Want to work for a multinational corporation with great perks and opportunities around the world? Here are the 10 best.
Every year, Fortune publishes its list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, which features the top U.S. companies to work for based on things like benefits, perks, diversity, and pay. Now Fortune's data partner for that list, Great Place to Work, is launching its own list of the best global companies to work for based on many of the same metrics.
Read on to find out the top 10 companies in its inaugural list, "The World's Best Multinational Workplaces," along with some highlights about what makes them so great.
Who qualifies? Companies must have appeared on at least five national Great Place to Work lists, have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, and at least 40% of their global workforce must work outside of the company's home country.
Microsoft
 Photo: Floyd Yarmuth/CNN |
Headquarters: Redmond, WA, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 69,900
Rank: 1
What makes it so great?
After Microsoft employees voiced their desire to contribute more to their communities, the software company gifted its workers with 40 paid hours a year to dedicate to volunteer activities — ranging from working in a soup kitchen once a week to spending a week building an orphanage. Bill Gates' brainchild also supports employees who are new parents: In Norway, where maternity and paternity leaves are quite generous at the federal level, Microsoft hosts a "Junior Lunch" every quarter, allowing new parents on leave to come to the office for a lunch with their children, keeping the working parents in touch with their colleagues and up-to-date with office happenings.
"Microsoft is a place where you can be yourself," says an employee. "It's expected that you have an opinion, and there are multiple opportunities to really make a contribution to the company and to society. Unless you work here, it is hard to believe the passion that people display."
SAS
 Photo: Courtesy of SAS |
Headquarters: Cary, NC, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 2,430
Rank: 2
What makes it so great?
SAS, a business analytics and business intelligence software company, doesn't outsource its North Carolina headquarters maintenance staff, preferring that its crews of gardeners, food service employees, and health care staff are SAS employees. Many SAS-ers also take pride in the company's Curriculum Pathways program. Free of charge for all educators in the U.S., the interactive program provides standards-based resources in English, science, mathematics, social studies, and Spanish for over 50,000 American teachers. With initiatives like this, the company stays true to its mission — to enhance people's ability to use information and create knowledge — and sets a great example for its staff. "It is, by far, the best place I have worked in more than 15 years of working within the industry," raves an employee.
NetApp
 Photo: Courtesy of NetApp |
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 5,123
Rank: 3
What makes it so great?
The 'Catch Somebody Doing Something Right' initiative, started by Vice Chairman Tom Mendoza 17 years ago and informally kept alive since, rewards NetApp employees of all levels for deeds that positively reflect the computer storage and data management company's culture. Mendoza makes 30 calls, 5 minutes each, a week and personally thanks staffers for their impressive behavior. "NetApp makes you feel that you are part of a bigger picture. Every effort you make to do [your] job really means something to the organization as a whole," says an employee.
After NetApp was forced to reduce its global workforce by 5% in 2009, the company's execs went on a global tour, stopping by their offices in 13 different countries to raise company morale. The initiative worked: The next 12 months brought record numbers, including a 60% increase in the company's stock price.
Google
 Photo: JP Mangalindan |
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 29,321
Rank: 4
What makes it so great?
Though Google has grown tremendously since its startup days — the company hired 31.9% more employees this year than last — the behemoth Internet company still operates like one in many ways, says an employee. "The amount of direct exposure we get to leadership and the fact that the well-being of employees is held in such high regard [are both] incredible."
With initiatives like 20% time (engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their time brainstorming and developing new Google-related content, even if it never materializes), Googlers retain the innovative spirit that often gets lost as small companies grow into larger ones.
The company also provides mentoring programs for its workers: In Google to Googler (g2g) classes, employees train each other on technology, business, and personal interests and in gWhiz, any Google employee globally can register to answer questions or provide mentorship on an area of expertise.
FedEx Express
 Photo: Courtesy of Fedex |
Headquarters: Memphis, TN, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,600
Rank: 5
What makes it so great?
Next time a FedEx courier smiles as he/she hands you a package (if you live in the Middle East or Europe), be sure to go online and fill out a customer service form — you could help that employee win the Courier of the Year competition. Couriers are rated by customers based on politeness, presentation, and helpfulness. In 2010, The company received 7,659 nominations — and the winners' faces beam on posters in FedEx Express offices across the region.
