… most recently The Barefoot Contessa’s Photo Adventures’ Fall Workshop in New Hampshire re-ignited my interest and I hope my creativity.Perhaps another opportunity, available to just about everyone, has provided the bulk of my education though – books. Every good bookstore has a large variety of books on photography. I gravitated to those by noted nature photographers and I have a small and growing library of books on nature photography now. I’ve read many repeatedly. Some, like George Lepp’s Beyond the Basics (1 &2) or Michael Busselle’s Better Picture Guide to Landscape Photography, introduced me to the basics such controlling exposure and the importance of depth of field. Others, such as the Center for Nature Photography Series by Allen Rokach and Anne Millman, delved into subjects like zone exposure, the different perspectives provided by lenses of different focal lengths or the use of fill flash, and of course composition.As my “education” progressed I found myself gravitating toward books with more focus (pun intended) on the art of photography than its craft. I discovered that I really enjoyed books by Freeman Patterson, Tony Sweet, and David Ward to mention a few. Each expanded my horizons and whet my appetite for more.