Part of the Coolest Companies to Work For award series. The top companies within the Bay Area are were selected, and here we highlight some of the great things about them.

1. TOP 10 COOLEST
COMPANIES TO WORK
FOR BASED IN
THE BAY AREA

2. As one of the most innovative
business hubs in the U.S., the Bay
Area provides an oasis to startups as
well as Fortune 500 companies.
Encompassed by San Francisco,
Oakland, and San Jose, the Bay Area
is home to a diverse workforce with
dedicated, engaged employees.
From unique employee appreciation
to giving back to communities,
businesses in the Bay Area know
that happy employees create
cultures where great work thrives.
BAY AREABAY AREA
COOLEST
COMPANY
2015
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3. Below are the
TOP 10 COOLEST COMPANIES
TO WORK FOR BASED IN
THE BAY AREA

4. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Cooley is spread across
the U.S. with additional offices in China and Europe.
The law firm provides legal services to startups as well
as Facebook, eBay, and Google. The warm and friendly
environment stems from great communication among
employees and managers. For instance, one employee
mentions that,
“Cooley has a very open and
approachable culture…Managers are
open to feedback and welcome the
opportunity to understand how
people feel.”
Employee appreciation is also part of the culture at
Cooley and can be seen through programs such as
“way to go” forms, tuition reimbursement, a women’s
initiative as well as dinners and weekend getaways. A
lot of these appreciation programs are peer run,
making the appreciation feel more valuable.
In addition to appreciating their employees, Cooley is
also dedicated to giving back to the Bay Area
community. The firm gives employees paid time to
volunteer, holds fundraisers, and has donated more
than $20 million (including pro bono work) to charities.
Although, work at the firm can be challenging Cooley
breaks the mold of traditional law firm environments
with silly dance and karaoke competitions. Overall,
they want their employees to enjoy the work they’re
involved in.

5. Gainsight is a software company that helps
subscription businesses drive success for their
customers, all while nailing the ‘work hard, play hard’
environment. They have a vibrant culture with an open
office layout, a coloring station, and a large stuffed
pink elephant—giving it that “childlike joy” vibe. One
employee describes the fun environment saying,
“We have spent time doing some
really silly things that probably
wouldn’t be tolerated at a different
company. For example, I barricaded
the CEO in a little cardboard-box
fort for fun. At Gainsight, it’s
appropriate and they really push for
that kind of behavior.”
Aside from the occasional Nerf gun wars, employees
at Gainsight help each other through a mentor
program, with the end goal of developing new
perspectives and growing within the industry. Other
employee appreciation tactics include MVP of the
month and free food in the office. Perks can range
from unlimited vacation time to no emails on
Saturdays and treating the organization like an open
book, where employees are informed about what’s
going on with upper management. Gainsight values
the ‘golden rule’ and ‘successful for all’ making sure
employees at work enjoy what they do and the people
they work with.

6. Headquartered in San Francisco, Kimpton has 65
boutique hotels and 73 restaurants, lounges, and
bars in 30 U.S. cities. No matter the location,
employees are empowered to uncork their
ingenuity and spirit. According to one employee,
“Kimpton is the most democratic
environment I have ever worked in
and it is genuine in its dedication
to cultural diversity and
inclusiveness,
as well as being passionate about our corporate
social responsibility efforts.”
Speaking of social responsibility, the hotel and
restaurant company designates November as
Kimpton Cares month where each hotel and
restaurant gives back to a local nonprofit. Year
long, Kimpton community service includes charity
races, community benefits, food donations, and
auctions.
Benefits for employees include backup care for a
child or elder, tuition reimbursement, pet
bereavement leave, and children of employees who
make their schools honor roll receive a gift card and
a note from the CEO, Mike DeFrino, congratulating
them on their achievement. Other employee
appreciation includes Kimpton moments chips,
which are earned when employees extend to
guests or each other heartfelt care. Employees can
keep the chips as symbols of recognition, or they
can redeem them for prizes such as trips, TVs,
iPods and more.

