To qualify for the global list, a company has to meet three criteria: being one of the top employers in at least five countries; having at least 5,000 employees; and counting at least 40% of its workforce outside the company's home country.
Google is the leader, and is listed in the National Best Workplaces lists for various countries including India and Japan.
At no. 2 for the second year in a row is SAS Institute, which is mentioned for in the National Best Workplaces lists for Australia and Korea. SAS has been on the list all four years, the company said, underscoring the company's continued focus on creating a global work environment that inspires and energises employees.
"Our employees are creating life-altering software solutions that have a global impact, and our culture motivates them to be more creative and productive. Because we eliminate unnecessary distractions and help relieve everyday stresses, our employees are happier, healthier and proud of the difference their work makes," said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight.
Ranked no. 3 and in the list for the fourth consecutive year is NetApp, recognised for being a great workplace in Australia, China, India and Japan. Tom Georgens, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, NetApp said: “NetApp has built a company where innovation and teamwork thrive. Our employees are passionate people who work as a team to make the biggest difference for our constituents—each other, our customers, communities, and shareholders. Not only are these hallmarks of a great place to work, but they are critical to our overall success. It’s an honour for our company to be recognised once again as a top workplace in the world.”
Added China Gorman, Great Place to Work CEO: “This recognition is a testament to NetApp’s transparency with employees and continued dedication to fostering trust and camaraderie. Their inclusion on this list demonstrates the company's passion to continually improve the lives of their employees and consistently adapt in a fast-moving industry.”
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Source: WL Gore & Associates. Known
for its non-hierarchical, team-based culture,
WL Gore & Associates earned the No. 4
spot on the 2014 list of the World's Best
Multinational Workplaces
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No. 6 is Microsoft, listed in India, Japan, and the UAE.
Marriott is at no. 7, receiving mentions for Australia, India, and the UAE.
The China and India offices for Monsanto contribute to its 8th placing, up from no. 12 in 2013. Monsanto is the only agriculture company to be recognised again in 2014, the company noted. "This award recognises the collaborative efforts of all our employees around the world and their dedication to working in partnership with others to deliver innovative agricultural solutions,” said Steve Mizell, Monsanto Executive VP of human resources.
Cisco ranks no. 9 and is voted in for workplaces that include India and Saudi Arabia.
American Express rounds out the top 10, and is listed in India and Japan.
Other companies which are in the top 25 include Autodesk (no. 13), listed for its China offices; National Instruments (NI, no. 15), listed for China, Japan and Korea; Fedex (no. 16), listed for India and the UAE; EMC (no. 18), for China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE; and Daimler Financial Services (no. 19) in China, Japan, Korea and Turkey.
“NI employees share a vision for changing the world through our customers, scientists and engineers who are building systems that solve the world’s grand challenges,” said Dr James Truchard, CEO, President, and Co-founder of NI. “By focusing on innovation to drive a common purpose of making scientists and engineers more productive, NI employees enjoy rewarding careers with the opportunity to see how their work is helping to make a difference for many important society needs. NI has been able to create long-term exciting, purposeful careers around the globe in over fifty countries.”
"Becoming a great place to work is a mindset," says Klaus Entenmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services. "Our corporate culture is based on a clear set of core values. Every employee has both the opportunity and responsibility to make our company a great place to work. And they do. Our highly motivated employees and our strong culture are reasons why we're able to deliver outstanding service and strong results year-over-year."
Other companies in the top 25 which are mentioned for Asia Pacific and Middle East offices include Hyatt, Mars, Accor, eBay and Coca-Cola.
“This incredible recognition reflects how our people-focused culture, and the care we show to everyone in the Hyatt family, extends to our colleagues around the world,” said Robb Webb, Chief HR Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, of Hyatt's inaugural appearance in the list. “We encourage our colleagues to be innovative in every aspect of their work, and our culture is one where it is second nature for colleagues to treat one another with the same level of care and attention shown to our guests. This helps our colleagues’ personalities shine through and ultimately offers Hyatt guests a better experience.”
Mars noted that its internal training and development programmes as well as high percentage of women in management positions had been highlighted. The company said it has gradually increased the proportion of women in management roles each year, currently achieving 40% globally.
Gorman said in a blog post that the three Trust Index survey areas that have risen the most among the 25 World’s Best Multinational Workplaces since 2011 are fair promotions, transparency, and a work-life balance. "The world’s best workplaces are embracing the global wellbeing movement that has people in many countries seeking to reduce harmful stress levels. And top workplaces are showing themselves comfortable with the heightened transparency and information sharing that are hallmarks of the social technology and self-disclosure trends of the past decade or so," she said.
Enabling employees to give back to the community is also important, she added.
In conjunction with the new list, Great Place to Work is offering a free report titled The Dawn of the Great Workplace Era. Read the report here. View the associated video here, and view the lists of the best workplaces in Australia, China, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE here.
*To be considered, a company must apply to – and be accepted on – a national Best Workplaces list. To be on a list, we assess the results of two studies: the Trust Index and the Culture Audit Management Questionnaire. Two-thirds of a company's workplace culture assessment is based on the employee survey; one-third is based on the company's policies and practices, as measured in the Culture Audit. More than 2,800 multinational corporations participated globally in the surveys. Of these, 429 appeared on one of Great Place to Work's national Best Workplaces lists. From that pool of companies, the 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces have been selected.
