Contact:
Craig Bruce, Hewitt Associates, (305) 476-8800
Edgardo Zayas, Hewitt Associates, (305) 476-8800
2005.10.28
Results Show Best Employers Share Five Characteristics
MIAMI -- Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW), a global human resources
services firm, and AméricaEconomía, one of Latin America's most
authoritative business publications, today unveiled Hewitt's 25 Best Employers
in Latin America for 2005.
More than 200 companies from 20 countries registered to
participate in the annual initiative, which involves surveying thousands of
employees and executives, as well as analyzing each organization's people
practices. This year, eight companies from Mexico, four from Brazil, three from
Peru and companies from seven other countries topped the list:
25 Best Employers in Latin America
| 1 |
J&V Resguardo SAC |
Peru |
| 2 |
Kimberly Clark |
Peru |
| 3 |
Thyssen Krupp Molas Ltda. |
Brazil |
| 4 |
Sheraton Internacional Iguazú Resort |
Argentina |
| 5 |
The Ritz Carlton Cancun |
Mexico |
| 6 |
Fedex Express México |
Mexico |
| 7 |
Atlantica Hotels International Brasil Ltda. |
Brazil |
| 8 |
Microsoft México |
Mexico |
| 9 |
Banco Agricola S.A. |
El Salvador |
| 10 |
Laboratorios Suizos |
El Salvador |
| 11 |
Verizon Dominicana |
Dominican Republic |
| 12 |
Alcon (Cargill Honduras) |
Honduras |
| 13 |
The Haciendas |
Mexico |
| 14 |
McDonald's Venezuela |
Venezuela |
| 15 |
McDonald's México |
Mexico |
| 16 |
Financiera Compartamos |
Mexico |
| 17 |
La Fragua
|
Guatemala |
| 18 |
Telmex |
Mexico |
| 19 |
Hotel Sheraton del Peru S.A. |
Peru |
| 20 |
American Airlines |
Chile |
| 21 |
Grote Industries de México, S.A. de C.V. |
Mexico |
| 22 |
Minera los Pelambres |
Chile |
| 23 |
Baxter Healthcare |
Dominican Republic |
| 24 |
Cisco do Brasil Ltda. |
Brazil |
| 25 |
Microsoft Informática Ltda. |
Brazil |
"Although these organizations represent a variety of countries, it was fascinating to find through our analysis that they all share five common characteristics," said Craig Bruce, talent and organization consulting leader for Hewitt in Latin America. "All of these 25 companies put forth a tremendous effort in engaging their employees -- particularly through their human resource programs, pay and recognition, and work/life and diversity initiatives -- that puts them in a unique class of companies that sets them apart from everyone else."
Five Common Characteristics of the Best
An analysis reveals Hewitt's 25 Best Employers in Latin America share the following five characteristics:
Leadership. Senior leaders at Best Employers genuinely believe in and treat their employees as their most important asset (88 percent) vs. other companies (52 percent). Their leaders are more visible and accessible to employees, and are more open in their communication. In addition, most Best Employer CEOs (72 percent) say they consult their people broadly when making changes compared to 57 percent of CEOs at other companies.
Human Resources "People" Programs. Best Employer HR or "people" programs are designed and executed to optimize their impact on organizational performance. Nearly all Best Employer employees (91 percent) say their companies' mission and goals provide clear direction vs. 70 percent of employees at other organizations. Similarly, Best Employers CEOs are more likely to state their HR programs are aligned with and support their business goals, and are delivered more effectively than are CEOs of other organizations.
Career Opportunities. Best Employers are more likely to set expectations for training and developing their employees and offer more types of these programs than other companies. Even more telling, employees at Best Employers are more apt to say their organizations offer opportunities to develop skills necessary to assume greater responsibility (83 percent vs. 52 percent of other companies), provide a performance assessment process that helps them improve their performance (90 percent vs. 69 percent of other organizations), and offer ongoing feedback from their managers that helps them improve their performance (82 percent vs. 57 percent of other organizations).
Pay and Recognition. Eighty percent of employees at Best Employers feel they are paid fairly relative to the market compared to 49 percent of employees at other organizations. They also are more apt to say their performance has a significant impact on their pay (79 percent) compared to employees at other organizations (49 percent) and that they receive recognition beyond pay for their accomplishments (73 percent) vs. employees at other organizations (39 percent).
Work/Life Balance and Diversity. Work/life balance and workplace diversity are two areas that are increasingly important to employees in Latin America. Hewitt's analysis shows Best Employers offer more flexible benefits, programs and work arrangements than other organizations. In addition, employees of Best Employers are more apt to say their companies meet their work/life needs than employees at other companies (77 percent vs. 44 percent of other companies). A new trend of emerging importance is diversity, with more employees at Best Employers feeling their companies make an effort to embrace diversity (91 percent) than employees of other organizations (68 percent).
About Hewitt's Best Employer Rankings
An independent judging panel selected Hewitt's 25 Best Employers in Latin America, utilizing a blind judging process, in which company names were not disclosed until final selections were determined. To be considered for the rankings, companies were required to complete three surveys: an employee survey sent to a random sample of employees, a CEO survey completed by the CEO or highest-ranking executive in the country and a comprehensive HR/people practices inventory. The judges utilized all of this data to identify the 25 Best Employers in Latin America. To obtain the full report highlighting these results, please contact the Hewitt Associates Latin America regional office at (305) 476-8800 or
bestemployerslatinamerica@hewitt.com.
About Hewitt Associates
With more than 60 years of experience, Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) is the world's foremost provider of human resources outsourcing and consulting services. The firm consults with more than 2,300 companies and administers human resources, health care, payroll and retirement programs on behalf of more than 300 companies to millions of employees and retirees worldwide. Located in 35 countries, Hewitt employs approximately 20,000 associates. In Latin America, Hewitt has six offices and more than 500
associates, located in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico and
Venezuela with regional direction from Miami. For more information, please
visit www.hewitt.com.
About AméricaEconomía
Published since 1986, AméricaEconomía magazine is the leading regional business publication in Latin America. It is published every other week in Spanish and Portuguese and has the greatest impact among the most influential executives in the region. Its editors and reporters are distributed in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Miami, and it also relies on a network of correspondents around the world, ensuring a matchless coverage of local and international business developments with a true Latin American perspective. For more information, please visit www.americaeconomia.com