Team meetings on the roof and free food that moves buckles forward a hole or two were some of the many reasons Twitter employees submitted favorable reviews of their employer, propelling the organization to the highest spot of Glassdoor's list of the Top 25 Companies for Culture & Values.
To compile its list of the top 25 places to work, Glassdoor analyzed the unadulterated reviews employees from various companies submitted to the site between July 22, 2013, through July 21, 2014.
Twitter's overall score on Glassdoor was a 4.4 of 5, though that mark climbed to 4.5 during the 12 months Glassdoor based its assessment of the top 25 companies for employees.
The top 10 workplaces, in order from one to 10, were Twitter (4.5), Edelman (4.4), Google (4.4), Riverbed Technology (4.3), Facebook (4.3), Southwest Airlines (4.3), Chick-fil-A (4.3), National Instruments (4.2), Chevron (4.2) and H E B (4.2).
Some of the perks of working at Twitter included complete medical and dental benefits, flexible and generous vacation policy, catered breakfast and lunch at its headquarters, 401(k) savings plan, paid maternity and paternity leave, gym membership reimbursement, in-office yoga and pilates classes, commuter program, laundry and dry cleaning service, Zipcar discount and a wireless discount.
Approximately 93 percent of Twitter employees that submitted a review to Glassdoor approved of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, roughly 85 percent had a positive outlook on the business' future, and around 82 percent of respondents would recommend the company to a friend.
In the Twitter reviews Glassdoor collected over the survey's 12 months, the words "smart people" appeared among the pros in 20 reviews and "great food" appeared in 15.
"Collaboration, everyone here is pushing towards a common goal -- we all want to see the company grow and become more successful," stated one of Twitter's technical program managers. "Wickedly smart people, we have some of the best people in their field. But because the culture is so collaborative, rarely do those smart people beat you over the head with their intellect. Speed of decision, decisions are made quickly so we can move into execution swiftly, decisions are supported by data but not to excess."
Among Twitter's cons listed on Glassdoor, the words "growing pains" appeared in nine reviews.
"We're growing super fast and there are some growing pains," stated an anonymous employee at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. "No longer have the early start-up vibe, but that's to be expected with growth and maturity."
A Glassdoor survey determined that company culture ranked as one of the top five most essential factors among job seekers who were considering a new job, stated Glassdoor.
"To help job seekers identify employers with the highest-rated company cultures, Glassdoor has revealed its inaugural list of the Top 25 Companies for Culture & Values (2014)," stated Glassdoor. "Some shared themes among the top 25 include having a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, a family-like environment and genuinely standing behind company values."
As part of Glassdoor's survey, employees were asked to rate their company's culture and values on a five-point scale, 1.0 being very dissatisfied, 3.0 being OK, and 5.0 being very satisfied.
