How companies were chosen for Best Places to Work in IT

For the 16th year in a row, Computerworld conducted a survey to identify the 100 best places to work for IT professionals. In September 2008, Computerworld started accepting nominations from U.S.-based companies. Participants were asked to provide the name and contact information of an appropriate individual at the nominated company who was familiar with or had access to employment statistics and financial data, as well as information about benefits policies and programs for the IT department and the company as a whole.

In January 2009, the contacts at the nominated companies received a 75-question company survey asking about their organizations' average salary and bonus increases, percentage of IT staff promoted, IT staff turnover rates, training and development, and the percentage of women and minorities in IT staff and management positions. In addition, information was collected on how each organization rewards outstanding performance, how their retention programs operate and what benefits they offer. Information from those surveys was used in compiling the 100 company profiles.

Upon completion of the company survey, participants were e-mailed instructions on selecting a random sample of their U.S.-based full- and part-time IT staffs. All participating companies were required to obtain feedback from their employees. The responses to the employee survey went directly to a third-party research firm. Topics covered in the survey included satisfaction with training and development programs, compensation, benefits, and programs designed to foster work/life balance. In addition, employees were asked to rate morale in their IT departments and the importance of various benefits, and to state the degree to which they agreed with a variety of statements regarding subjects such as career growth and management's fair and equal treatment of employees.

A total of 27,812 IT employees responded to the employee survey from the final 100 companies. The nomination survey, company survey and employee survey were all conducted via the Internet. The company and employee survey phase of the research ended in March 2009. To qualify to complete the company survey, participating companies had to have a minimum of 50 IT employees.

The top 5 lists show the best of the best -- the organizations that excel in five areas of HR: diversity, career development, retention, benefits and training.

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