RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The war for tech talent is raging across the Triangle, North Carolina and the US with unemployment rates at record lows and nearly 30,000 open IT jobs in NC alone. So as employees look for jobs they are in the driver’s seat, and they often are looking for more than pay. They want perks. They want a good work environment. Thus comes into play Glassdoor and other sites where employees have their say about their bosses and companies.

In the first of a series, WRALTechwire researched 15 RTP-based companies or those with large operations here making news recently – from hiring to layoffs – at Glassdoor to see what their employees were saying for this report. Firms range from new to old, small to large, in transition to reorganizing.

Criteria include:

1.      An overall rating system of 1 to 5 stars

2.      Approval of the CEO

3.      The percentage of employees who would recommend their employer to a friend.

Workers speak out about their bosses, good and bad – and CEOs are listening

Ranking the 15


Ranking the 15, from best to worst:

1. Pendo, 4.9

2. Bandwidth.com, 4.1

3. Cisco 4.0

3. Red Hat, 4.0

5. RTI International, 3.9

6. Epic Games, 3.8

7. SAS, 3.7

7. IBM, 3.6

7. Credit Suisse, 3.6

10. IQVIA, 3.5

11. Prometheus Group, 3.2

11. Cree, 3.2

11. Grifols, 3.2

14. LabCorp, 3.0

15. Global Knowledge, 2.8

 

CEO to Wall Street: At Cisco, culture counts

Inside the 15

Here’s a snapshot of each firm in alphabetic order:

  • Bandwidth.com

CEO: David Morken

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 4.1

Approve of CEO: 97%

Recommend to a Friend: 84%

Senior Software Engineer IV: $101,768

Select Perks: On-site cardio and weights rooms, Free lunch and snacks; Employee discounts

  • Cisco

CEO: Chuck Robbins

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 4

Approve of CEO: 91%

Recommend to a Friend: 81%

Salary for Software Engineer IV: $133,187

Select Perks: Onsite gym; Healthcare facilities

  • Credit Suisse

CEO: Tidjane Thiam

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.6

Approve of CEO: 70%

Recommend to a Friend: 70%

Vice President of Technology, $163,930

Select Perk: Paid maternity leave of 20 weeks

  • Cree

CEO: Gregg Lowe

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.2

Approve of CEO: 87%

Recommend to a Friend: 55%

Design Engineer: $94,364

Select Perks: Stock options program; Employee Assistance Program; Social events

  • Epic Games

CEO:  Tim Sweeney

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.8

Approve of CEO: 90%

Recommend to a Friend: 72%

Manager: $113,000 — $137,000

  • Global Knowledge

CEO: Todd Johnstone

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 2.8

Approve of CEO: 46%

Recommend to a Friend: 34%

National Account Manager: $70,134

Select Perks: 401K, 19 paid time off days, 2 sick days

  • Grifols

CEO: Víctor Grífols Deu

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.2

Approve of CEO: 69%

Recommend to a Friend: 55%

Sample pay: $13 to $17 hourly

  • IBM

CEO: Ginni Rometty

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.6

Recommend to a Friend: 70%

Select Perk: Watso artificial intelligence software available for US employees to help identify appropriate cancer treatments and options for clinical trials

  • IQVIA

CEO:  Ari Bousbib

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.5

Approve of CEO: 72%

Recommend to a Friend: 66%

Senior Manager: $125,105

Select Perks: Gym membership; Employee Assistance Program; Social events

  • LabCorp

CEO: Dave King

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.0

Approve of CEO: 53%

Recommend to a Friend: 44%

Senior Programmer Analyst: $110,963

Select Perks: Legal assistance; employee discounts; mobile phone discount

  • Pendo

CEO: Todd Olsen

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 4.9

Approve of CEO: 96%

Recommend to a Friend: 96%

Senior Backend Engineer: $131,000 to $141,000

Select Perk: Free lunch

  • Prometheus Group

CEO: Eric Huang

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.2

Approve of CEO: 58%

Recommend to a Friend: 60%

Senior Software Developer: $82,000 — $91,000

Select Perks: Free lunch or snacks; Gym membership; Social events

  • Red Hat

CEO: Jim Whitehurst

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 4.0

Approve of CEO: 95%

Recommend to a Friend: 79%

Senior Software Engineer: $113,396

Select Perks: Free lunch and snacks; Free legal assistance; mobile phone discount

  • RTI International

CEO:  E. Wayne Holden

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.9

Approve of CEO: 89%

Recommend to a Friend: 82%

Senior Manager: $136,613

Select Perks: Employee Assistance Program; Commuter assistance; Employee discounts

  • SAS Institute

CEO: Jim Goodnight

Employee Reviews

Employee Average Rating: 3.7

Approve of CEO: 81%

Recommend to a Friend: 66%

Salary for Senior Software Developer: $115,228

Select Perks: Free lunch and snacks; gym membership; mobile phone discounts

Note: This story has been corrected to add Grifols and remove Talecris which was acquired by Grifols.