Best Workplaces 2015 Asia
The Great Workplace Era Emerges in Asia
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The Great Workplace Era Emerges in Asia Great Place to Work® releases its inaugural list of Asia’s Best Workplaces; Google, MECCA Brands and Atlassian take top honors. Asia’s best workplaces are getting better; They are becoming “Enlightened Organizations” and are leading the way into a more hopeful economic age.
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Table of contents 04 Executive Summary 06 About Great Place to WorkŽ 08 Background and Findings 22 The List of Asia’s Best Workplaces 2015 26 Fast Facts about the Best Workplaces in Asia 31 Company Profile 32 Methodology
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Executive Summary Just as Asia is awakening as an economic power, so too are its best workplaces rising to new levels of trust, pride and camaraderie. And they are on the forefront of a new, hopeful era of better workplaces throughout the globe. That’s the good news as Great Place to Work® releases its inaugural list of Asia’s Best Workplaces. Google is the region’s best multinational workplace; cosmetics company MECCA Brands is Asia’s best workplace with more than 500 employees; and software firm Atlassian is best in the region among small and medium-size companies.
All of the 60 organizations that made the 2015 Best Workplaces in Asia list have plenty to be proud of. But so does the region as a whole. Our research into the best workplaces in Asia shows that employee trust levels have been rising in recent years in a solid majority of the nations in which we operate across the region. Trust is the foundation of a great workplace and a key ingredient in employee engagement and business success. Our findings are based on Great Place to Work’s employee survey, the Trust Index©. Of the six Asian countries for which we have data from at least two years, five have shown improved Trust Index scores. The region’s biggest nations, China and India, are among those where the best are getting better. There are caveats to this positive news for employees and employers in the region. The findings focus on trends among the best workplaces rather than companies overall. In addition, Asia’s best workplaces lag behind the benchmarks set by best companies in other parts of the world, including North America and Europe.
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But Asia’s best are making progress. Increasingly, they are taking on the contours of what we call “Enlightened Organizations.” Enlightened Organizations blend the best of Eastern and Western traditions. They are hungry for data and high performance but balance these goals against the need to treat employees and all stakeholders humanely, to put people at the same level, if not above, profits. Asia’s best also are part of a wider global trend toward higher levels of workplace trust at the best workplaces. This positive development is rooted in a number of factors. These include the rise of balance-minded Millennials, increased transparency into organizations, and mounting evidence that high-trust cultures lead to better business results.
Those factors aren’t just pushing the best to get better. They are affecting all companies in the region and throughout the globe, nudging them toward higher levels of trust, pride and camaraderie. As a result, we believe we are at the dawn of what we call The Great Workplace Era. In it, all people can expect to work for an organization where they trust their leaders, enjoy their colleagues and take pride in what they do. A time, in other words, when workplaces make the world better by making people’s lives better. The best workplaces in the world—including Asia’s best—are helping to shepherd in the Great Workplace Era. Just as Asia is assuming a leadership role in the 21st Century economy, so too are its best workplaces leading the way into a new, more hopeful age.
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About Great Place 速 to Work Great Place to Work速 has conducted pioneering research on the characteristics of great workplaces for over 25 years. We believe all companies can become great workplaces, and our mission is to help them succeed. Our Great Place to Work model is recognized as the standard for assessing great workplaces.
Asia Offices Middle East Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Asia-Pacific Australia China India Japan Korea Singapore Sri Lanka
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In nearly 50 countries around the world, we are proud to:
Recognize Best Workplaces for their achievements through our international, regional and national Best Workplaces lists. Worldwide, we publish lists in about 50 countries.
Help Companies create and sustain great workplace cultures through our assessment and advisory services. Our Trust Index© employee survey and other analysis tools, training programs and strategic advisory services support the transformation process within any organization. Great Place to Work®’s unique access to best workplace data allows us to offer unparalleled benchmarking opportunities, best practice information, and transformation insights for our consulting clients.
Share Resources, best practices, and research through our events and education services. These include peer networking groups, workshops, conferences, and publications, which enable organizational leaders to learn directly from each other, as well as benefit from our wealth of knowledge and lessons learned from best workplaces and our clients.
