Selecting the best of the best
Aon Hewitt has just completed its ‘Best Employers in Hong Kong 2011’ study. The winning company is JW Marriott Hong Kong, a five-star hotel with more than 750 employees. The runners-up are American Express International, McDonald’s Hong Kong, and Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.
The study evaluates, assesses and benchmarks people practices and their alignment to business performance. The idea is to identify the ingredients that really make Best Employers the best. By participating in the study, all companies – not just the winners – learn how to make the most of their strengths in order to improve their performance and business results. Equally valuable is the feedback from Aon Hewitt, which identifies areas and practices that may need improvement.
This year’s study – the sixth – was expanded to cover not just Asia but also the Asia Pacific. New markets covered include Japan, Indonesia and the Middle East, bringing the total to 11.
Best Employers are identifiable by several characteristics that distinguish them from other companies. The four winners showed how they carry out practices that both support their business strategies and help develop strong relationships with employees. They excel at making their employees feel a real connection to the business.
Best Employers also keep employees informed about the company’s goals and its progress in meeting them. They align their people with business through performance management and fast-paced career development. Finally, they link pay with the performance of both the individual and the company.
Panelists who make the decisions
PROFFESOR STEVEN DEKREY was the chief judge for the Aon Hewitt Best Employer in Hong Kong study this year. He is senior associate dean, director of master’s programmes and adjunct professor, management, at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School. He’s the founding director of the Kellogg/HKUST EMBA programme, which was ranked by the Financial Times as the world’s number one – three times. He was also 2008 chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
“There were many strong companies which were not selected this year, partly due to the annual