The delivery service provider also has an online recruitment tool, Career Hub, which allows employees to track new job opportunities within the company and plan their careers.
Cisco
 Photo: Courtesy of Cisco |
Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 40,040
Rank: 6
What makes it so great?
Every other month, Cisco CEO John Chambers invites employees whose birthdays fall within the designated two-month period to an informal Q&A with the head honcho himself. Those not located in its sunny San Jose headquarters can join the chat via Cisco TelePresence locations and TV broadcasts.
The company also offers job sharing, onsite childcare and, in France, pre-first day training. Through an interactive website, new employees learn all about Cisco's mission and its culture, allowing for a smooth transition on the first day. This type of training is representative of the management chops the company boasts.
Marriott
 Photo: Courtesy of Marriott International |
Headquarters: Bethesda, MD, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 11,691
Rank: 7
What makes it so great?
The "In the Beginning" introductory course, required at all Marriott hotels in Mexico, involves three days of interactive sessions that expose new hires to the Marriott culture. (A graduation ceremony and a one-night stay in the hotel are some of the spoils included in completing the course.)
The hotel company also begins every shift — in every department worldwide — with a "stand-up" meeting, where leaders highlight the goings-on in the company, acknowledge excellent associate behavior and birthdays, and discuss the company's numbers. "There are so many associates that have been with the company for so long. [You gain] a wonderful second family, with friendships that last for years," says an employee.
McDonald's
 Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's |
Headquarters: Oakbrook, IL, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,100
Rank: 8
What makes it so great?
The fast-food giant cares about its employees' talents in the kitchen — and on the stage. McDonald's Peru encourages workers to participate in the "Voice of McDonald's" program, which is basically an American Idol with a Golden Arches twist. The top 16 singers (each gets a plus one) receive an all-expenses paid trip to the McDonald's Global Convention in Orlando, Florida, to compete against one another for the winning title — and a prize of $25,000 and a possible recording contract.
Fun aside, the company ensures that all employees receive fair treatment. In the UK, McDonald's has partnered with Job Centre Plus to provide jobs for long-term unemployed applicants and with Remboy, which helps disabled and disadvantaged unemployed citizens. "This company cares about people — developing them, training them and giving them the tools to do their job confidently and effectively. There's a great training system, and also a clear focus of where we are and where we are going," an employee says.
Kimberly-Clark
 Photo: Courtesy of Kimberly-Clark |
Headquarters: Irving, TX, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 19,700
Rank: 9
What makes it so great?
There's no better place to have a conversation than over a cup of coffee — and the management teams at Kimberly-Clark offices in Central America get that. At the "KC Café," employees can chat with administrative and operational employees about worries, cares, and career advice. A different leader hosts the initiative once every two months, hoping to break down the walls between boss and employee.
The same offices host an annual Mother's Day celebration, rewarding its mom-employees with a catered breakfast and, in 2010, a "spa" with food, drinks, and gifts. The company also offers onsite child-care and job sharing, making parenting a bit easier for KC workers. According to an employee, this healthy and happy environment is also common in the offices: "People are transparent; problems are solved in the moment, which prevents comments in the hallways — and resentment."
SC Johnson
 Photo: Courtesy of S.C. Johnson & Son |
Headquarters: Racine, WI, USA
2010 Revenue ($ millions): 8,800
Rank: 10
What makes it so great?
Ever wonder if you made the wrong decision with your career, but you're too afraid to take a risk and dip your toes in some other options? If you work at SC Johnson Canada, that's not a problem. They actually let you try out jobs in different areas of the company for three to six months through their Internal Internship Program. Once your internship is complete, you're free to return to your original position and, if a position opens up that requires similar skills acquired during the internship, you are free to apply.
The "Family Company" also implemented a rule in their Italian bureau that stays true to the work/life balance they promote: Directors and managers cannot call meetings before 9:30 in the morning and cannot hold a meeting after 5:00 in the afternoon, so employees can drop-off/pick-up their kids from school.
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