A 'Great Place to Work' (greatplacetowork.in) is a leader in identifying the best places to work. The marketplace may be thought of as a place where one enjoys working and trusts the employer. It is also a place where one enjoys the camaraderie and collaboration with colleagues.

The institute, 'Great Place to Work' is a one of a kind agency examining best work practices in various countries. The agency has been studying how companies implement successful strategies for the last 27 years in 49 companies.

The institute carried out a research study in India, based on similar studies in Europe and America. The results of this data were reported in the Financial Times and Fortune magazine. The research study titled, 'India's Best Companies to Work for' was done by a collaborative effort from the Great Place to Work Institute, India and the Economic Times.

In its tenth year of looking at the best companies, the top 100 and the best companies on an industry level were identified following an extensive research of the workplace with a list of 550 firms. The figure reflects a two-fold increase over previous studies. Of the total number of companies that registered, 535 of them qualified for eligibility to be ranked as the 'Best companies to Work For in 2013' in India, reports The Economic Times.

In the comprehensive study of corporate workplace culture in India, 100 of these firms qualified for the Top 100 ranking in the study, based on surveys from 98,000 respondents. Those surveyed included private, public, governmental and non-profit organizations, making it the most extensive survey of the Indian workplace.­­

Some of the top ranking firms in the Top 100 category include Taj Hotels, Idea Cellular, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co., Vodafone, and Tata Power Distribution Ltd. Creating a niche for themselves at the helm, Google India, Intel, American Express were the top three 'best places to work' in India.

Google's inclusion at the top of the list is attributed to their unconventional training and non-traditional employee management skills. For example, the new comers recruited last year were flown to Google's Mountain view, California home-base to be inducted into their tech world.

Rajan Anandan of Google India told the Economic Times, "We have an incredibly empowering environment and let people figure out how they get to their goals."

Since people resources are no longer the sole responsibility of the HR department, analysts say that hiring is becoming a core representation of the company's leadership. Hiring is now directly linked to business performance, so it is imperative that the right person is hired for the appropriate role.

More importantly, studies have supported the notion that companies that are 'best workplaces' infuse strong competition into the system, preventing rivals from entering this exclusive club.