With PartnerComm’s help, Starbucks moved up to No. 11 on Fortune Magazine’s 2005 list of “100 Best Companies to Work For in America.” This is a 23-point increase from last year for Starbucks and is its highest ranking yet. Since enlisting the help of PartnerComm three years ago, Starbucks has steadily climbed up the annual Fortune list: No. 58 in 2002, No. 47 in 2003 and No. 34 last year.

Nancy Barnett, Strategic Liaison for Starbucks, said her company is very proud to be ranked so high on this prestigious list. “This recognition reflects our commitment to our partners that we can be a large and rapidly growing company, and continue to care for and respect our people,” Barnett said. “We have a unique culture, and one that isn’t easy to capture in a tangible way. Working together, PartnerComm and Starbucks provide a glimpse into the company that helps the judging panel understand why our partners continue to say that Starbucks is a great place to work.”

To choose the “100 Best Companies to Work For in America,” Fortune focuses on two major components: the opinions of a company's own employees and an evaluation of the company’s policies and culture.

The magazine gives most of the weight to employee responses to the Trust Index®, a survey created by the Great Place to Work® Institute. The survey goes to a minimum of 350 randomly selected employees from each company and asks about things such as attitudes toward management, pride in work and company, and camaraderie. Further information used for selection to the list is gathered from the Culture Audit©, a two-part management questionnaire used to gain a better sense of the overall culture of the organization, also developed by the Great Place to Work® Institute. This is where PartnerComm comes in. To complete the Culture Audit®, PartnerComm mapped a strategy for how to respond and collect data, and coordinated the research and writing of the audit. PartnerComm also designed unique packaging customized for Starbucks to creatively present the audit and all of its supplementary materials. “For the third consecutive year, PartnerComm has captured the essence of the Starbucks culture both in writing our responses to the Culture Audit as well as designing a stunning entry presentation,” Barnett said. “Each year, the representatives from the Institute tell us they look forward to receiving the Starbucks submission because it is always innovative and interesting.”

“The quality of PartnerComm’s work overall — the clarity and depth of the writing as well as the creativity that comes through in the design of our submission each year — accounts in large measure for our success in the recognition we receive on the “Best Companies to Work For” list.”

Several other of PartnerComm’s clients made Fortune’s 2005 list of the “100 Best Places to Work For in America,” including Genentech and Alcon Laboratories.

The “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” complete list is published in the January 17, 2005, issue of Fortune. The list is also available on the magazine’s Web site at www.fortune.com.