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Building a Best Place to Work

The Best Place to Work – Where Is It?

Does a great place to work seem more like a fictional concept rather than a reality? There are several companies we’ve seen on TV and in movies that we wish existed so we could submit resumes to them–the kinds of places where work is fun and exciting, rising through the ranks is easy, efforts are rewarding both in significance and compensation, and no one ever seems to get in before nine or work past five. Consider a few examples from these fictional corporations, making them ideal employers:

Bluth Company from Arrested Development

Bluth CompanyExpense accounts out the wazoo to cover a variety of costs are available with this family-owned business, as well as creative methods for compensating employees. Consistent leadership and corporate vision may be a question mark at times, and the real estate industry is currently in a state of decline, but you get to work with really interesting people, and boring days are livened up with certain dance routines. It also shows industry diversification, thanks to ownership interest in a popular frozen banana stand.

Dunder-Mifflin from The Office

Dunder-MifflinThis fun place to work has a uniquely-competitive sales staff, interesting co-workers, and great opportunity for advancement where even temporary employees can quickly ascend the ranks to director positions. Inconsistent profits, re-orgs and constant shuffling of senior-level managers make long-term success a question mark, but it does offer “limitless paper in a paperless world.

Hanso Foundation from Lost

Hanso FoundationWith this organization, you get to visit exotic places, make a difference in the lives of millions, conduct cool experiments, have access to special company-branded food products, and be part of a commitment to help usher in world peace. There’s also a good health plan and a great corporate culture focused on community. Only drawback is that it may be involved in some kind of uber-global conspiracy bent on ruling the world. But the rest of the perks far outweigh that one small facet.

Kramerica Industries from Seinfeld

Kramerica IndustriesVery flexible hours and working conditions make this a great opportunity for Gen X and Yers. This global company is involved in multiple industries—including publishing of a coffee table book about coffee tables and the development of a wide variety of consumer products such as the Man Bag, Manssiere and Muffin Tops. It also features a great internship program, and the corporate motto “Giddyup!” is sure to motivate the laziest of employees. There is a track record of inconsistent funding sources though, and the corporate HQ is a pretty cramped space.

Wayne Enterprises from Batman

Wayne EnterprisesThis multi-billion dollar conglomerate undoubtedly offers great retirement plans and other benefits. It also has an awesome commitment to research & development, a charismatic face of the company, and a sweet corporate mode of transportation. Wayne Enterprises is also very focused on diversity and being “green.” One small issue it does have however, is a recurring problem of business associates and former employees turning to lives of crime.

Unfortunately, TV is not reality (except maybe Extreme Makeover: Home Edition… and Celebrity Rehab …). But real companies considered to be the best places to work do actually exist. In fact, each year, a hundred different corporations are named as such. What is it that makes these organizations the kinds of places where employees love clocking in each day?

CareerBuilder.com recently explored the basic elements that set these stars of the marketplace apart from other businesses and corporations, and we have created a dashboard of articles to help you make your company a place where every employee wants to work.

Be sure to visit our Best Places to Work series page on The Hiring Site, but before doing so, if these companies actually did exist, which one would you consider as the best place to work?

Vote in the poll below, and please feel free to elaborate on your choice of the best fictional employer in the comments section. Or share what your company does (or doesn’t do) in regards to being one of the best places to work.

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Stephanie Gaspary

About Stephanie Gaspary

Stephanie Gaspary joined CareerBuilder in 2006 as the small business marketing manager, developing marketing strategy and sales support initiatives. In 2007 she took a position as sr. manager of marketing communications, leading the business communications team, including strategic management and execution of The Hiring Site. In 2010 Stephanie was promoted to director of social strategy and creative services. Her day-to-day focus is on delivering results-oriented communication that connects with CareerBuilder’s job seeker, employer and recruiter audiences to help increase engagement, awareness, support sales, and drive revenue. Stephanie holds an MBA from North Park University with concentrations in Marketing and Leadership. Connect with Stephanie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sgaspary or on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/sgaspary.
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I don't know that any of these value their employees over everything else. But I guess my vote would be for Wayne Enterprises. It's a big company and I'm sure they'd have great benefits.

The Hanso Foundation for sure. Though getting to the office (the island) would be one heck of a commute!

As an HR professional, I cringe while watching this show but I absolutely love it. I'd love to work at Dunder Mifflin just to see what crazy things they'll do next.

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  1. [...] promote higher attraction, engagement and retention of your employees. We recently talked about the best fictional places to work, and our own VP of marketing Jason Ferrara wrote about making your company a best place to [...]

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