Magazines Call Booz Allen A Great Place to Work

McLean, Virginia, Oct. 9, 2001 — Two prominent magazines rated Booz Allen Hamilton as one of the best places to work. Working Mother magazine named Booz Allen to its 16th annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" nationwide for the third year in a row. Washingtonian magazine chose Booz Allen for its annual list of 50 "Great Places to Work" in the Washington, DC region for the second time.

Washingtonian says it picked Booz Allen because the firm offers employees "meaningful work, creative environments, caring colleagues and bosses, opportunities for growth and learning, great benefits, and employee involvement in decision-making." "There are a number of 'Come-back kids' at Booz Allen," Washingtonian's editors wrote in the October issue. "That's the affectionate term for employees who leave, then come back. One reason people stay — and return — is the interesting work. Employees do everything from lead war games for the Department of Defense to develop marketing strategies for MTV."

The magazine also called Booz Allen the "Best place to be a kid," and praised the firm's Holiday Kid's Club. "On days when parents are working but school is out, day trips are planned to keep the kids entertained," they wrote. "Ideas like this — in benefits and consulting - make Booz an invigorating place."

Working Mother magazine chose Booz Allen because the firm recognizes "the value and needs of working families." Carol Evans, CEO and president of the magazine's publisher, Working Mother Media, noted that the "savvy companies" chosen for the honor "understand that human resources are their most valuable, and that employees need solutions to make juggling work and home easier." Booz Allen was chosen in part for its on-site daycare center, paid family leave, flex-time arrangements, and supportive work-life balance policies for moms and dads.

"Booz Allen doesn't make cars or computers — we sell just one thing, the expertise and creativity of our people," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Shrader. "So it's essential that we attract the best people. Being recognized by two prestigious publications in the same month as a 'best company to work for' shows that we're committed to creating an environment where our people do important, challenging work — and are supported in other aspects of their lives as well."

Both magazines stated that it was tougher than ever to make the grade.

"This year, we truly raised the standards," Working Mother editor Sharlene Breakey said when announcing the October issue that lists the winners. The magazine evaluated "companies on how 'deeply' benefits are available in addition to the traditional scoring for (a) percentage of women in workforce, (b) child care support, (c) flexibility, (d) leave for new parents, (e) work/life balance and (f) advancement of women," she said. "The 2001 list of 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers truly represents the best of the best."

Working Mother and Washingtonian both required companies to complete lengthy questionnaires. Washingtonian's survey "asked about benefits, community involvement, employee development, turnover rates, diversity, motivational efforts, and more." Booz Allen formed a team of specialists from several departments to gather data and prepare the responses. "At Booz everything is done by teams," Washingtonian explains. "And that includes community involvement. Employees frequently enlist colleagues to take on a volunteer project together."