Aon Hewitt, a global human resources consulting firm, has announced the names of the ‘best employers’ in the Middle East at an awards ceremony held recently in Dubai.

Microsoft Gulf, Microsoft Egypt, DHL Worldwide Express (Dubai), Oman Insurance Company, Procter and Gamble near east (Beirut) and Fine Hygienic Paper, UAE were adjudged the 2011 best employers.

The representative employee base registered for the study crossed the 120,000 mark, making this Aon Hewitt study one of the largest employee research projects undertaken in the region. Over 50 organisations from across the region took part in the study.

These five best employers in the Middle East have aligned people practices – human resources function was treated as an integral business partner, a statement said.

The best employers also have high employee engagement scores, averaging at 80 per cent, as against 61 per cent in the rest of the organisations, where as global average is 58 per cent.

They also 30 per cent points better at career development than the rest of the organisations and offered better benefits structure and communication. They were adjudged better at delivering the employment promise, with active participation in the process.

The best employers made better investments in people development, recording an 80 per cent of employee satisfaction, the statement said.

They were seen better at performance management and at making employees feel valued, it added.

“We want to congratulate each of our select best employers, as well as thank the other study participants, judges and our study partners,” said Samir Mardini, talent & performance solution leader, Middle East, Aon Hewitt.

“It’s our belief that the results of the study will inspire and provide direction to organisations in becoming employers of choice. In the long run, we expect this study to enhance the standards of people practices in Middle East and make the region a better place to work.”

“The Best Employers 2011 study focused not only on how organisations drive business results through their people but also how the best succeeded during the economic downturn. The Middle East research tapped into the leadership strategies and people practices of these organisations to determine the common factors that the best employers in the Middle East focus on as compared to the best employers in other parts of the world,” added Samir.

Globally, the study provides the definitive benchmark against which organisations measure how effective they are in providing a workplace that engages the ‘intellectual’ and ‘emotional commitment’ of employees.

Judging for the final list was conducted on an anonymous basis with coded data. The judges considered a wealth of data that gave them a 360 degree view of the perspectives of an organisation’s employees and leaders, as well as insight into its HR practices.

This ensured a contextual, unbiased and credible outcome of the study. Aon Hewitt launched its second flagship employee research project in the Middle East in September 2010.

Aon Hewitt was assisted by their study partners - the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the Bahrain Association of Banks and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. – TradeArabia News Service