Lilly snags talent kudos

Fortune put out a list today of the top companies in the world for luring, keeping and currying talent, and Eli Lilly and Co. came in 19th. Not a bad showing in a ranking that puts IBM, Procter & Gamble and General Mills at the top.

Many rankings and surveys issued by magazines and corporations are little more than hot air, and aren’t known for their intellectual rigor. Fortune’s, however, appears to be reasonably credible. It involved an initial survey that was whittled to a smaller list through what Fortune calls analysis and interviews, and finally through a group of judges.

What isn’t known is whether advertisers got favored treatment, a problem not unheard of in the world of magazines. Let’s hope not.

Unfortunately, little is said about why Lilly even made the list. The placing nevertheless has to make CEO John Lechleiter feel a little better as he races to find new drugs to sell before patents begin to expire on Zyprexa and other key drugs.

The list can be found here.

Any thoughts on how Lilly grooms its workers?