Study: Tech companies Grab, Salesforce and HubSpot ranked best workplaces in SG

Grab,?Royal Plaza on Scotts,?Salesforce,?DHL Express (Singapore) and?HubSpot have been ranked as the top five best medium and large workplaces in Singapore. According to Great Place to Work Institute Singapore in collaboration with Singapore Management University (SMU), the research had a focus on?diversity and inclusion?in the Asian workplace. Other companies include FireEye, Agilent Technologies, Aviva, Micron Technology and Adecco Personal.

The report revealed that companies on the ranking were evaluated on psychological safety, gender differences as well as inclusion and belonging which results in teamwork. The Great Place to Work Institute gathered data from 900 organisations across eight Asian countries covering an active workforce of more than 1.5 million people. This included 400,000 surveys and 2.4 million data points.

To review the gender gap in Asia closely, the research separated the 400,000 survey responses by gender (over 300,000 male and over 100,000 female). Across several organisational factors, the institutes found that men rated higher in psychological safety than women in most companies. While companies perceived to be great workplaces by women, scored well for both men and women.

Closing gender gaps is hard work, and these?gaps reportedly exist even within the "best workplaces" in Asia. However, the research claims that organisations that have been able to address gender differences and create more parity have been voted by women as a great place to work.

According to the study, by improving psychological safety, organisations facilitate stronger teamwork and are more likely to have an environment that fosters innovation. By making the work environment great for women, organisations are three times as likely to be a best workplace, which is highly correlated with financial performance.

The analysis also revealed that organisations with a higher level of gender diversity (those with more female employees as a percentage of total employees) are more likely to have already narrowed the male-female gap and realised more balanced results on measures of inclusion and belonging. The research also said:

"Many have also introduced training to help senior leaders, managers and HR staff address unconscious biases that may impact hiring decisions, performance management, work assignments and promotion," the report said.

Apart from inclusiveness and gender diversity, employees look for management support. According to those surveyed, the best workplaces?are 1.2 times more likely to provide a great workplace experience. Some of the key criteria respondents touched upon were clear planning and administration, efficient and effective communication, as well as?strong business acumen.

As organisations cope with increasing disruption and are challenged to stay ahead of the productivity curve, both Joni Ong and Evelyn Kwek,?managing directors, Great Place to Work Institute Singapore said companies may be tempted to focus on the tangible results, the efficiency indicators, the KPIs. However, the institute aims to encourage companies to emphasise the human elements of the work place through its research findings.

"We are putting out the call to go beyond setting diversity targets, to foster inclusion and build belonging for all of our people in the workplace. This is an ongoing journey rather than a fixed destination, and we are excited to take this journey with you," both added.

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