WATSONVILLE, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Granite Construction Incorporated announced today that the Company has been named to FORTUNE's eleventh annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Granite ranked No.74 on the overall list of 100 companies. The full list and related stories appear in the February 4 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands January 28 and at http://www.fortune.com/ on January 22.
Granite's President and Chief Executive Officer, William G. Dorey, said, "We are extremely proud to receive this recognition for the fifth straight year. At the core of our Company are our people, their knowledge, their skill, and their passion. This achievement is a testament to the quality of our workforce and the unique culture of our Company."
A driving factor for the list this year is that these companies excel in creating jobs. The 100 companies on the 2008 list added 67,000 employees to their payrolls in the past year and employ a total of nearly 1.6 million employees; up 16% from the number employed by companies comprising last year's list.
To pick the "100 Best Companies to Work for", FORTUNE works with Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Of some 1,500 firms that were contacted, 406 companies participated in this year's survey. Nearly 100,000 employees at those companies responded to a 57-question survey created by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm with offices in 30 countries. Most of the company's score (two-thirds) is based on the results of the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about the management's credibility, job satisfaction and camaraderie. The other third of the scoring is based on the company's responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, methods of internal communications, training, recognition programs and diversity efforts, etc.
About Granite
Granite Construction Incorporated is a member of the S&P 400 Midcap Index, the Domini 400 Social Index and the Russell 2000. Granite Construction Company, a wholly owned subsidiary, is one of the nation's largest diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers. Granite Construction Company serves public and private sector clients through its offices and subsidiaries nationwide. For more information about Granite, please visit their website at http://www.graniteconstruction.com/.
