Insurance and finance company USAA captured the No. 1 spot in Computerworld's
100 Best Places to Work In IT 2012 list, released Monday. And the best part is they're planning to fill more IT positions over the next six years. USAA, which landed the top spot for three consecutive years, gained its notable reputation based on its supportive work environment, fantastic amenities and a commitment to innovation, says the report. Perks include 26 days of paid vacation a year, an 8 percent employer match on 401Ks, annual performance bonuses equal to 18.4 percent of the workforce and a holiday bonus of two weeks of base pay. But in terms of setting itself from the pack in making it attractive to IT professionals, Computerworld cites several interesting USAA events to drive innovation.
- Tech X, a two-day, in-house conference that features more than 100 sessions. The event is planned by USAA's IT staff and managed by one of its project managers.
- Code as Ice, a 30-day competition. IT workers, on their own time, collaborate with members of the business unit to design prototypes to solve certain problems the unit faces. And these ideas don't sit on the shelf. Of the 31 ideas submitted last year, five were immediately implemented, 11 went into development within the year and six were reviewed for patent consideration.
Software developer Seth Ethington, cited in the story, seems to sum it up:
The majority of my ideas have either gone into production, so members are seeing changes, or they're on a road map to go into production.
Additionally, USAA has four of his ideas winding their way through the patent process.
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