J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Named One of Best Places to Work

    LOWELL, Ark.--June 27, 2001--IDG's Computerworld, the newspaper for IT leaders, has selected J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. to its 9th annual "100 Best Places to Work in IT." The company, which this year came in 33rd on the list www.computerworld.com/bestplaces, has made the rankings every year since 1997. J.B. Hunt was the highest ranking truckload transportation provider and the second highest company in the transportation industry.
    Computerworld made its selections based on answers to a 75-question online survey of CIOs, vice presidents and hiring executives in Fortune 1000 and major high-tech consulting firms earlier this year. Companies were evaluated based on factors such as diversity, training, career development, benefits, hot projects and retention.
    "We are honored to be selected to Computerworld's list for the fifth year in a row," said Kay Palmer, chief information officer for J.B. Hunt. "While our salaries and employee satisfaction are high, it is likely that some of our unique initiatives such as innovative training, customer-focused projects and flexible internships helped us earn a high placement on the list."

--	Innovative training: The Hunt Institute of Technology is an innovative training/education program that the company offers to employees in other parts of the company with business degrees who desire to move into the information technology division. Employees must score well on an aptitude test to be accepted into the 1-1/2 year program that combines course work through the University of Arkansas with practical experience in the division. Mentors work closely with the institute participants to ensure they understand procedures and technical issues. "We have benefited from the business knowledge these participants are bringing to our division as well," added Palmer.
--	Customer-focused projects: Information technology employees at J.B. Hunt also enjoy close working relationships with internal customers. "We go on-site to collect data and gain perspective about the problems J.B. Hunt customers are facing so that we can design the best solutions for their needs," adds Palmer. "Our IT employees as well as our internal customers have gained a great deal of satisfaction through this customer-focused approach to IT projects."
--	Flexible internships: The IT division attracts and retains college graduates through a flexible internship program that allows students to learn on the job and identify J.B. Hunt as a good fit for their career goals. More than 30 percent of students who work as interns become full-time IT employees, according to Palmer.