Great Place to Work® – a global research, training and consultancy firm that recognizes the Best Workplaces™in over 60 countries worldwide – revealed its annual list of ‘Best Workplaces™ in the United Arab Emirates for the year 2021’. The list recognizes the top 45 companies with outstanding workplace cultures.
Organizations that have made it to the list this year have had to work towards achieving two main goals: to preserve business continuity and maintain employee wellbeing. While both resulted in different outcomes, the goals were tackled in a similar way. For example, businesses were monitored just as well as employees were monitored, and businesses were invested in just as much -if not more-as employees in that same organization were invested in.
Commenting on this year’s Best Workplaces™ list, Ibrahim Mougharbel, Managing Director for the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, Great Place to Work® Middle East, said : "Ultimately, protecting businesses also meant protecting employees, and protecting employees was not an easy task during a pandemic. Our heroes, however, boldly stood by their employees and provided them with the needed mental, physical and financial support."
Leaders got creative in the ways with which they connect with their employees, thus continuously building up on a solid foundation of trust. With constant communication across all-levels of the organization, employees felt listened to and cared for. Employees even began to form a stronger bond not only with their colleagues, but across all levels of the organization as well.
Organizations this year also built upon a sense of belonging. When everything seemed to be at risk, employees were made to feel comfortable with their choices. The stability that was granted to them throughout the pandemic provided them with the chance to get inspired and grow mentally, as well as physically, while seeking to uphold the success of their work-life/personal-life balance.
To boost employee morale, organizations made sure to provide their staff with learning opportunities, as well as fun and engaging programs. A package that would not be complete without a simple ‘thank you’ note. Continuous appreciation and recognition to employees when they least expect offers them the needed confidence to express themselves as best they could and showcase the best of their attributes.
He added: "Our heroes this year have utilized what they do best and not only did they reflect that internally within their organization, but they extended it out to the community as well under the notion, ‘we are in this together.’"
Climbing from fourth place in the previous year to securing this year’s top rank was THE One. The made-in-the-UAE retail company has been featured in every UAE Best Workplaces™ list since it was first launched in 2011. THE One maintains this position due to the commitment of their leadership to deliver the best experiences to their employees. Year after year they make sure to raise the bar by adopting the best practices in the market and this year was no different. Amongst the ongoing struggles of the pandemic, they stood by their people and are continuously overcoming one of the most turbulent periods the region has ever come across.
The logistics company, DHL,ranked second this year has not stopped putting people first for ten years straight, having consistently been positioned in the top five on the Best Workplaces™ list. DHL’s agility allowed their leadership to easily adapt to new business situations which provided employees with a family experience that instilled in them the will to go the extra mile to watch their organization prosper.
Ranked third for this yearis Chalhoub Group, the leading partner for luxury across the Middle East. Chalhoub Group was adamant on providing a great workplace culture for their employees and are amongst the companies that are frontrunners in moving to remote work and providing constant internal communication and transparency. From celebrations to recognition programs, to launching regular surveys for valuable employee feedback, Chalhoub group went the extra mile to showcase employee talents and unique attributes.
Runner-up on this year’s Best Workplaces list was Five Hotels, which moved up to 18 spots from last year, followed by Hilton, which moved down two spots to take fifth place.
Ranking from 6th to 10th place on the list were Dubai Police, Century Financial, Splash, Dubai Police Academy and Aldar Properties, respectively. Rounding out the final 35 positions on the list were Cisco, Sara Group, Bacardi, Leminar Group, General Mills, Yum! Brands, Babyshop, MSD Pharmaceuticals, International Beverage & Filling Industries LLC, Homebox, Pizza Express, AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Emax, Max, Glander International Bunkering, Shoexpress, Shoemart, Apparel Group, Westford University College, Al Dabbagh Group, Home centre, SAS UAE, Global Food Industries LLC, LGT (Middle East) Ltd. , Lifestyle, Centrepoint, Amgen, Zee Entertainment Middle East FZ LLC., Grohe, Shoemart International, Shift Electronics, Teleperformance UAE, Government of Sharjah – Department of eGovernment, Servier, Saudi German Hospitals
He also added: “Despite the challenges we are currently facing,we are proud to witness continuous growthin employee culture awareness among leaders in the UAE and the Middle East in general. Our Best Workplaces™ for this year have persevered through this time of unprecedented upheaval and we are here to celebrate them; we are not celebrating companies; we are celebrating heroes.”
Great Place to Work® Middle East conducts a rigorous audit of every participating company before it can be listed as one of the Best Workplaces™ in the region. This year, the Best Workplaces™ spanned across multiple industries that include retail, social services and government agencies, transportation, finance and media. The organizations were surveyed on fundamental issues that take into account how trustworthy and caring an organization is for their employees during times of crisis.
To obtain Best Workplace™ ranking, the companies are scored. Sixty percent of a company’s score is based on the confidential feedback of their employees while the remaining score is attained from an audit of management and HR practices- a reflection of the company’s solutions to specific criteria. This year, the audit was strictly built around the bold acts of leadership the organizations have undertaken in response to the COVID-19 crisis, and the ways the pandemic has impacted their people, business and the community.
Within this framework, employees were asked about their physical, emotional and financial health which mirrored some of the tough choices’ leaders had chosen to take during this unsettling period of time. Having said that, the heroes that are continuously building a greater environment for their employees have stood out, and we are always here to celebrate them.
For more information on the 2021 list: Best Work Places in UAE – Great Place to Work in UAE