Glassdoor recently published their annual tech CEO report card. For the report, they evaluated company and CEO approval ratings between March 16, 2009 through March 15, 2010, and March 16, 2010 through March 15, 2011. The CEO approval ratings are calculated similarly to presidential approval ratings; Employees are simply asked: “Do you approve of the way your CEO is leading the company?”
Over the two years, company ratings for the dozen tech companies evaluated remained pretty stable year-over-year. The highest rated is Google at 3.8 (satisfied) on a scale of one to five, followed closely by Adobe (3.6, satisfied), Apple (3.6, satisfied) and Intel (3.6, satisfied). eBay saw the greatest increase, increasing from a 2.7 to a 2.9 (ok) rating in the past 12 months. Amazon slipped during the same period from a 3.3 to a 3.1 (ok) rating.
Click through to see how the CEOs of 12 top tech companies are rated by their employees, as identified by Glassdoor.com.
As Google CEO Eric Schmidt prepares to hand over the reins, his employee approval rating is at an all-time high – and the highest among his peer group. Based on surveys submitted by Google employees over the past 12 months (March 2010-March 2011), Schmidt’s approval rating is 96 percent, up three points from the prior 12-month period.
Even while on medical leave, Apple’s Steve Jobs follows closely with a 95 percent approval rating, down three points from the previous year.
Intel’s Paul Otellini saw his rating increase by three points for a 90 percent approval rating between March 2010 and March 2011.
Another CEO on the rise is Intuit’s Brad Smith, who saw an 18-point improvement from 69 percent approval to 87 percent in the most recent 12-month period.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos dropped four points to an 83 percent approval rating for the past year.
Oracle’s Larry Ellison also dropped four points to 73 percent.
With a one point decline, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen received a 57 percent approval rating for the March 2010 to March 2011 period.
Rising an impressive 10 points, IBM’s Samuel Palmisano’s approval rating increased to 57 percent from the previous year.
The largest year-over-year decline belongs to Yahoo’s Carol Bartz, indicating her honeymoon may be long over. In the year she started, Bartz maintained a 77% approval rating, which was more than twice the approval rating of her predecessor Jerry Yang, who had a 34% approval upon his departure. In the past 12 months, Bartz’s approval has dropped to 50% after months of declining approval.
Dell’s Michael Dell saw a 12-point improvement year-over-year, holding an average 48% approval in the past 12 months.
eBay’s John Donahoe saw the greatest improvement in his approval rating year over year. Between March 2009 and March 2010, he had just a 24% approval rating among employees, whereas between March 2010 and March 2011, he held a 46% approval rating.
Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer saw the second biggest decline among the dozen CEOs evaluated. Between March 2009 and March 2010, he held an average 46% approval rating, which has dropped to 40% in the past 12 months.