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Background and Findings Asia is rising as an economic and technological power. By 2020, China is expected to be the world’s largest economy, followed by the United States, India, Japan and Russia.1Asia’s ascension over the past few decades, though, hasn’t always been positive for employees. The region’s spectacular growth has come with horror stories of mistreated workers in industries including apparel, mining and technology manufacturing. But a different, more hopeful story also is taking shape. Asia has some workplaces that are excellent for employees, and its best are getting better. Based on more than two decades of research into organizational cultures, we define a great workplace as one in which employees: • • •
Trust their leaders Take pride in their jobs Enjoy their co-workers
1 Euromonitor International, “Forecast: World’s Largest Economies in 2020,” May 16, 2013, http://blog.euromonitor.com/2013/05/forecastworlds-largest-economies-in-2020.html#.
We have been helping Asian organizations improve their workplace cultures for more than 15 years. And our operations in the region continue to expand. We launched a list of Saudi Arabia’s best workplaces in 2014. Also last year, we opened a new affiliate office in Singapore. And this report marks the first time we have published a list of great workplaces for the Asia region overall. The 60 organizations on the list—10 multinational workplaces, 25 workplaces with between 50 and 500 employees and 25 workplaces with more than 500 employees— stand out for excellent results on our Trust Index© employee survey, which measures workplace trust, pride and camaraderie. Asia’s 60 Best also distinguish themselves for having top-notch workplace programs and practices, which we measure with our Culture Audit© assessment tool.
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Key Drivers in Asia While we see trust, pride and camaraderie as universally important to great workplaces throughout the world, outstanding cultures take on the flavor of their particular country and region. We analyzed our Trust Index data to find the key drivers of workplace greatness in Asia and other regions. To do so, we examined which of the 58 statements on the Trust Index survey have the greatest impact on the overall average Trust Index score for best workplaces in Asia, North America, Europe and Latin America.2The results of this key driver analysis show that employees in all regions place a high value on a bedrock of trust—whether managers deliver on their promises. But that fundamental test of credibility was the only key driver shared across all four regions.
2 In this report, subsets of the top 60 of the 100 Best Workplaces from North America, Europe and Latin America were used in order to match the 60 companies on the list of Asia’s Best Workplaces.
In Asia in particular, employees prioritize management’s hiring of people who fit in well to the culture. The fact that this hiring-fit statement was the top key driver may reflect the way some Asian cultures emphasize harmonious group relationships and the good of the collective. Other key drivers for Asia’s best workplaces involve management honesty, fair promotions and an inclusive approach to recognizing employees. (See Figures 1-4).3
3 For our key driver analysis, we used the squared correlation coefficient method to calculate “r2” values for different Trust Index statements in different regions. The larger the r2 value, the higher the impact of the statement on the overall Trust Index score of the 60 best workplaces from a particular region.
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Figure 1. Key Drivers of Workplace Greatness in Asia 0.82 0.80 0.78
r2 value
0.76 0.74 0.72 0.70 0.68 0.66 0.64 0.62 0.60 0.58 0.56 0.54 Management hires people who fit in well here
I can ask management any reasonable question an get a straight answer
Promotions go to those who best deserve them
Management delivers on its promises
Everyone has an opportunity to get special recognition
Figure 2. Key Drivers of Workplace Greatness in North America 0.82 0.80 0.78
r2 value
0.76 0.74 0.72 0.70 0.68 0.66 0.64 0.62 0.60 0.58 0.56 0.54 Management´s actions match its words
Management shows a sincere interest in me as a person, not just an employee
Management delivers on its promises
Management genuinely seeks and responds to suggestions and ideas
If I am unfairly treated, I believe I´ll be given a fair shake if I appeal
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Figure 3. Key Drivers of Workplace Greatness in Europe 0.90 0.88
0.84 0.82 r2 value
Correlation Coefficient
0.86
0.80 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72 0.70 Management genuinely seeks and responds to suggestions and ideas
Management delivers on its promises
Management´s Management Management involves people shows a sincere actions match its words in decisions interest in me that affect their as a person, jobs or work not just an environment employee
Figure 4. Key Drivers of Workplace Greatness in Latin America 0.90 0.88
0.84 0.82 r2 value
Correlation Coefficient
0.86
0.80 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72 0.70 Management does a good job of assigning and coordinating people
Management delivers on its promises
Management shows a sincere interest in me as a person, not just an employee
Management´s Taking actions match everything into its words account, I would say this is a great place to work
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Asia’s Best Get Better Led by category winners Google, MECCA Brands and Atlassian, Asia’s Best have good reason to be proud. But there’s also reason for the region as a whole to take heart. Our research into the best workplaces in Asia shows that employee trust levels have been rising in recent years in most of the nations in which we do business. Of the six Asian countries for which we have data for at least two years, five have shown improved Trust Index scores in recent years. They are: Australia, China, India, Japan and Sri Lanka. Trust levels have fallen in recent years at the best workplaces in the United Arab Emirates. (See Figures 5-10.)
