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Fortune Magazine Names Stryker a Top Employer

Orthopedic device behemoth ranks 42nd out of 100 companies.

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By: Michael Barbella

Managing Editor

Stryker Corp. employees certainly are a proud bunch.

After visiting an oral cleft clinic near the company’s Kalamazoo, Mich., headquarters and witnessing first-hand the impact of its products, one employee beamed, “It made me so happy and proud to know that the products produced by Stryker — the organization and family that I am a part of — are helping to change the lives of young people.”

Another worker, whose own family has benefited from Stryker technology, echoed his colleague’s comments: “I can proudly say that I work for a company that helps people get better.”

Such pride likely helped orthopedic implant manufacturer improve its standing on Fortune magazine’s most recent top employer list. The company catapulted 19 spots from its 2013 slot, earning a ranking of 42; in the process, it bypassed such respected firms as Goldman Sachs Group (45), Mayo Clinic (53), Meridian Health (62), PricewaterhouseCoopers (65), Ernst &Young (78), KPMG(80) and Microsoft (86).

Indeed, pride contributed significantly to Stryker’s stellar ranking on Fortune’s top 100 list (ninety-five percent of its U.S. employees are proud to work there and proud of their accomplishments, according to The Great Place to Work Institute Inc., a San Francisco, Calif.-based research and management consultancy). But the company’s sense of civic responsibility, fairness to employees and perhaps most importantly, its corporate mantra (“caring for the caregivers”) also fueled its ascension on the list.
No wonder nine out of 10 employees told the Institute their work has special meaning. “It is a great zone for people with high ambition and drive,”one employee said. “It gives them a place to utilize their energy and intelligence to make a difference.”

Along those same lines, Stryker employees also respect the way their company gives back to the community and allows them to do the same. Ninety-three percent of employees feel good about Stryker’s contributions to the community, which it makes through financial contributions, donated products and employee time. In some divisions of the company, employees can earn two extra vacation days — on top of the 25 days of paid time off they receive after one year of employment — if they volunteer 40 hours of their time.

“I like how the company puts together volunteering opportunities,”one employee said.”It helps us meet other employees in the organization . . . and builds the team environment that we thrive off.”

Workers here commend their colleagues for being knowledgeable and driven. People work hard at Stryker —some sales reps, for example, are paid only on commission —but 93 percent also say they build friendly relationships with their colleagues. Family activity nights are common, as well as summer picnics and outings to nearby adventure parks. Employees also have fun celebrating together, whether at holiday parties or informal gatherings to recognize a coworker’s extra effort.

“I really feel like there is a sense on community here,” one employee said. “When I come to work, it’s to collaborate not with my coworkers, but rather my friends. We all get along so well in and outside of the office.”

Yet most of what employees have to say about working at Stryker describes nothing but a workplace they take pride in and people whose company and professionalism they enjoy.

“It is a great place to surround yourself with self driven and confident people,” a typical employee says. “It’s fun to be surrounded with well educated smart people who take their professions seriously and really want to make a difference for themselves and the company.”

To pick its 100 Best Companies, Fortune partners with the Institute to conduct extensive employee surveys; more than 252,000 employees at 257 firms participated in this year’s survey. Two-thirds of a company’s score is based on the results of the institute’s Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about management’s credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie.

The other third is based on 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 communication, training, recognition programs, and diversity efforts. After evaluations are completed, if news about a company comes to light that may significantly damage employees’ faith in management, it may be excluded from the list.

Any company that is at least five years old and has more than 1,000 U.S. employees is eligible to earn a spot on the list.

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