SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genentech, Inc. announced today that it has been named by FORTUNE as number one on the magazine’s annual list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.” This is the first number one ranking for the company, which has been named to the list for eight consecutive years. The complete list of companies will appear in the January 23 issue of the magazine, available on newsstands on January 16 and on http://www.fortune.com today.
“It is humbling to be recognized as FORTUNE’s Best Company to Work For,” said Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D., Genentech chairman and chief executive officer. “We are a science-based company, and that is our core. But the real job satisfaction for employees is when great science becomes something that helps patients. Every employee in the company is a part of our continual quest to translate great scientific research from our labs into breakthrough therapies for patients with serious diseases like cancer and blindness.”
“I am proud of the dedication of Genentech’s employees to patients and of the recognition that the company has received for being the best place to work in the country,” said Genentech co-founder and Board Director Herb Boyer, Ph.D. “This acknowledgment is a tribute to the excellent performance of the company and the leadership at Genentech. Since Genentech’s founding, the focus on patients has provided motivation and satisfaction for employees throughout the company.”
“The 100 Best Companies to Work For” list is compiled for FORTUNE based on two criteria: an evaluation of the policies and culture of each company, and the opinions of the company’s employees. The latter is given more weight; two- thirds of the total score comes from employee responses to a 57-question survey, which goes to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. It asks about things such as attitudes towards management, job satisfaction, and camaraderie within the organization. The remaining one-third of the score is based on an evaluation of each company’s demographic makeup, pay and benefits programs, and culture. Companies are scored in four areas: credibility (communication to employees), respect (opportunities and benefits), fairness (compensation, diversity), and pride/camaraderie (philanthropy, celebrations). Companies that are at least seven years old and have at least 1,000 employees are eligible for the list.
Genentech, the world’s first biotechnology company, will mark its 30-year anniversary this year. Throughout its first three decades, the company has been dedicated to cultivating an environment where employees enjoy coming to work every day. Genentech uses a minimum of guidelines and procedures and gives its employees a great deal of freedom to apply their skills, knowledge, and initiative toward the goal of providing breakthrough therapies to patients with unmet medical needs.
Genentech demands the best from its employees and rewards them accordingly with one of the most comprehensive benefits programs in the industry. The benefits package includes an employee stock purchase plan, eligibility for stock options and bonuses, and a six-week paid sabbatical program. Corporate childcare, a company-sponsored fitness facility, an on-site company store, and a concierge service are among the wide variety of benefits, services, and programs that are designed to make it easier and more convenient for employees to manage the sometimes difficult task of juggling work and everyday life.
About Genentech
Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes biotherapeutics for significant unmet medical needs. A considerable number of the currently approved biotechnology products originated from, or are based on, Genentech science. Genentech manufactures and commercializes multiple biotechnology products directly in the United States and licenses several additional products to other companies. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, Calif., and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.gene.com.
Media Contact: Debra Charlesworth (650) 225-2742 Caroline Pecquet (650) 467-7078 Investor Contact: Kathee Littrell (650) 225-1034 Susan Morris (650) 225-6523 http://www.gene.com
Genentech, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Debra Charlesworth, +1-650-225-2742, or Caroline Pecquet,+1-650-467-7078, or Investors: Kathee Littrell, +1-650-225-1034, or SusanMorris, +1-650-225-6523, all for Genentech, Inc.
Web site: http://www.gene.com/