Trust Level Trends in Asia’s Best Workplaces The following charts document the change in Trust Index© benchmark scores, and are ordered alphabetically.
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Figure 5. Australia’s Best Workplaces 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
Figure 6. China’s Best Workplaces 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
Figure 7. India’s Best Workplaces 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
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Figure 8. Japan’s Best Workplaces 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
Figure 9. Sri Lanka’s Best Workplaces 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
Figure 10. United Arab Emirates’ Best Workplaces: Trust Index Benchmark 2011/12-2013/14 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
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There are limits to this upbeat news for employees and employers in Asia. Our findings focus on the best workplaces rather than companies overall in the region. What’s more, Asia’s best workplaces lag behind the benchmarks set by best companies in other parts of the world, including North America and Europe. (See Figure 11)
Asia’s Best Workplaces have a lower average Trust Index score than the other regions. And scores for the five dimensions of the Trust Index that make up the overall average—credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie —are in most cases lower in Asia than they are in other regions.
Figure 11. Asia Top 60 Compared to Other Regions 96 94
94 92 90
94 93
91 91
92 91
90 90
90
91 91
90 90 89 89
88 88
88
87 87
86
86
86 85
84
83
82 80 78 76 74 Europe Top 60
LATAM Top 60
North America Top 60
Asia Top 60
Trust Index© Score
Credibility
Respect
Fairness
Pride
Camaraderie
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A Face of a Great Workplace: Noel Sumitra is at Home at Marriott Hotels Hotels are transient places by definition. But Noel Sumitra has found a home at Marriott International, one of Asia’s Best Multinational Workplaces. Sumitra has spent much of the past four years working as concierge manager at Marriott’s Courtyard Mumbai International Airport. And the 34-year-old revels in the bustle associated with his work to serve guests, get them to and from the airport and train his staff to become local experts. The Courtyard Mumbai International Airport is “the busiest Marriott Courtyard in Asia,” he says. “The lobby’s always buzzing.” Talking to Sumitra, you are reminded of the Ralph Fiennes character in the recent movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. It is if Sumitra is a member of a secret society of proud, competent, creative concierges.
One time, for example, a government official left his identification papers at the hotel and was very upset with Sumitra’s supervisor upon hearing that he may have to wait a day or more to get the papers back. Sumitra picked up the papers and flew across the country to Delhi that very day to deliver them. He hadn’t asked for permission to go on this journey, but his manager had nothing but praise for him when the customer lauded the hotel for the speedy return of the documents. As Sumitra sees it, Marriott’s culture of service excellence and employee autonomy are intertwined. “You take care of the guests, and the company will take care of you.” Caring at Marriott means flexibility for employees. Taking seven days off in a month, for example, is unusual in the hospitality field in India, but Marriott makes room for it. This attention to work-life
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balance is vital to Sumitra, because his first son was born in late 2014. The birth of his child was of course a milestone for Sumitra. But so was a career accomplishment at Marriott. Last year, he was honored by Marriott with an award for service excellence. Sumitra and his wife were flown in business class to Washington D.C. for a week. At the awards ceremony, Sumitra recalls having goosebumps and tears in his eyes as he was called up to shake hands with Bill Marriott, chairman of Marriott International.
“It was like a dream come true,” he says. “It was the proudest moment in my entire life.” Now, after meeting the Marriott family leader, Sumitra continues to progress in the Marriott company family. He recently was selected to be Chief Concierge at the JW Marriott, Sahar, Mumbai—a luxury hotel near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Sumitra’s promotion is not surprising, given the way he treats guests at Marriott as he would treat them in his own home: “I make sure everyone who leaves here leaves happy.”
