Pensions & Investments worked closely with a leading workplace expert to produce the list of winners in the 2017 Best Places to Work in Money Management program.
Best Companies Group, Harrisburg, Pa., undertook a two-step process to develop the list, designed to gather detailed data about each organization. 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, the employer completed a questionnaire about the firm's policies, practices, benefits and demographics. New questions this year also queried companies about their training and development opportunities to prepare female and minority employees for senior positions, as well as their efforts to enhance employees' financial wellness.
In part two, employees were emailed an engagement and satisfaction survey that consisted of 78 statements. Employees were asked to respond on a 1 to 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.
The data were combined, which allowed Best Companies Group 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 others of similar size.