7. This San Francisco-based company focuses on
providing Internet security through a global cloud
network that protects any device, anywhere. And
while security is their business, the company’s culture
is an open book with weekly meetings over lunch or
dinner where everyone is kept in the loop. Positive
employee relations is important at OpenDNS as one
employee explains saying,
“A lot of effort goes into making
sure new hires will fit in with the
team personally, and not just on a
technical level.”
This can be seen in “The OpenDNS Art Experience”
where employees collaborate across departments to
create multimedia creations ranging from music to art
on canvas or colored paper. The company
encourages employee-led initiatives such dance
classes and a company band. In addition to a little fun,
the company is dedicated to employee growth and
holds a monthly learning and development-training
program where topics vary from negotiations, to
financial planning, to public speaking.
As for employee appreciation, OpenDNS hosts
spontaneous lunchtime celebrations, an annual
company trip to Lake Tahoe, and a 10-day,
all-inclusive vacation anywhere in the world for an
employee’s five-year anniversary. All and all, the
employees that best fit at OpenDNS are those who
not only fit the company’s profile of “unconventional
greatness” but also “thrive in a fast-paced startup
environment and love their work.”

8. Located in Mountain View, Polyvore is a fashion,
beauty, and home decor social commerce
website—a shopping resource for many. Company
culture is focused on having an environment
where employees can thrive. As one employee
states, “People who work here are all genuinely
kind and caring people which means there is never
any drama. Your coworkers and manager will
always have your back. Even in the sales
department, there isn’t a competitive environment,
which is refreshing.”
Employee appreciation can be found in biweekly
happy hour events, and department events such
as go-karting and glass blowing. Each month,
Polyvore awards an outstanding employee or
team with $500 to spend on company
merchandise and keeps the tradition going, with
the winner picking who will receive the award the
following month.
In terms of career growth, leaders focus on
fulfilling an employee’s potential through problem
solving, setting goals, and identifying individual
talents. Plus, management listens through a Q&A
session during monthly all-hands meetings and
twice-yearly employee surveys. According to
Great Rated!’s review, 98% of employees say
“they often or almost always
enjoy their colleagues and find
their workplace to be fun and
cooperative.”

9. Located in Palo Alto, Stellar Solutions provides
technical expertise and problem-solving skills to
significant national and international aerospace
programs. Projects can range from robotic and
human space exploration to climate and
weather satellites. Although these projects can
mean employees are geographically dispersed,
Stellar Solutions works hard to keep every
employee connected to each other. As one
employee explains,
“Corporate continues to
communicate effectively across
the teams via different mediums
(email, text, phone calls,
company share point site) and
always asks for innovative ways
to improve in this area.”
In additional to creating a unified culture, Stellar
Solutions also focuses on employee growth
offering at least 40 hours of paid time per year
for employees to attend training sessions. The
company shows it’s appreciation by rewarding
employees for their great work with a $200 gift
certificate to a restaurant of their choice, many
of which are awarded peer-to-peer. Other
benefits include profit sharing, bonuses, and an
annual business-planning meeting where
significant others are included and join the
company in a variety of fun activities. Finally,
through the Stellar Solutions foundation, all
employees select a non-profit company of their
choice to donate to each year.

10. Twitter allows users to create and share ideas
and information instantly in 140 characters or
less. Because Twitter values development, there
are a variety of formal learning opportunities
like team and management development,
improv classes, presentation skills, executive
coaching, and technical training. Employees can
express creativity through programs such as
Hack Week, where they build things that are
separate from their normal day-to-day jobs and
then present them to the company on Fridays.
This innovative culture not only allows for
development, but also fosters employee
relationships across teams.
Besides their innovative culture,
employees enjoy on-site perks
such as cafes, fitness programs,
and dry cleaning and massage
services.
The company also offers a no-accrual time off
policy.
Unlike many other tech giants, Twitter proudly
resides in the heart of San Francisco, allowing
many of its employees to work and live in the
city as well as get involved in the community.
Daily opportunities range from teaching
computer skills to providing pro bono legal
assistance to residents facing eviction. On
#FridayforGood, Twitter’s biannual
company-wide day of service, employees spend
the day helping local nonprofits and community
organizations around the world.