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Asia’s Best Become Enlightened Organizations Nonetheless, as discussed above, great workplaces throughout Asia are improving. And they are becoming what we call “Enlightened Organizations.” That term is borrowed in part from India’s rich cultural history, and we think captures what it means to be a Great Workplace these days. By “Enlightened,” we refer to both the Eastern and Western senses of the word. Eastern in the sense of principles of wisdom, kindness and harmony. Western in the sense of the Age of Enlightenment and its concepts of scientific inquiry, progress and analysis. Enlightened Organizations may have emerged first in the West, but are now taking root in Asia, says Mi Ok Cho, executive officer for global marketing at Great Place to Work Korea. “It is ironic that even though Eastern enlightenment propounds harmony and kindness, the West has been the first to adopt a workplace culture that places importance on people and relationships in the organization,” Cho says. “In the past, workplaces in Asia have focused on data, high performance and efficiency rather than employee well-being as most Asian economies sought to alleviate poverty and join the ranks of developed countries. Having achieved their goals of development, Asian workplaces are now beginning to realize the importance of building a trust-based culture where the employee is the central point of focus.” Enlightened Organizations—Great Workplaces—have a particular take on the hot topic of HR analytics. These workplaces will collect and study information related to their people to make wiser choices in areas including hiring, training and promotions. But Enlightened Organizations also will take pains to protect employee privacy and seek to crunch numbers in ways that both help
the business succeed and help individuals progress in their careers. More generally, Enlightened Organizations demonstrate humane treatment to employees amid the pursuit of business success. For a good example along these lines, consider hotel company Marriott International. Marriott, which ranked second on the list of Asia’s Best Multinational Workplaces this year, has consistently proven to be concerned with the well-being of its people even as it seeks profits in the highly competitive hospitality industry. When Marriott entered the Indian market in 2001, for example, it decided to break ranks with other hotel chains by offering its staff a shorter workweek. Most Indian hotels at the time expected employees to work six days a week. Marriott bucked that trend, and established a 5 ½ day workweek, meaning that staffers would take two days off every second week. Rajeev Menon, Marriott’s Area Vice President for South Asia, recalls that the decision caused an “uproar” in the hospitality field, with some industry leaders calling it an unsustainably generous policy toward employees. But Marriott stuck to its “People First” philosophy—that by taking great care of employees, employees will take great care of customers. And that enlightened ethos has only fueled the company’s progress in South Asia—defined as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal. Over the past 14 years, Marriot has opened 25 hotels in the region, with another 49 planned in the near future. And rivals have reversed course on the shorter workweek. “Now a number of our competitors have followed our lead,” Menon says. Nonetheless, Marriott has stayed ahead of other hotel companies when it comes to attrition. Thanks partly to its people-first approach, Marriott’s annual turnover in South Asia is about 24 percent—roughly 10 percent lower than the industry average, Menon says.
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A Global Movement Marriott and the rest of Asia’s best also are part of a worldwide trend toward higher levels of workplace trust at the best workplaces. This trend can be seen in two ways. In recent years, the best have gotten better in a solid majority of the 50 or so countries where we measure workplaces using the Trust Index© survey. And there is increasing trust at the companies that make up Great Place to Work’s annual World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list.4 This positive development is rooted in seven factors:
AWARENESS There is increased awareness among company leaders globally of the importance of a high-trust workplace culture. Trust is top of mind for today’s executives worldwide, according to a 2013 PwC report, which surveyed 1,330 CEOs in 68 countries.5 Among the nations where trust consciousness is taking root is India. It can be seen in an emerging approach to management that some scholars have called the “India Way.” That “way” includes investing in talent and building a stirring culture, along with creating a strong sense of public mission and national purpose. At India’s best workplaces this high-road approach to management can be seen in heightened attention to individual employees, says Prasenjit Bhattacharya, CEO of Great Place to Work India. “Whether it is work- life balance, taking time off when necessary or perception that there are special and unique benefits, the best workplaces and their managers are adept at communicating to their employees that they care while ensuring that employees feel they are full members,” he says.
EVIDENCE Evidence is mounting that great workplaces lead to better business results. For example, a paper published last year by the European Corporate Governance Institute studied data from 14 countries and concluded that higher levels of employee satisfaction—reflected by earning a spot on a best workplaces list generated by Great Place to Work®— corresponded to stock market outperformance in countries with high levels of labor market flexibility, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.6 That research is part of a growing body of evidence that better workplaces lead to better results, including improved financial outcomes and increased employee retention. For example, over a recent five-year period, a portfolio of India’s Best Workplaces outperformed overall India stock market indices by a factor of four. It’s a similar story in the United States. Publicly traded companies on the U.S. Best Companies to Work For® list nearly doubled the performance of the stock market overall from 1997 to 2013. And a 2013 report from research and consulting firm Interaction Associates found that “companies adept at practices that reinforce strong leadership, trust, and collaboration enjoy better financial performance.”7
GEN Y The Millennial generation is demanding better workplaces. Around the world, the cohort of people in their mid-30s and younger is pushing employers to pay more attention to work-life harmony and social responsibility. China is one of the countries where younger employees are propelling companies toward improved cultures.
