Great Place to Work® Unveils World's Best Multinational Workplaces

NEW YORK, October 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Microsoft Tops the List of the 25 Best Companies to Work For in the World

Great Place to Work®, a global research, consulting and training firm, today announced its first-ever Top 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces List at a gala awards ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange. Microsoft topped the list at no. 1, followed by SAS, NetApp, Google and FedEx Express, rounding out the top five. In addition, Cisco, Marriott, McDonald's, Kimberly Clark, and SC Johnson took the honors in the top 10.

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Since launching the first Best Companies to Work For® lists in partnership with FORTUNE magazine in the United States and Exame in Brazil in 1997, Great Place to Work now recognizes leading workplaces in some 45 countries. The World's Best Multinational Workplaces List is the first integrated look at survey data from employees and managers from thousands of companies across six continents; making it the world's largest annual study of workplace excellence.

"This list recognizes global companies that have demonstrated a truly serious commitment to creating workplaces that foster trust, pride and camaraderie amongst their employees," said Jose Tolovi, Jr., Global Chief Executive Officer of Great Place to Work. "Each and every one of the companies on this inaugural ranking should be proud of this noteworthy accomplishment.  Based on this survey, we can say, without a doubt, that these 25 companies are the best workplaces in the world."

"We're thrilled that Microsoft's commitment to innovation and our passion for how technology can transform people's lives is recognized around the globe," said Lisa Brummel, Chief People Officer at Microsoft. "Microsoft is a great place to work not only because of what we do, but because of the quality of the company culture that our employees have collectively created."

Based on data from surveys taken by more than 2.5 million employees, representing a 10-million strong workforce, and workplace culture analytics from more than 5,500 companies, these rankings form the world's largest and most respected yearly studies of workplace excellence and management practices. Positions on these highly sought after rankings help to bolster profitability and recruitment efforts.

SAS Chief Executive Officer Jim Goodnight said, "This great recognition proves yet again that creating a culture of happy, healthy employees drives productivity and allows SAS to focus on continued innovation and customer service. At SAS, we emphasize the importance of treating employees well - not just in our US headquarters but in our offices around the world.  Our corporate culture helps employees be motivated and challenged, which benefits our customers as well.  We look forward to continuing our deep investment in employee satisfaction, wellness and creativity."

"Earning recognition as one of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces is a great honor," said Tom Georgens, President and Chief Executive Officer, NetApp. "We believe creating an environment where our employees and innovation thrive contributes directly to the success of our customers and partners."

To view the entire World's Best Multinational Workplaces list, please visit http://www.greatplacetowork.net/worldsbest.

For more information about Great Place to Work, please visit http://www.greatplacetowork.net.

About Great Place to Work®:

Great Place to Work® Institute is a global research, consulting and training firm that helps organizations identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high-trust workplace cultures. Great Place to Work serves businesses, non-profits and government agencies in 45 countries on all six continents.

About the World's Best Multinational Workplaces List:

The World's Best Multinational Workplaces List ranks the top 25 global companies to work for. The ranking marks the first time Great Place to Work will present a global best workplaces list. Qualifying 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 percent (or 5,000 members) of their global workforce must work outside of the company's home country.