Google remains best company to work for in India for fifth year: Survey

Google India remains the best company in the country to work for, for a fifth year in a row, according to a study published by The Economic Times. Google is followed by Intel, which remains in second place for the second year and Marriot Hotels in the third place.

Marriott Hotels is up from its ninth position last year, replacing American Express to the fourth place.

Now in its seventh year, 'India's Best Companies to Work For' is a study conducted by The Economic Times and Great Place to Work Institute, assessed 600 organisations spanning 20 industry categories, of which the top 50 in the list of 'India's Best Companies to Work For' were felicitated at a ceremony in Mumbai on Friday.

This year saw the introduction of a Hall of Fame, whereby companies that have featured in the top 50 for five years in a row were recognised.

The infotech industry continues to have best-in-class workplace practices and hence more than half the companies in the top 10 are from this sector.

Multinational companies, whose human resource practices are handed down from the parent, have tended to dominate the list in the past, and this year. However, two local companies - Godrej Consumer Products and Ujjivan are within the top 19 at at seventh and ninth places, respectively.

Employee perceptions form the core of the Best Companies to Work For study.

This year, over 1.7 lakh people were surveyed using a comprehensive questionnaire, making this the largest survey of workplace culture in corporate India. Along with employee feedback, the study assessed management practices of the organisations using a people practice assessment framework developed by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Companies considered to be great places to work tend to have higher productivity and lower attrition rates. But research shows that an upbeat work culture also correlates closely with financial performance.

This year, an independent study was commissioned to correlate the rankings of companies in the Best Places to Work listing with their performance on the stock exchanges and the findings seem to be conclusive. On an average, the BSE returned 51 per cent on investment between 2008 and 2013 while organisations identified as great places to work returned 200 per cent in the same period.

The study defines a 'great workplace' as one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in work they do and enjoy the company of people they work with.

The survey noted that India's young workforce is highly engaged and 84 per cent of the respondents at the best workplaces showed a family or team feeling. People in lower status positions - whether by pay or hierarchy - are engaged to the same degree as others in higher status positions.