4 Great Place to Work Institute, “The Dawn of the Great Workplace Era,” 2014, http://www.greatplacetowork.net/best-companies/worlds-bestmultinationals/2014-report.
6 Alex Edmans, Lucius Li, Chendi Zhang, “Employee Satisfaction, Labor Market Flexibility, and Stock Returns Around The World,” European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) - Finance Working Paper No. 433/2014, July 2014, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/ papers.cfm?abstract_id=2461003.
5 PwC, 16th Annual Global CEO Survey: Dealing with disruption; Adapting to survive and thrive, 2013, http://www.pwc.com/en_IM/IM/publications/ assets/ life-insurance/dealing_with_disruption.pdf.
7 Interaction Associates, Building Trust 2013: Workforce Trends Defining High Performance, 2013, http://www.slideshare.net/PingElizabeth/ building-trust2013-by-interaction-associates.
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Many young Chinese people educated abroad in the West are returning to the country with visions of working in and leading organizations vastly different from the traditional top-down companies their elders may have experienced, says Jose Carlos Bezanilla, CEO of Great Place to Work® Greater China. A greater willingness to listen to employees of all levels and to enact workplace flexibility are central to these emerging Chinese leaders. “It’s a business culture shock,” Bezanilla says. “They’re expecting new ways of interaction and management.”
WELLBEING The emergence of a ‘wellbeing’ movement is nudging organizations to improve their cultures. Levels of stress have risen at organizations globally as companies have asked employees to do more with less and the growing use of mobile devices has led employees to feel pressure to be ‘always on.’ Stanford University Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer has estimated that there are more than 120,000 excess deaths annually in the U.S. alone because of unhealthy work environments—which include features such as little control over one’s work, conflicts between work and family, and job insecurity.8 Partly in response to stressful work climates, people have placed more value on physical and mental wellbeing. Great workplaces around the world are embracing this trend. Among the three Trust Index© scores that have risen most among the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces is this statement: “People are encouraged to balance their work life and their personal life.”
MOMENTUM Once an organization develops a positive workplace culture, that culture tends to continue getting better. This positive, upward spiral is a product of both management and employees. Managers make improvements to the work environment based on measurements of their culture, including 8 See Great Place to Work, 5 Lessons for Leaders as they Build a Great Workplace, 2014, http://www. greatplacetowork.com/5-lessonswhitepaper.
the Trust Index© and Culture Audit©. And employees of great workplaces take increased ownership of their cultures. They participate to advance the organization and feel greater appreciation for their work setting.
INNOVATION Innovation has come to be the lifeblood for many businesses, especially those operating in global, competitive markets. And innovation success depends crucially on high levels of trust, pride and camaraderie in an organization. Individual employees are more likely to risk sharing novel ideas in a climate in which they feel a measure of security and are proud of what they do. In addition, collaboration, which is increasingly central to effective innovation efforts, is fueled by friendships among co-workers. “In its simplest form, innovation means new ideas which originate from people’s mind rather than from machines or processes,” Cho of Great Place to Work Korea says. “A realization of this simple fact is leading companies to see employees as their greatest asset and causing them to strive towards building a work environment that is optimal for the employee to thrive.”
TRANSPARENCY Technologies such as social media tools and mobile, personal devices that can easily record images and audio are providing unprecedented transparency into organizations. So is the pressure on organizations by government agencies and non-governmental organizations to disclose information related to labor relations and environmental impact. The result is that the sunlight of transparency is exposing and punishing less-than-great organizations and rewarding good ones. The best workplaces around the globe are adapting to and taking advantage of this trend. Another of the three Trust Index© scores that have risen most among the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces is this statement: “Management keeps me informed about important issues and changes.”
