Our founder, Bill Darden, knew from our earliest days the true secret to our success. He said, "Our greatest competitive edge is the quality of our employees, evidenced by the excellent job they do every day." For the third straight year that truth has once again been confirmed with FORTUNE magazine’s recognition of Darden as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America.

This is a highly esteemed honor and it's thanks to each and every one of our 185,000 employees that we’ve earned this distinction.  In fact, Darden is the only full-service restaurant company ever to be named to the list.

To pick the 100 Best Companies, FORTUNE partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Each year, about 1,500 companies contact FORTUNE or are recruited to participate. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the results of the Institute's Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sampling of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to employees' attitudes about job satisfaction, camaraderie and management's credibility. The other one-third of the scoring is based on the company's responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefits, and a series of open-ended questions about hiring, communication and diversity.

FORTUNE learned that Darden is a place where Who You Are Matters…a company where everyone is treated with respect and given opportunities to pursue their personal and professional dreams.

We're proud of this recognition and we'll continue to do our best every day to be a deserving recipient.