The list of the 50 Best Companies to Work for in Texas—published here for the first time in order of their ranking—names companies with the best practices among Texas employers. An awards luncheon, coordinated by the Texas Association of Business, will be held in Austin on February 8 to recognize each of the 50 companies. Governor Rick Perry will speak at the special ceremony.

How the 50 Best Companies Were Selected Best Companies Group, an independent organization managing this program in many states around the country, launched its survey in Texas in the spring of 2005. According to Peter Burke, executive vice president and COO of Best Companies Group, “The goal of the program is to heighten company pride, bolster employee morale, raise company visibility, and increase the bottom line.” This is the first time that such a list has been undertaken in Texas on a statewide basis.

Companies that chose to participate completed a two-part survey, including an organizational overview of the company’s policies and procedures as well as an in-depth employee questionnaire. The survey, analysis, and list selection were conducted by Best Companies Group and ModernThink LLC, a research and consulting firm specializing in workplace excellence. Participation was available to for-profit and nonprofit companies with 25 or more employees working in Texas. Each company that participated, whether it made the Top 50 list or not, received an Assessment Findings Report. This report included a summary of the employee responses, written recommendations from ModernThink based upon the data, and a thirty-minute consultation with Modern-Think to review the results.

#23 Insurance and Bonds of Texas