When joining a company, young employees try to refine their skills and grow as professionals. According to Comparably, a compensation, culture and career monitoring website, Facebook, Starbucks and Ernst & Young are among the best at helping workers achieve this goal, as they rank within the top 25 for professional development.
Professional development serves a vital role in companies, improving employees productivity and attitudes, says Comparably CEO Jason Nazar. And it is also one of the top factors employees look for in an organization, he says.
"They want to come in, they want to take a lot of responsibility really quickly, they want to have a chance to learn and grow," Nazar says.
Nazar also noted that professional development is important for gender and racial equity within the workplace.
"There is an absolute clear lack of people of color and women in the highest role of companies ... and if we're only picking from people who already have those titles, we don't really increase the pie," he said. "One of the most important things we can do to level the playing field, especially in more senior roles, is to focus on professional development."
The lists below represent the best companies for professional development, as rated by their employees on Comparably.com, and are listed in alphabetical order. Large companies are organizations with more than 500 employees. Small-to-medium companies are organizations with fewer than 500 employees.
Best large companies for professional development
Top 25, in alphabetical order
1. Aflac, Columbus, Ga.
2. Amazon, Seattle.
3. Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C.
4. Costco, Issaquah, Wash.
5. Ernst & Young, New York City.
6. Facebook, Menlo Park, Calif.
7. Fanatics, Jacksonville, Fla.
8. Fuze, Boston.
9. Google, Mountain View, Calif.
10. HubSpot, Cambridge, Mass.
11. Indeed.com, Austin, Texas.
12. Insight Global, Atlanta.
13. International Flavors & Fragrances, New York.
14. Intuit, Mountain View, Calif.
15. LogMeIn, Boston.
16. Microsoft, Redmond, Wash.
17. Nevro, Redwood, Calif.
18. PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y.
19. Starbucks, Seattle.
20. T-Mobile, Bellevue, Wash.
21. The Home Depot, Atlanta.
22. The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, Calif.
23. Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas.
24. Workfront, Lehi, Utah.
25. Zillow, Seattle, Wash.
Best small- and mid-sized companies for professional development
Top 25, in alphabetical order
1. Acorns, Irvine, Calif.
2. AgileCraft, Austin, Texas.
3. BoldLeads, Chandler, Ariz.
4. Cybereason, Boston.
5. Envoy, San Francisco.
6. Faithlife, Bellingham, Wash.
7. MomentFeed, Santa Monica, Calif.
8. NetCentrics Corp, Herndon, Va.
9. Next Caller, New York City.
10. PandaDoc, San Francisco, Calif.
11. PC Pitstop, Sioux City, Iowa
12. Pendo, Raleigh, N.C.
13. Periscope Data, San Francisco.
14. Phenom People, Ambler, Penn.
15. Redbooth, Palo Alto, Calif.
16. RingDNA, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
17. SendGrid, Denver.
18. SessionM, Boston.
19. Sitetracker, Palo Alto, Calif.
20. SnackNation, Culver City, Calif.
21. StackCommerce, Venice, Calif.
22. Swift Navigation, San Francisco.
23. Widen Enterprises, Madison, Wis.
24. Workpop, Santa Monica, Calif.
25. zlien, New Orleans.
Methodology
Comparably's "Best Of" lists are derived from sentiment ratings provided by employees who anonymously rate their employers on Comparably.com during the period 5/23/17-5/23/18. There were no fees or costs associated with participating, nor was nomination required.
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