Dubai: Whether it’s training or creating a good working environment, companies in the UAE have a lot to offer their employees that makes them a great place to work for.
On Wednesday, 15 companies in the UAE were awarded for being top companies to work for at a ceremony in Dubai organised by the Great Place to Work Institute in the UAE.
Ranking from first to 15th place were DHL, Microsoft, Omnicom Media Group, Ericsson, The One, FedEx Express, Marriott, Bayt, Weber Shandwick, EMC, Emirates Transport, Fun City, Hyatt, Estee Lauder and Mondelez International.
The annual list of top 15 companies is based on an annual benchmarking study that assesses the level of credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie within an organisation.
Work practices in the UAE have changed compared to four years ago, according to David Robert, Gulf CEO of Great Place to Work.
“We’ve seen a keen focus on investing in the human side of conducting a business,” he said.
Speaking to Gulf News, the winning companies highlighted the key practices that make them attractive workplaces.
Logistics company DHL stresses on communicating efficiently with its employees, according to Frank-Uwe Ungerer, UAE country manager of DHL.
“You have to listen to your people and when they tell you something you have to do it,” he said.
Additionally, DHL invests heavily in training its employees.
“We train them on their job but we also train them to grow into a higher job,” Ungerer said.
Some companies offer their employees recreational facilities and activities.
“We have a gym in the building, we organise company outings and we give our employees a day off on their birthday,” said Fadi Chamat, regional executive director of talent and organisational development at Omnicom Media Group, the media services unit of Omnicom Group, a global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company.
Microsoft organises activities to help its employees to become healthier, according to Anu Sabapathy, HR director for Microsoft Gulf.
“We undertake initiatives like Wellness Week, which is dedicated to the health and well-being of our employees and we do webinars on nutrition,” Sabapathy said.
“We serve free breakfast for all employees every day - all different types of healthy food and we have a fitness allowance,” she added.
While the companies said that employee engagement is important, research conducted by recruitment specialists Aon Hewitt found that employee commitment level in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the lowest worldwide, at 49.5 per cent. This means that alomst one in every two employees in the UAE and other GCC countries is not engaged at work.
