Some 200 top management and HR professionals gathered at the Hilton Jingan Hotel in Shanghai on December 7 to attend the 2017 Great Place to Work Greater China Conference and 2017 Best Companies to Work For Greater China Awards Ceremony.

Hosted by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research, consulting and training firm that helps organisations identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high-trust workplace cultures, the awards were celebrating their sixth year.

With a theme focusing on the concept “For all”, the overall discussion of the conference centred on how great workplaces that are both inclusive and diverse are built, and the main advantages accruing from such an endeavour. Jose Bezanilla, Greater China CEO for the Great Place to Work Institute, said it was vital for management and HR today to adopt such an approach: “For all. That is the core value we’re encouraging the leaders to embrace as part of their mission, while building their organisational cultures. A great workplace must be shaped for all.” Bezanilla went on to say that talents are needed to better run businesses and outperform competitors. These people may already be around them, but management and HR need to consider all employees in order to revamp a culture that makes everybody feel welcome to participate as a team or family and give their personal best.

“In this year’s Great Place to Work Conference, we proposed that ‘diversity and inclusion’ are more than just politically correct principles. They mean talents being competitive, being proud and having a clear feeling of their social contribution for a better society,” said Bezanilla.

The conference, with around 120 attendees, also afforded an opportunity for sharing and networking. The speakers were drawn from a diverse pool of experts and they inspired the audience with their testimonials and accounts of managing successful cultures and talents.

“This [diversity and inclusion plan] should come in the package of best practices that need to be embraced by workplaces. And as part of the new global initiatives of the company, we’re aiming to approach the market more aggressively and encourage more companies to engage in what we think is an inescapable initiative nowadays,” said Denzel Xin, head of research for the Great Place to Work Greater China team.

Bezanilla added that “if you want to maintain your leadership, if you want to reach it, if you want to break ground, you should ask yourself if your culture is facilitating the inclusion process as a way to discover and develop talent”.

The accomplishments of a range of companies in instigating and maintaining a winning workplace culture were rewarded by their inclusion on the Great Place to Work Institute’s list of Best Companies to Work For in Greater China 2017.

To be considered for a place on the list, participating organisations are required to obtain a defined score on Great Place to Work’s Trust Index Survey, an employee survey used to measure  feelings, and Culture Audit, a report composed of 15 open-ended questions which examines the value systems, policies and practices of the organisation. In the end, organisations that have fulfilled the requirements will be named among “Best Companies to Work For in Greater China” as an acknowledgement of the continuous efforts that they have made to deliver and establish a great workplace culture.

The pool of participating companies has grown year on year. In 2017, 145 companies in Greater China were surveyed, encompassing an increasing variety of industries and diverse companies, including local and state-owned joint-venture Chinese companies. In total, 33 companies from nine industry sectors made it onto the list and were presented with the award at the 2017 Best Companies to Work For Greater China Awards Ceremony.

Among markets in the Greater China region, mainland China performed better than Taiwan on the index, while Hong Kong finished last. Hong Kong’s score was, however, up 4 per cent after experiencing a drop in 2016.

Taiwan saw a decline of 2 per cent and mainland China’s score remained unchanged. The Data of Trust Index Survey also recorded an overall higher trust level within companies on the list. Listed companies also demonstrated significantly higher gender equity levels across different years of service groups and genders.

2017 Winners

AIA Pension and Trustee

Autodesk Software (China)

Cadence Design Systems

CI&T China

Cisco

DHL Express Hong Kong & DHL-Sinotrans International Air Courier

EY

H&M China

Hilton

Hitachi Vantara  China

HNA Group

Huxley

Hyatt Hotels and Resorts

InMobi Information Technology (Shanghai)

Kantar Worldpanel

KKR

Kronos

Mars

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (China)

National Instruments (China Hongkong Taiwan)

NetApp Greater China

Orbium

PayPal

Phoenix Contact (China) Holding

Pirelli Tyre

Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai)

SAP (China)

Shanghai Meltwater News

Smith & Nephew China

Splunk

Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology

STS Gems

Third Bridge

(1): DHL Express’s official name in Hong Kong is “DHL Express Hong Kong” and in Mainland China is “DHL-Sinotrans International Air Courier”.

(2): Mars includes segments of Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin, Mars Drinks, M&Ms World and Mars Global Service