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The Dawn of the Great Workplace Era The factors above aren’t just pushing the best workplaces to get better. They are affecting all companies throughout Asia and the entire globe. That’s why we believe we are at the beginning of the Great Workplace Era. The Great Workplace Era represents a more harmonious relationship between shareholders and stakeholders, between managers and employees. But this concept is not just a feel-good dream. It is a hard-headed reality. Companies that embrace the Great Workplace Era will be the ones with the greatest trust in their cultures. These organizations will not only be doing the right thing by employees but positioning themselves to win in the marketplace. They will see higher engagement scores— which have been linked to better business outcomes. They will see a variety of business benefits, ranging from recruiting advantages to heightened innovation effectiveness to higher revenue to better stock performance. Companies that don’t embrace the Great Workplace Era— that don’t establish high-trust cultures and work to improve them –risk losing in the marketplace. Among other places, the Great Workplace Era is unfolding in the Middle East. Ron Thomas, CEO of Great Place to Work® Gulf —which includes our operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates— sees organizations having to emphasize a healthy workplace in order to compete for talent. “Job postings are referencing the culture, the work environment. Words such as fun, exciting and dynamic are all used to describe their workplaces,” Thomas says. “In order for companies to compete, it is no longer just the job. Everyone is offering a job, but the one that offers the job in the ‘right’ environment is the one that will get and keep the talent.” Executives at World’s Best Multinational Workplaces agree that we are at the beginning of a better economic age. Among the CEOs who see the Great Workplace Era at hand is Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “More than ever before, today’s top talent is not just looking for great work, they’re looking to create a great life and a better world – and their work is part of how they achieve that,” Nadella says. “We are a learning culture. At Microsoft, we hire people who are excited to experiment, take risks and learn. This is how
we get better. Our employees seek purpose in their work: they come in every day focused on empowering people to do more, achieve more, and live more of the life they want to live.” Tom Georgens, CEO of data storage specialist NetApp, has a similar view regarding the Great Workplace Era. “I see the pride and passion NetApp employees pour into both their corporate and volunteer work as a great example of this new era,” he says. “A number of things motivate people here to do this: a strong sense that our technology makes an impact in the world; pride in their individual contributions; company values that emphasize leadership and teamwork; and programs that allow them to share their unique skills and experiences with the world community.”
The Great Workplace Era Emerges in Asia Marriott’s Menon is among the business leaders who see the Great Workplace Era taking shape in Asia. He points to a combination of increased expectations from India’s growing middle class for a better work-life balance and heightened awareness among executives that great cultures are critical to sustained success. “It’s from both sides,” he says. “Businesses will continue to work towards improving their workplaces.” Asia’s best workplaces—along with the rest of the world’s best—are playing a key role in the unfolding of the Great Workplace Era. They are serving as role models for other companies. Think about Marriott setting new standards for humane work hours and inclusiveness in South Asia. Think about how Google and other great technology workplaces are inspiring new generations of entrepreneurs to launch start-ups not just with a great idea but a great culture. Think about the way the many Enlightened Organizations of Asia are showing how the seeming opposites of kindness and competitiveness can co-exist—and are in fact a recipe for lasting prosperity. Asia is quickly becoming a leader in the 21st century economy. And its best workplaces are leading the way into a new, more hopeful economic age. The Great Workplace Era Emerges in Asia
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The List of Asia’s Best Workplaces 2015
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10 Best Multinational Workplaces in Asia 2015 Rank
Company name
Country
Industry
Number of Employees in listed countries
Number of companies listed in national lists
1
India, Japan
Information Technology
N/A
2
2
Marriott
Australia, India, UAE
Hospitality / Hotel / Resort
7.393
3
3
Ericsson
Saudi Arabia, UAE
Manufacturing & Production / Electronics
462
2
4
American Express
India, Japan
Financial Services & Insurance / Banking / Credit  Services
8.960
2
5
NetApp
Australia, Greater China, India, Japan
Information Technology / Storage / Data Management
2.486
4
6
Hyatt
Greater China, India, Hospitality / UAE Hotel / Resort
83.512
3
7
Microsoft
India, Japan, UAE
Information Technology / Software
9.395
3
8
Abbvie
Australia, Korea, Saudi Arabia
Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
406
3
9
EstĂŠe Lauder
Australia, UAE
Retail / Specialty
993
2
10
Adobe
Australia, India
Information Technology / Software
2.577
2
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25 Best Small and Medium-sized Workplaces in Asia 2015 (50-500 employees) Rank
Company name
Country
Industry
Number of employees
1
Atlassian
Australia
Information Technology/Software
408
2
Optiver
Australia
Financial Services & Insurance
248
3
Universal McCann
Australia
Media
120
4
The Physio Co
Australia
Health Care/Specialty
75
5
Starlight Children's Foundation Australia
Australia
Health Care/Specialty
246
6
Maxus
Australia
Advertising & Marketing
66
7
ansarada Australia
Australia
Information Technology/Software
58
8
Campaign Monitor
Australia
Information Technology/Software
68
9
Seyoung
Korea
Manufacturing & Production / Basic metals and fabricated metal products
270
10
Bayt.com
UAE
Professional Services / Staffing & Recruitment
150
11
InfoTrack
Australia
Information Technology and Services
82
12
Kiandra IT
Australia
Information Technology/IT Consulting
66
13
Dale Alcock Homes
Australia
Construction & Real Estate
168
14
Alluvium Consulting Australia
Australia
Professional Services/Consulting Environmental
55
15
Altis Consulting
Australia
Information Technology/IT Consulting
66
16
Sentis
Australia
Education & Training
73
17
Match Media
Australia
Media
52
18
12WBT
Australia
Advertising and Marketing
60
19
IMC Pacific
Australia
Financial Services & Insurance
75
20
Xero Australia
Australia
Information Technology/Software
131
21
TripleGood Group
Japan
Professional Services / Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing
72
22
Mindshare
Australia
Media
164
23
Radiation Oncology Queensland
Australia
Health Care/Specialty
92
24
Acroquest Technology Co., Ltd.
