Four national companies with solid Utah ties are in the top 50 most admired companies in the nation out of a complete list of 395 companies, according to the March issue of Fortune Magazine.
United HealthCare of Utah ranked 11, Albertsons was 15, Southwest Airlines was 42 and Columbia/HCA America Healthcare was 44.None of the four is headquartered in Utah, but all four have a significant presence in the state. United HealthCare is the third largest HMO along with Wasatch Front. Albertson's has 33 stores in Utah.
Several other firms with Utah connections also made the list.
For example, Home Depot, which is relatively new here, was ranked fifth.
In addition, Fortune had separate industry categories of top 10 companies and in those, United HealthCare and Albertsons both ranked first in their field. In the health-care top 10, Columbia/HCA Healthcare was ranked third, FHP International was sixth and HealthTrust was seventh.
Fortune's survey includes 395 companies in 41 industry groups. More than 10,000 senior executives, outside directors and financial analysts were asked to rate companies in their own fields.
Firms were measured in eight attributes: the quality of management, quality of products or services, innovation, long-term investment value, financial soundness, ability to attract and keep good employees, community and environmental responsibility and wise use of company assets.
Leonard Grover, United HealthCare of Utah's vice president of sales and marketing, said the firm's decentralized management, teamwork approach and regional information sharing via computer were the linchpins of the company's quality and probably contributed to it getting on Fortune's list.
"Five years ago, we had 25,000 members. Now we have 85,000. Basically, we make sure that we keep a small company culture in our service to our members, but try to d that in the framework of a large company," Grover said.
Grover said surveys show that 94-96 percent of the employers who signed up with this HMO stayed with it in the last three years. Also, a "significant" number of physicians remain with the company and a "report card" that included results of a Gallup Poll showed that 94 percent of the HMO's clients said they were "satisfied," "somewhat satisfied" or "highly satisfied" with HealthCare of Utah.
Albertsons also is "pleased by the rating" given the grocery store chain by Fortune, according to Michael Read, Albertsons director of public relations and governmental affairs.
"To be evaluated by your peers in the industry as the No. 1 food retailing company and the number 15 overall is a high compliment, and we appreciate the evaluation," he said.
"I think as much as anything else, our people are the main reason for our continuing success," he said. "We've got the best employees in the business. They by into the `Team Albertsons' concept and we like to foster the teamwork approach."
Read also suggested that customer satisfaction played a big role.
"We provide first-class service with quality products in a clean environment with an everyday, low-pricing strategy," he said. "We're not trying to be all things to all people. We try to focus on the core business of grocery and drug retailing."