Google tops the list as best place to work in Canada in 2015

Perhaps the biggest surprise in Google being named the best place to work in 2015 is that the honour didn’t come any sooner.

This is the company, after all, that knows what its users want before we even ask the question.

It was really only a matter of time before the big brains behind all those clever algorithms also figured out what makes humans tick.

Google, led by CEO Larry Page, took the top spot out of 50 companies with 1,000 employees or more based on anonymous feedback provided to Glassdoor (a global recruitment firm) from staff working in both the United States and United Kingdom.

Employees (or Googlers as they’re known on campus) were asked to rate how satisfied they are with their company overall, how they feel their CEO is leading the company, as well as key workplace attributes like career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, senior management and work-life balance. The survey also questioned respondents on whether they would recommend their employer to a friend, and what their opinion is on the company’s business outlook in the next six months.

Ratings are based on a 5-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied.

Google employees gave the company an overall ranking of 4.5. Boston-based management consulting firm Bain & Company came in a close second with a 4.4 rating, tied with Nestle Purina PetCare (4.4). F5 Networks (4.3) and the Boston Consulting Group (4.3).

It’s the first time Google landed the number-one position in the seven years Glassdoor has been publishing its Employees’ Choice Awards.

But the company is no stranger to workplace accolades. This year marks the fifth time Google has landed the top spot on Fortune’s annual survey of the best companies to work for. The magazine cites the company’s success in encouraging both creativity and philanthropy among its employees.

“Google donates $50 for every five hours an employee volunteers. Last year a new program sent employees to Ghana and India to work on community projects,” the magazine states on its website.

Google is well aware that there’s only so much talent to go around and plenty of hungry competitors in the global market. Given that, the company’s been steadily and strategically working for years to boost its reputation as the place where everyone wants to work.

On-site perks include medical and dental facilities, valet parking, bike repair, free laundry, climbing walls and free haircuts and gourmet meals.

Google was also one the first American companies to extend maternity leave from 12 weeks to five months (at full pay). It offers unlimited sick leave and the opportunity for employees to take up to five-years leave to upgrade their education.

In a 2012 interview with Forbes, Laszlo Bock, Google’s CPO (or Chief People Officer) made public a previously unheard of “death benefit” that promised to pay the spouse or domestic partner of an employee who dies half that employee’s salary every year for a decade. In addition, spouses will see all stocks vest immediately and any children will receive a $1,000 monthly payment from the company until they reach the age of 19 years (or 23 years if the child is a full-time student), the magazine reported.

The corporate generousity has paid off in vastly increased retention and employee productivity, both of which is measured carefully (and constantly) by the company.

But Bock insists that’s not the only reason to play nice:

“It’s the right thing to do,” he told Forbes. “When it comes down to it, it’s better to work for a company who cares about you than a company who doesn’t. And from a company standpoint, that makes it better to care than not to care.”

The best small and medium companies to work for in 2015, according to the Glassdoor survey:

• Motley Fool (4.6)

• Fast Enterprises (4.6)

• Evolent Health (4.6)

• Intacct Corporation (4.6)

• TubeMogul (4.6)