The Great Place to Work Institute UAE has just announced the list of the top ten companies that are, well, great places to work. Nasreen Abdullah finds out from a few winners what makes them first among equals.
From free training courses to reward schemes; from long holidays to lovely colleagues; from career development to open-door policies, these companies offer everything that makes up a dream job. And that’s why they are officially the best companies to work for in the UAE.
The Great Place to Work® Institute UAE (GPTW UAE) announced its 2012 list of the top ten companies to work for in the country at a glitzy award ceremony earlier this month at the Monarch Hotel in Dubai. Executives from the ten finalist companies waited anxiously as the results were read out in reverse order. And when the second place was awarded to Microsoft, a loud cheer went out, not from their table but from the table for FedEx Express because they had secured the first spot – climbing from second place last year.
“It’s a great honour,” says David Ross, senior Vice President of FedEx Express. “We have been talking about this for more than a week. This award is not really ours. It belongs to our 570 employees here.”
The company’s Purple Promise Award (PPA), which recognises a team member who goes beyond the typical expectations, was one of the procedures that helped it clinch the top spot. And David understands why it played such an important role. “There is no better feeling than being recognised for something you do. It generates greater responsibility in people and gives them an incentive to perform better.
“Our founding principle is People-Service-Profit. If we take good care of our people, they will provide the service which will automatically bring in the profit. So it’s important for us to ensure that our employees are satisfied. Every year we conduct a survey and ask them about their work – have they performed well this year? Are they happy with their managers and senior managers? Based on this survey we create an action plan for the next year because each year is different and it’s important to stay in tune with the employees.”
David says that even through difficult times, they’ve managed to keep their workers happy. “Because of how we treat them, people stay with us for huge chunks of their career, if not their whole career. So when we are facing an economic crisis our employees know that cash is tight. They pitch in and do their bit to help us overcome the situation.”
And the people working at FedEx Express are full of praise too. “It’s the best company because they are always thinking of us employees,” says Tekraj Gubhahau, who works as a dispatcher. “There is so much room for growth. When I first joined I was a part-time worker. Then I sat down with my manager and developed a personal growth plan. Within five years I became a full-time worker and my career has taken off.
“There are hundreds of free online courses that we can take to develop our skills and talents. Even if I wanted to do a course from an institute or go to college to pursue a degree, I can ask the management for a tuition aid.”
The company is always ready to listen to employees and that, according to Tekraj, makes a huge difference. “It’s an open-door policy at FedEx. I can walk into the office of any senior manager at any time and be sure he/she will listen to me. All grievances and complaints are given due value. This makes me feel like I am an important part of the company.
“We also have frequent meetings with our senior managers who ask us if we are happy with our immediate managers. Recognition and awards are given to those who perform well and I have won several of them.”
GPTW UAE also gave special recognition to certain companies. General Electric (GE) and Pepsico were adjudged the top firms in the country for Emiratis. And the top companies for women to work in were GE, Omni and THE One. Women occupy 40 per cent of managerial positions at THE One, which at fifth spot is also the highest-rated local company. One of the contributing factors to this success is its community involvement efforts as part of which it has built six classrooms of a brand new school in the Pimbiniet community in Kenya in conjunction with the charity Free The Children.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman here,” says Clare Andow, store manager at THE One’s Abu Dhabi branch. “As long as you have the passion in you, you can climb to whatever heights you want. I know it sounds clichéd but I have the best job in the world. The ethos is that I get to change the world. I’m not just selling sofas. I’m selling sofas for the greater purpose of building schools for the less fortunate. The work atmosphere is great. We are all away from our families here so we become each other’s families at THE One.”
