Rackspace Scores Spot on Fortune's Best Tech Workplaces 2017

tracy.hamilton

Rackspace Scores Spot on Fortune's Best Tech Workplaces 2017

Coming on the heels of making Fortune's first ever Best Workplaces for Parents last month, Rackspace this week ranked #15 among the country's best tech workplaces for 2017, based on a survey of more than 42,000 U.S. tech company employees.

Diving into the details, fully 89 percent of the almost 900 Rackers surveyed called Rackspace a great place to work, with more than 92 percent answering in the affirmative to questions like, "I am able to take time off work when I think it's necessary," "I can be myself around here" and "I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community."

Dig into the stats on Rackspace, its benefits, perks, company culture and "how to get hired." 

Tech companies have long been famed for unique workspaces, free snacks and casual atmosphere, but as Fortune notes, that's no longer enough to rank among the best of the best in 2017.

"People in the tech world don’t just want to make something of their careers. They want to make something new," write Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president, and Jessica Rohman, director of content, at Great Place to Work, research partner for Fortune’s annual Best Companies lists, in a commentary accompanying the results of the survey. "That’s why an innovative culture remains essential for attracting employees with the skills that bring new technologies to life. At the same time, the most respected employers in this sector know their growth depends on the development of all team members to their fullest creative potential."

That's why Rackspace focuses both on high impact career opportunities as well as our unique culture.

That includes jobs with the fastest-growing sectors of the company such as supporting Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and our own OpenStack private cloud, plus a full slate of training programs, both technical and leadership.

Our recently revamped career site, jobs.rackspace.com, makes finding those opportunities easy, says Henry Sauer, vice president of global talent acquisition, allowing job seekers to also search by job and location. And if they don’t immediately find the exact job they’re looking for, they’re invited to join the Rackspace “talent community” and get notified when those roles become available.

"While we're always looking for top technical talent, just as critical is the drive to provide consistently excellent customer experiences, internally and externally," says Sauer. "We're looking for servant leaders who embody our Core Values."

That's why the new jobs site revolves around the question, "Are you a Racker?"

(For those not familiar, “Racker” is the term we use to refer to Rackspace employees. More than just a nickname, being a Racker means some very specific things, says Sauer, including “a cloud enthusiast with a heart for service,” “work hard, play hard,” “always ready, always accountable, always helpful.”)

“Rackspace, like many tech companies, demands high performance, and for us, that means serving customers, fanatically,” says Courtney Skarda, vice president of Racker Experience. “We expect Rackers to move mountains for our customers and in order to do that, you have to be able to bring your full and authentic self to work each and every day.”

That also means having a varied and diverse workforce, an imperative in today's idea economy, notes Fortune, lest businesses miss promising solutions or entire markets for their products because they lack voices from diverse backgrounds. Great Place to Work also consistently finds that companies where fewer employees report fair treatment regarding race or gender tend to score lower on measures of innovation, as well.

“We are proud to be recognized among these companies and within this exciting industry,” says Skarda, “but we also know that building a great place to work is an on-going commitment. We’ll continue to focus on building great Rackers and an environment where we can best serve our customers.”