Fortune Magazine again published its list of “America’s Most Admired Companies” in its March 6 issue. This is the 24th year Fortune has published this list. With several new industry categories—and some interesting changes at the top—this year’s list is a dynamic snapshot of the corporate world. But in any year, the Most Admired list is the definitive report card on corporate reputations.
To determine the industry-specific rankings, Fortune hired the Hay Group, a global human resources firm that’s conducted the research for the list since 1997. Hay started with the Fortune 1,000—the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue and the top foreign companies operating in the U.S. They sorted the companies by industry and selected the 10 largest companies in each. To create the 65 industry lists, Hay asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate companies in their own industry on eight criteria: innovation, quality of management, quality of products and services, long-term investment value, financial soundness, employee talent, social responsibility, and use of corporate assets.
To create the top 20 and overall list of Most Admired Companies, Hay Group asked the 10,000 executives, directors, and securities analysts who’d responded to the industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. They chose from a list made up of the companies that ranked among the top 25 percent in last year’s survey, plus those that finished in the top 20 percent of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry. A total of 611 companies in 70 industries were surveyed.
This year, only the best are listed: a company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey. Many representatives on the list service the tri-county area, including the temporary help industry. Let’s take a closer look at those rankings.
For the fourth consecutive year, the top two corporations from the temporary help industry on the Most Admired list, in order of rank, are Manpower (7.48 score) and Robert Half (7.31 score). In fact, these companies have held the top two spots over the last five years in their industry. Manpower took the top prize after finishing second in 2001, while RHI has taken second place since claiming the top prize in 2001. Third place is represented by the MPS Group (5.36).
The temporary help industry has been in the tri-county area for nearly half a century. It’s a benefit for our community to have the companies from the industry providing their expertise to the area. These staffing firms create and deliver services that enable local businesses and industries to win in the changing world of work. All things considered, they help make our community better. IBI