Netflix has dethroned Google as the top tech company people want to work for in 2020, according to the latest Global Brand Health Report from the tech jobs marketplace Hired.
The report surveyed more than 4,100 tech professionals in August about what's most important to them in a new job offer and employer.
Many of the top companies were well positioned to succeed during the pandemic given their product offerings, such as Netflix, which added more than 10 million global subscribers in the second quarter, no doubt boosted by the number of people seeking entertainment in quarantine.
Gone from the top 10 list compared with last year, meanwhile, are companies that have had their own share of issues handling the health and financial impacts of the pandemic, including Amazon and Airbnb.
Companies that have shown the ability to embrace remote work and support employees at home have benefited in their public perception. Twitter cracked the top 10 list this year, possibly boosted by CEO Jack Dorsey's game-changing announcement that employees could work from home forever. The report also notes that Dorsey's outspoken political views in a contentious political climate could also play a role. According to Hired, more than half of job candidates say a company CEO's political views have a strong impact on their decision to accept a job.
Another notable newcomer to the top 10 ranking is Gitlab, a IT company that has always operated as a fully remote global workforce of 1,300 employees. Job seekers may be attracted to the company knowing it already has longstanding processes in place to provide an engaging remote work experience.
These are the top 10 tech companies people want to work for most, according to Hired.
1. Netflix
2. GitHub
3. Google
4. Slack
5. Microsoft
6. Apple
7. SpaceX
8. Tesla
9. Twitter
10. LinkedIn and Gitlab (tie)
Hired CEO Mehul Patel says remote-work adoption will become more widespread with time. Since January, he tells CNBC Make It the number of roles on Hired that are open to remote workers has tripled.
Despite the conditions of the pandemic, "companies are seeing that employees are happier and more productive when they're home," Patel says. "When they see that, they realize the option is a good way to keep teams motivated."
More importantly, he adds, the option will allow tech companies concentrated in expensive cities like San Francisco and New York to broaden their pool of job candidates. Such efforts are not only a good way to improve the business, Patel says, but the move could signal to job candidates that they're committed to diversifying a primarily White and male tech industry.
According to CNBC reporting, six years after many major tech companies began publishing annual diversity reports, few have moved the needle in improving representation of Black workers.
Some believe a new widespread adoption of remote work could move the needle forward.
Tangible efforts to make remote work more common could have a domino effect in improving workplace diversity, as well as employee morale and a strong ability to attract new talent, the Hired report suggests: 64% of respondents said a company's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has a strong impact on their decision to take a job. Additionally, the two biggest red flags that dissuade candidates from accepting an offer include a bad company reputation or poor company culture.
Job candidates say they would like to see companies be transparent about pay equity, publish annual diversity reports and hire more women and people of color to C-suite and board positions in order to make a difference.
And as companies embrace remote staffers, they'll also have to reconfigure what a company's values look like when they aren't on display in an office.
After salary, job candidates say they care most about the opportunity to learn new skills, company culture and leadership when they join an organization. Employers can demonstrate these values by committing a greater share of work hours and performance goals to career development training, or providing workers a stipend to attend conferences throughout the year, Patel says. One of the best examples of this he's seen comes from the communications company Publicis Groupe, which created an internal job board for tech employees to find projects to work on in other divisions to expand their skill set and give them new opportunities. "You're seeing companies step up and show how this is a culture that invests in you and develops your skills," Patel says.
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