KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burns & McDonnell has been named number 15 on the 2015 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® List. This is the fifth year the firm has received this prestigious recognition. Burns & McDonnell is the only engineering firm and the only Kansas City company featured on the list. Now in its 18th year, the list recognizes companies that have exceptional workplace cultures.
The firm was selected among hundreds of companies vying for a place on the list this year. Applicant companies opt to participate in the selection process, which includes an employee survey and an in-depth questionnaire about their programs and company practices. Great Place to Work® then evaluates each application using its unique methodology based on five dimensions: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.
Creators of the methodology behind the list, Great Place to Work® has found that employees believe they work for great organizations when they consistently trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with.
"I've been asked numerous times what the secret is to making FORTUNE's List that includes some of the most well-known and respected companies in the world," said Burns & McDonnell Chairman and CEO Greg Graves. "There isn't a one-size fits all secret recipe, but I can tell you for us, being a 100% employee-owned company is the key ingredient that's helped foster a culture of trust, respect and entrepreneurship at Burns & McDonnell that continues to produce success for both our clients and employee-owners."
"Many companies claim employee ownership, but only a few achieve ownership to such a degree that it actually powers the company's success," Graves said. "Our employees know they are being treated as owners, so they act like owners. What's more, our clients see it, which in turn drives future success."
Within the past year, Burns & McDonnell reached several historic milestones. The firm achieved a record $2.5 billion in sales, opened an international division, hired its 5,000th employee, and broke ground on a 450,000 square foot expansion of the firm's World Headquarters in Kansas City that will accommodate 2,100 employee-owners when it opens in the spring of 2016.
"The expanded world headquarters will allow us to offer even additional benefits to our employee-owners, such as on-site childcare," said Melissa Wood, Burns & McDonnell Chief Administrative Officer. "Our goal each year is to uncover new meaningful benefits that will enrich the lives of our fellow employee-owners. We have a flexible work schedule that will allow folks to adjust their work hours to help achieve the best work-life balance. We know there's a direct correlation between happy and fulfilled employees and client success."
"It is no coincidence that the 100 best workplaces are also extremely profitable and successful companies," said China Gorman, CEO of Great Place to Work®. "Research by our firm definitively showcases that the best places to work outperform their competitors. There is an absolute ROI when companies invest in creating a high-trust workplace culture. Great workplaces have significantly less turnover and produce employees who have a vested interest in the company."
Organizations named on the list see many benefits that include better financial performance, less employee turnover, higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, more innovative and creative thinking, higher productivity and enhanced public perception.
To see the complete 2015 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list and to learn more about how to build a high-trust workplace culture, visit www.greatplacetowork.com .
About Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is a company made up of more than 5,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned and is proud to be No. 15 on FORTUNE's 2014 List of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information visit http://burnsmcd.com
About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services and employer branding programs, including Best Companies lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. Great Place to Work®'s Trust Index©, a 58-question employee survey that measures trust, is used around the world to help companies increase the levels of trust across their organizations and improve business results. Annually, Great Place to Work® produces the research for the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list and the Great Place to Work® Best Small and Medium Workplaces list. Follow Great Place to Work® online at www.greatplacetowork.com and on Twitter at @GPTW_US.
About Fortune
Fortune is a global leader in business journalism with a combined audience of more than 9 million readers in print and online. Fortune covers bold innovators, smart companies, new ideas and innovative strategies that inspire the Fortune audience to accelerate their business success. Fortune's major franchises include the FORTUNE 500, the 100 Best Companies to Work For, World's Most Admired Companies, 40 Under 40 and Fastest-Growing Companies. Fortune hosts a wide range of annual conferences, including Fortune Most Powerful Women, Fortune Brainstorm Tech, Fortune Brainstorm E and the Fortune Global Forum. Fortune was the first business magazine with an iPad app and has more than 1.5 million followers on Twitter. Fortune.com launched on June 1, 2014 and has seen rapid growth since launch reaching an average of over 7mm monthly unique visitors. See the latest from Fortune online at Fortune.com and on Twitter @FortuneMagazine.
Kristi Widmar 816-448-7379 551-208-5922