Japan
Information Technology / Software
72
25
99X Technology
Sri Lanka
Information Technology
114
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25 Best Workplaces in Asia 2015 (500+ employees) Rank
Company name
Country
Industry
1
MECCA Brands
Australia
Retail
2
Shinhan • Shinhan Bank • Shinhan Card
Korea
Financial Services & Insurance / Banking / Credit Services
18.013
3
Lotte Department store
Korea
Retail
7.318
4
Hyundai Marine & Fire
Korea
Financial Services & Insurance // Auto Insurance
3.245
Insurance
Number of employees 747
5
THE One
UAE
Retail
6
Korea Institute of Science
Korea
Social Services and Government Agencies
and Technology
645 1.027
7
kikki.K Australia
Australia
Retail / Specialty
8
Incheon International
Korea
Social Services and Government Agencies
1.099
Airport Corporation
535
9
Emirates Transport
UAE
Transportation
12.386
10
Plan.Do.See Inc.
Japan
Hospitality / Hotel / Resort
1.033
Japan
Information Technology / Software
2.063 3.500
11
Works Applications Co.,Ltd.
12
Busan bank
Korea
Financial Services & Insurance / Banking / Credit Services
13
Dongbu Life Insurance
Korea
Financial Services & Insurance
14
Godrej Consumer Products Limited
India
Manufacturing & Production
1.271
15
Korea Airports Corporation
Korea
Social Services and Government Agencies
1.786
16
Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.
India
Financial Services & Insurance
4.096
17
Fun City
UAE
Hospitality
18
Eureka Forbes Ltd.
India
Manufacturing & Production
9.381
19
Encore Capital Group
India
Information Technology
1.902
20
Panda
Saudi Arabia
Retail
14.000
21
Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd
India
Retail
9.368
22
Titan Company Limited
India
Retail
7.234
23
Bajaj Finance Limited
India
Financial Services & Insurance
2.198
24
Apollo Tyres Ltd
India
Manufacturing & Production
2.346
25
Shoppers Stop Limited
India
Retail
6.308
506
602
The Great Workplace Era Emerges in Asia
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Fast Facts about the Best Workplaces in Asia 30 3% 25% 48% Absenteeism
Average Age of Organizations in Years
Women in executive management positions
% of companies that support employees with classes not related to work
11%12% 8% 91% 23,413 95 % Increase in revenues compared to last year
Average Growth in Employees
New Jobs
Median Voluntary Turnover
Average training hours
% of employees who answered positively to the overall statement “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work.�
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Greater China 3%
Sri Lanka 1%
Saudi Arabia 4% Japan 10% Australia 36%
UAE 12%
Country Distribution
Korea 13% India 21% Social Services and Govt. Agencies 5% Media 5% Healthcare 5%
Information Technology 27%
Hospitality 5%
Other 7%
Industry Distribution
Professional Services 8% Financial Services & Insurance 15%
Manufacturing & Production 8% Retail 15%
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62%
Women
Asia Gender Distribution Men
38%
Executive/Senior Manger
5%
20% Manager Supervisor
Asia Job Type Distribution
Staff - Non management
73%
29
55 or older 45 to 54 years 2% 9%
24%
25 years or younger
Asia Age Distribution 34 to 44 years
26%
25%
26 to 34 years
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Dimensions scores by category Trust IndexŠ Dimension Scores 2015 100 95 90 85 80 75 Credibility
Respect
Top 10 MNCs 2015
Fairness
Pride
Top 25 Large 2015
Camaraderie
Top 25 SMEs 2015
Scores by industry (for industries that have at least 5 companies) Trust Index Š Results by Industry
Information Technology Professional Services Financial Sector and Services Manufacturing & Production Retail
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
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Company Profile
Marriott
Treating Employees Like Guests
When Marriott entered the Indian market nearly 15 years ago, it made a couple of decisions that signaled the kind of employer it would be in the country and region. For one thing, it reduced the typical work hours expected of hotel staff from 12 days on the job every two weeks to 11. And it also refused to go along with a tradition in the India hospitality industry, whereby rankand-file staff members ate in one cafeteria while hotel executives enjoyed a separate, exclusive dining room. “We said we’re going to have one associate dining room, for everyone from general managers to frontline associates,” recalls Rajeev Menon, Marriott’s Area Vice President for South Asia. The choice not only fostered a sense of unity among the workforce, but also prompted a freer flow of ideas for improving hotel operations. “It creates openness,” Menon says. An open, inclusive, caring culture has propelled Marriott International to a spot on our list of Asia’s Best Workplaces. In our inaugural ranking of the region’s best, Marriott came in second to Google in the category of multinational workplaces. Marriott has shown that being a great workplace — an Enlightened Organization — goes hand in hand with business success. In South Asia, Marriott has opened 25 hotels
