Publications
Publications
- 2022
The American Opportunity Index: A Corporate Scorecard of Worker Advancement
By: Matt Sigelman, Joseph Fuller, Nik Dawson and Gad Levanon
Abstract
The American Opportunity Index: A Corporate Scorecard of Worker Advancement is a new effort to give companies and other stakeholders a set of robust tools that measure how well major employers are doing in fostering economic mobility for workers and how they could do better. The Index is a joint project of the Burning Glass Institute, Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work, and the Schultz Family Foundation. The Index assesses America’s 250 largest public companies based on real-world outcomes of their employees in roles open to non-college graduates—not merely their statements on corporate policy. It draws upon a new source of insight: bigdata analysis of career histories, job postings, and salary sources of more than 3 million workers at those firms.
The Index is unprecedented among corporate rankings in that it focuses on assessing worker outcomes, not company policies and practice. Our analysis is also different from many previous efforts because we focus on workers in roles open to those without college degrees. It also allows us to compare opportunity creation across companies in different industries and with different business models by comparing outcomes for workers in similar jobs across different firms.
Our goal is threefold: to empower workers to make better decisions as to what positions to seek and what firms to prioritize in their job searches; to recognize firms that are setting an example of how to create opportunity; and to arm executives and HR leaders alike with data they need to take meaningful action within their companies to boost the competitiveness of their workforce.
We created nine metrics with which to assess the companies and determine the level of opportunity each one affords its workers either within the firm or beyond it, as indicated by the access to work it provides, the upward mobility workers experience, and the pay it offers along the way. We believe that these three dimensions are the key determinants of opportunity creation: Workers need to be able to get on the ladder, earn enough to stay on the ladder, and move up the ladder.
We ranked the top 50 companies overall. We also identified the 50 best firms across five different models of opportunity creation: the best workplaces to advance within, the best workplaces to start from, the best workplaces to stay and thrive at one company, the best workplaces to advance without a college degree, and the best workplaces at growing their own talent.
The Index is unprecedented among corporate rankings in that it focuses on assessing worker outcomes, not company policies and practice. Our analysis is also different from many previous efforts because we focus on workers in roles open to those without college degrees. It also allows us to compare opportunity creation across companies in different industries and with different business models by comparing outcomes for workers in similar jobs across different firms.
Our goal is threefold: to empower workers to make better decisions as to what positions to seek and what firms to prioritize in their job searches; to recognize firms that are setting an example of how to create opportunity; and to arm executives and HR leaders alike with data they need to take meaningful action within their companies to boost the competitiveness of their workforce.
We created nine metrics with which to assess the companies and determine the level of opportunity each one affords its workers either within the firm or beyond it, as indicated by the access to work it provides, the upward mobility workers experience, and the pay it offers along the way. We believe that these three dimensions are the key determinants of opportunity creation: Workers need to be able to get on the ladder, earn enough to stay on the ladder, and move up the ladder.
We ranked the top 50 companies overall. We also identified the 50 best firms across five different models of opportunity creation: the best workplaces to advance within, the best workplaces to start from, the best workplaces to stay and thrive at one company, the best workplaces to advance without a college degree, and the best workplaces at growing their own talent.
Keywords
Upward Mobility; Career Advancement; Personal Development and Career; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Wages; Human Capital; Recruitment
Citation
Sigelman, Matt, Joseph Fuller, Nik Dawson, and Gad Levanon. "The American Opportunity Index: A Corporate Scorecard of Worker Advancement." White Paper, Burning Glass Institute, October 2022 (A joint project with Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work and Schultz Family Foundation.)