11. Workday, headquartered in Pleasanton, is a
leader in enterprise cloud applications for
finance and human resources. Employees or
“Workmates” are encouraged to be
themselves, have fun, and share in the
company’s success. Management is given high
marks for honesty and transparency, as they
help Workmates achieve business and
personal success.
In addition, Workmates are also encouraged
to expand their horizons. To support
employee development,
Workday promotes a “fill a
need and fill it” culture where
employees try different roles,
opening their eyes to other career
opportunities.
Community involvement—often through
unique team-building activities—is another top
priority at Workday. One such activity is the
“cangineering” challenge, where teams around
the world purchase canned goods and
compete to see who can use them to build the
best sculpture, from famous landmarks to
actual working roller coasters. The money
raised and the canned goods are then donated
to local food banks. Other perks include an
arcade, pool tournaments, and an annual
Halloween event with trick or treating for
employees’ children.

12. Providing incentive compensation and sales
performance management software, Xactly
focuses not only on motivating their clients, but
their employees as well. Their culture of a
friendly and strong work/life balance makes
employees comfortable and confident in the
work that they do. In addition, employees or
“Xactlians” love a good celebration, from an
employee birthday to a good sales month. At the
close of every quarter, the executive staff hosts a
fully catered lunch, as well as organized
barbecues.
The company has an out-of-the box approach
when it comes to employee development with a
dual-track career progression plan where
employees can grow as independent
contributors if management roles are less
appealing. Transparency between Xactly ad
Xactilians is encouraged with all hands meetings
to keep employees aware of company news.
XactlyOne is the company’s philanthropic
organization and more than 20% of Xactlians
serve on the committee and even more help in its
regular events. As one employee puts it,
“This is truly a fun place to work.
I enjoy coming to work and feel
that the company provides
every opportunity to succeed
along with making sure you
balance work and life.”

13. Headquartered in San Francisco, Yelp helps
consumers discover, connect with, and review local
business, which includes everything from restaurants
to doctors and dog groomers in cities around the U.S.
and 29 countries. Company culture is based on
creating an energetic work environment with a
collegial atmosphere. Yelp employees widely
appreciate this fun and friendly atmosphere as well as
the open management style. As one employee states,
“My manager listens to me and
responds to issues within reason.
The sense of ownership of what we are doing is
tremendous, and I’m proud to say I work here. I feel
valued and wake up excited to go to work.”
Yelp also encourages employee development by
providing formal leadership development programs,
onsite training, weekly one-on-one meetings, and
quarterly conversations with managers. In addition,
employee perks include an onsite barista, stocked
kitchens, a nap room, game rooms, and colorful event
celebrations. Each quarter, managers plan off site
outings with their team to build camaraderie and take
their mind off of work.
Community service is encouraged through the Yelp
Foundation, created to support community and small
business growth by making grants to local nonprofits
that are actively engaged in those initiatives. At the
end of the day, Yelp strives to be a company that
people are excited to work for and where employees
are truly passionate about local businesses.

14. Created in 2013, the Coolest Companies to
Work For award establishes public
recognition of companies that provide
exceptional work environments. To select this
year’s winners in the Bay Area, O.C. Tanner,
a 2015 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to
Work For® company, partnered with Great
Rated! to survey almost 20,000 employees
in order to identify the 10 companies where
employees’ leaders are most trustworthy,
their colleagues are exceptional, and people
do work they are proud of.
CORPORATE
CULTURE
WORKPLACE
REVIEWS

15. O.C. TANNER AND THE O.C. TANNER INSTITUTE
O.C. Tanner, number 40 on the 2015
FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®
list, helps organizations create great work
environments by inspiring and appreciating
great work. Thousands of clients globally use
the company’s cloud-based technology, tools,
awards, and education services to engage
talent, increase performance, drive goals, and
create experiences that fuel the human spirit.
The O.C. Tanner Institute regularly commissions
research and provides a global forum for
exchanging ideas about recognition,
engagement, leadership, culture, human values,
and sound business principles.
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