Assessment

A fundamental aspect of Best Place to Code is the assessment used to determine if the companies meet the accreditation criteria.

A company’s individual collaborators are the ones that answer the survey, and it is they who determine if their company meets the criteria to be accredited as Best Place to Code. This not only gives the evaluation greater credibility but is also very useful for companies as a diagnosis that allows them to validate their strengths and areas of opportunity.

How reliable and transparent is it?

We have paid great attention to defining and implementing the evaluation mechanism to make it as transparent/reliable/practical as possible. Although there are already other programs or recognitions for "best companies to work for", Best Place to Code is distinguished in this area by 5 key aspects: 

1. Companies that want to be accredited must first be evaluated by their own employees, who are the ones answering the survey.
2. In order to answer the survey, it is necessary to have an email from the corresponding company.
3. The answers are confidential, the company does not have access to them.
4. Only a specialized SG contributor has access to the answers and validates that the people who answered yes are technical personnel and not just managers or HR staff.
5. Not all companies that participate in the evaluation pass it. If this is your case, don't worry, we DO NOT publish non-passing results. But it is a fact that not every company manages to be a Best Place to Code, this process is not about paying for a membership and that's it.

Who participates?

• It is a bottom-up evaluation. That is, it is the company's employees who assign their rating and allow the technical staff of an organization to evaluate it and decide if it really is a place where they recommend other colleagues to work.
• It is designed for technology organizations. Not only software or IT services companies can be Best Place to Code but also companies of other sectors such as banks, retail, or entertainment. However, the survey for Best Place to Code only takes into account staff who collaborate in areas of technology.

What if my company does poorly on the survey? Who is going to find out?

We only communicate to the general public when a company passes the evaluation and becomes a member of the program. We do not make public when a company does not pass, we simply give them the survey results (without personal data) so that they can use it as a diagnosis and improve, with the possibility of being evaluated again later.

About the survey

Below is the current version of the evaluation survey. This survey is answered by the IT and technical personnel who collaborate in the organization.

Software Guru is responsible for applying this survey safely and reliably and ensuring the confidentiality of the responses.

Employer Fundamentals

1. How intellectually challenging your work is and how much you learn from doing it.
2. Senior leaders are a positive influence and lead by example.
3. How much professional growth you believe you can achieve at this company.
4. How pleasant the work environment is at the company.
5. How satisfied you are with the company's on-site vs. remote work policy.
6. All people are respected and given equal opportunity, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
7. Competitiveness of the salary you receive.
8. What is the approximate percentage of women or non-binary people in leadership roles?
9. Mechanisms aimed at sharing company ownership and/or profits (e.g., profit sharing, stock options, phantom stocks).
10. How much the company helps you lead a healthy lifestyle.
11. I feel empowered to make decisions at work, knowing the company or my team will back me.
12. I feel comfortable asking for help.
13. I feel my ideas and proposals are taken into account.
14. How secure you feel about keeping your job at this company.

AI Enablement

15. My company provides AI-powered tools for my daily work
16. The AI tools provided are relevant to my role
17. Has your employer created formal AI roles (GenAI/LLM/Agent Engineer, ML Engineer, AI Product Manager, Prompt Engineering, AI Governance) in the past 2 years?
18. Does your employer offer reskilling or training programs to transition into AI roles or tasks?
19. Has your employer redesigned processes or workflows to incorporate AI (not just provide tools)?
20. If your role transformed toward AI, did your employer adjust your compensation, title, or level to reflect it?

Market Anchor (not a lever)

21. How do you use AI to create code?
22. How confident are you that your current skills will still be relevant in 3 years?

Techno-Anxiety Management

23. I worry that AI will reduce demand for my skills at my company
24. I feel pressure to upskill faster because of AI in my current job
25. AI has increased my workload rather than decreased it

Algorithmic Justice

26. My company uses AI responsibly in performance evaluations
27. I trust the AI-driven decisions that affect my work
28. My company has communicated clearly about AI's impact on roles

Employee Agency

29. My manager gives me autonomy over HOW I do my work
30. My compensation is transparent and I understand how it's determined
31. I have real influence on company decisions that affect me
32. Cross-team collaboration is easy at my company

Future Confidence

33. I believe my company will grow in the next 12 months
34. I expect hiring at my company to increase in the next year
35. I worry about layoffs at my company in the next 6 months
36. The IT job market feels strong right now
37. My company is investing more in technology this year than last
38. My company is investing more in people this year than last
39. The client/project pipeline feels stable or growing

Outcome

40. I intend to stay at this company for 2+ years
41. How likely are you to recommend working at your company to a friend?
42. I have considered leaving in the past 6 months
43. If you decided to leave your current job, what would be the main reason?
44. My productivity has changed in the past year

Context

45. Company size category
46. Approximate number of company employees
47. Primary tech stack
48. Remote work policy
49. Recent layoffs in the past 12 months
50. What gender do you identify with?
51. What is your level within this organization?
52. What is your primary role or activity?

Employer Benefits

53. Does your employer explicitly assign you a mentor or sponsor who advances your professional development?

Women's Experience

54. How would you rate your employer's maternity policy?
55. Do you feel unsafe, or have you suffered harassment, at the company where you currently work?
56. Does your company have formal programs to guide or promote women into leadership positions?
57. Does your employer offer financial support for fertility programs (IVF, medical tests, etc.)?

To learn more about prices and how to get your assessment, click:

Get assessment