No. 2. Salesforce.com & Sutcliffe

Salesforce.com

Average total pay: $249,607
For: Senior Account Executive*
Best companies rank: 43

Salesforce.com's focus on cloud computing -- its software helps companies manage sales and customer relationships online -- has helped it keep revenue growth sky-high. Sales, which have been increasing about 20% a year, topped $1 billion last year.

That leads to lofty pay for employees as well. The San Francisco-based company sets pay levels above market, and every employee is bonus-eligible under a "mahalo plan" (mahalo is Hawaiian for thank you). The more you make, the higher the bonus target: For senior managers, it's 15% of pay, for directors it's 20%.

"We have to save the customer from Microsoft, Oracle and SAP," rails CEO Marc Benioff in his 2009 book, "Behind the Cloud." To keep employees motivated for the crusade, the Salesforce gives stock options and restricted stock awards to a wide range of staff, and regularly enhances perks. One recent addition: $5,000 for adoption aid.

Rank: 43 (Previous rank: 55)

What makes it so great?
The 401(k) match was increased last year from $3,400 to $4,000. More than 1,000 new employees were added in the past two years, 40% from referrals.
Headquarters: One Market
Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94105
2008 revenue ($ millions): 1,076
Website: www.salesforce.com


Source: CNN dotcom