Fortune magazine has ranked Granite Construction No. 91 on its ninth annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. This is the third straight year the company has appeared on the list.
“This is a significant achievement for our entire company,” said William Dorey, president and chief executive of Granite. “This honor recognizes the quality of our workforce, their dedication, commitment and engagement in what they do day in and day out.”
The list is based on two criteria: an evaluation of company policies and culture, and the opinions of the firm’s employees. The latter is given more weight with two-thirds of the total score coming from employee responses to a 57-question survey, which goes to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. The survey asks about attitudes toward management, job satisfaction and camaraderie within the organization.
The policy and culture evaluation includes information such as demographic makeup, pay and benefits programs.
Another consideration, according to Fortune, is a company’s philanthropy. Granite donates up to 2 percent of its profits to charities and allows employee committees to select the recipients. In 2004, the company donated $1.1 million to causes like the Boys and Girls Clubs and Habitat for Humanity.
“It means a great deal to be considered one of the best workplaces in America, but more importantly, it confirms that Granite continues to attract the type of people that have helped maintain our culture for over 83 years,” said Brian Dowd, director of human resources. “Our employees have strong ethics, sound character and truly enjoy building the infrastructure our communities and country needs to prosper in the future.”
Granite Construction builds roads, highways, tunnels, bridges, mass transit facilities and airports. It also produces sand, gravel, concrete and other materials.
Another construction company that made the list was PCL Construction, which took the 65th spot. This Canadian company — with U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colo. — was behind the construction of the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Denver Airport. According to Fortune, 70 percent of its employees volunteer regularly and employee ownership is encouraged by the fact that no one can own more than 8 percent of the company’s shares.
