SAS: The Best Place to Work

What would you say is the happiest place on earth? Some might argue its Disney World, but for some 10,000 workers worldwide, it's actually their place of employment.
The company is “SAS” and Fortune Magazine recently named it the number one place to work in the world and its right here in North Carolina.

Meet Lisa Arney. Lisa lives in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina. Everyday she gets up, has breakfast, packs her kids in the car, and heads to work.
So what's so different about Lisa?
She works at SAS; named the best company to work for by Fortune, but what makes SAS such a great place to work? For Lisa, the working mom, she drops her kids off at the on-site child care facility.
Lisa Arney: "As a working mother it's so hard to leave your children in other peoples care and so to be able to know they are so close to where I am, it gives me the piece of mind that I need to focus on my job."
Lisa isn't the only happy employee out of the 4,800 people that work at SAS.
This is ECU grad David Bailey, he's a sales trainer. David joined SAS in 2001. He particularly likes SAS because of the trust in the employees. David is also very fond of original art, as you can tell by the walls in his office.
David Bailey: "There's a big focus on creativity with SAS and so there's a lot of original artwork around. You'll see that carried over into our offices, but I think overall, the people just have a great attitude."
Scott Maher has been with SAS for 10 years and he likes spending his lunch hour getting buff at the on-campus rec center.
Scott Maher: "Take about an hour, come over here and get refreshed for the second part of the day."
Senior Manager of Developmental Testing, Donna Bravo has been with the company for 27 years and she's still smiling. Donna says it's the people and flexibility that keep her happy.
Donna Bravo: "It's the people. I think the people that I work with are really, really wonderful. And the flexibility with the work environment lets us live full lives."
You might be asking yourself what is SAS?
Founded in 1976 by Jim Goodnight and John Sall, SAS is a leading software company. It's hard to believe the global company started with only 4 employees and has grown to more than 400 offices worldwide with more than 11,000 employees. The company has a very low turnover rate, about 4% on average.
What makes SAS so successful?
According to Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Jim Davis...it's simple.
Jim Davis: "Everybody contributes, from the person working in food service, all the way up to the PhD statistician that's working on a very complex problem in analytics."
Whether it is the person working in food service or that PhD, everyone on campus seems happy to be there and to be working.
Jenn Mann: "We are fortunate that we can attract the best and brightest. We look for employees that not only have the skill set that we're looking for, but also the cultural fit. This company is founded on strong values and so we want to make sure employees who are hired here at SAS are going to be a good fit."
David Bailey: "SAS is a company, that um, obviously you hear a lot about the great benefits that we offer. If you work at any of our offices, it's a great atmosphere. The campus here in Cary has a lot of things to do."
SAS works on a total rewards program. There's M&M Wednesday, Krispy Kreme Friday's, a hair salon, a spa, an on-site health care center with 4 physician's and 10 nurse practitioners…the list of perks goes on.
The philosophy is simple, treat the employees like they matter and they will make a difference.
Jim Davis: "That is the key to success. You can have a great product. You can have a market that demands your product, but if you don't have the people within your organization that are happy and productive, they're not going to produce a quality product and they're not gonna care. So the people are as an important asset here as anything else you see on the campus."

In a normal year, SAS gets about 40,000 resumes a year. Human resources expect that number to rise this year because of the fortune 100.
SAS has made the Fortune 100 as a best company to work for every year for the 13 years of its existence. It is the first time to rank number one.

To see the full list of the Fortune 100 click here and for a link to SAS click here.