Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW) released its second annual list of the 25 best multinational workplaces on Nov. 14, 2012. SAS Institute, based in Cary, N.C., topped the list at No. 1 and was followed by Google, NetApp, Kimberly Clark, and Microsoft to round out the top five multinational organizations.
“The global companies featured on this year’s list are committed to creating workplaces that foster trust, pride and camaraderie amongst their employees,” Susan Lucas-Conwell, CEO of GPTW stated in a media release. “These companies understand that a workplace centered around a culture of trust-based relationships generates positive business results.”
GPTW researchers collect and examine survey data from employees and managers from thousands of businesses worldwide to determine which employers qualify as an excellent place to work. According to officials with GPTW, the annual survey is one of the world’s largest and most extensive studies of workplace excellence.
With the release of the latest multinational list, Great Place to Work celebrates the 20th anniversary of its founding in 1992. Five years after its creation, GPTW Institute launched the first listings of the best places to work and published the rankings in a partnership with Fortune magazine in the United States and Exame in Brazil. Now, GPTW recognizes hundreds of great places to work in more than 45 countries.
The GPTW multinational workplace list ranks the top 25 global companies in terms of workplace culture. To qualify for the listing, companies must appear on at least five of GPTW’s best places to work lists (of which there are dozens), have 5,500 or more employees, and have at least 40 percent of employees work outside of the organization’s home country.
Great Place to Work 25 Best Multinational Workplaces
1. SAS Institute
2. Google
3. NetApp
4. Kimberly Clark
5. Microsoft
6. Marriott
7. Federal Express
8. W. L. Gore & Associates
9. Diageo
10. Autodesk
11. Pepsico
12. Ernst & Young
13. Telefónica
14. Monsanto
15. Intel
16. National Instruments
17. General Mills
18. American Express
19. Accor
20. McDonald’s
21. Cisco
22. Novo Nordisk
23. Quintiles
24. SC Johnson
25. Mars
Bill Leonard is senior writer for SHRM.