in the past 15 years or so, and has plans to open roughly 50 more in the coming years. In addition, the hotel’s turnover rate in the region is 24 percent — roughly 10 percent lower than the industry average, Menon says. Low turnover has something to do with the way Marriott has given employees in the region career development opportunities, Menon says. Whereas other hotel firms typically have had few options for Indian nationals to move abroad to take new jobs, Marriott generally sends hundreds of associates abroad each year with promotions and transfers, Menon says. “We create global careers,” he says. Menon says Marriott’s “People First” philosophy helps the global organization manage issues that are specific to countries and regions. In South Asia, for example, poor transportation infrastructure means that employees can face commutes of several hours a day by buses and trains. So Marriott has established a fleet of buses to help shrink commute times. It’s another decision that has defined Marriott in Asia — a place that cares for employees, who in turn care for guests. Says Menon: “A great culture creates an environment for associates to excel.”
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Methodology The following is a description of the Great Place to Work® methodology used for the country-by-country analysis of trust level trends and for determining the Asia Best Workplaces List 2015.
Country-by-Country Analysis Our study of trust levels in the best workplaces in Asia during the years 2009/10 to 2013/14 centers on Trust Index© scores. Trust Index© scores reflect the average response of employees to 58 statements that capture the trust, camaraderie and pride within a company. The scores for all the statements are averaged for an overall company Trust Index© score. We took the average of overall Trust Index© scores for all companies on national best workplaces lists to create a Trust Index© benchmark for each country for each year in the study. By national lists, we refer to the central annual lists of best workplaces published by Great Place to Work affiliates worldwide.
We did not include local or industry-specific lists. Each year in the study spans two calendar years.
Methodology for the selection of the Best Workplaces in Asia List 2015 In order to be a candidate for the regional Best Workplaces in Asia List, a company must have appeared on a best workplace list in one of the Asian affiliate countries in the 2014 list cycle. In 2014, more than 300 companies were listed in eight national Best Workplaces Lists in the Asia region. The countries included are: Australia, China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. The listed companies in these countries are eligible for consideration on the regional list. In all, more than 900 companies participated in best workplace list competitions in the region.
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The companies on the Asia Best Workplaces List are featured in three categories: • • •
Best Multinational Workplaces Best Small and Medium-Sized Workplaces (50–500 employees) Best Workplaces (More than 500 employees)
To create the regional lists, companies are evaluated and win a place on the list using the same criteria that earns them the right to appear on a national list. However, companies competing within the multinational category receive extra points according to the number of countries in which they participate. Consequently, multinational companies receive credit for their efforts to become a great workplace in multiple countries. The more countries in which a company participates, the higher the credit the company receives towards its overall score. A company can earn up to five percent of the overall score in extra points.
Definition of a Multinational Company The way in which the Great Place to Work Institute defines a Multinational Company is based on the following criteria: •
The company has at least 1,000 employees worldwide
•
At least 40 percent (or 5,000 employees) of the company’s employees work outside the country where it is headquartered
•
The company operates in at least three countries
A company is eligible for the Multinationals List when it meets the above mentioned criteria and when it is listed on at least two national Best Workplaces Lists in the region. When an MNC qualifies from multiple countries for the regional list, the company can only occupy one position on the regional list. The scores of these companies are averaged and weighted by the number of employees from the respective countries.
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Š2015 Great Place to WorkŽ Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.