How the BPTW survey was completed

Pensions & Investments worked closely with a new partner on the 2016 Best Places to Work in Money Management survey.

Best Companies Group, Harrisburg, Pa., undertook a two-step process to develop the winners list, designed to gather detailed data about each organization. To be eligible to participate, a firm had to have at least 20 employees in the U.S., have at least $100 million of discretionary assets under management, and be in business for at least one year.

In part one, employer completed a questionnaire about the firm's policies, practices, benefits and demographics after registering for the survey in June.

In part two, employees were e-mailed an engagement and satisfaction survey in July that consisted of 78 statements. Employees were asked to respond on a 1-5 scale of “Disagree Strongly” to “Agree Strongly.” Two open-ended questions also were asked, probing what the firm did to make it a place where people wanted to work and what else the company could do to increase an employee's satisfaction and productivity.

Employer and employee surveys were due in August. The data were combined, which allowed BCG to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the participating companies.

Employees' responses accounted for 75% of the total score, with the employer responses accounting for the remaining 25%

For the final step, a BCG workplace assessment manager examined the data to verify and finalize the rankings. At P&I's request, firms were ranked against other firms of similar size, with a separate category for alternatives managers.