You know how you get those people who froth at the idea of working for a massive company straight out of university?

Clearly not being one of them, I was always intrigued at the drive they had to get themselves into such a position.

But what was big in my day (like, five years ago) is quite different to the list of best employers in South Africa, released by the Top Employers Institute.

Adding 15 new companies, the Top Employers Institute put together the list by recognising “employers that provide excellent employee conditions, nurture and develop talent throughout all levels of the organisation, and which strive to continuously optimise employment practices,” reports Business Tech:

The companies are then evaluated across nine key areas: talent strategy, workforce planning, on-boarding, learning & development, performance management, leadership development, career & succession management, compensation & benefits, and culture.

So which companies made it this year?

Well, ranked seventh last year, Old Mutual this year “ascended to the top spot in South Africa, followed by auditing group EY Africa, and financial software giant, SAP”:

Auditing firm EY Africa was named as the top employer in Africa, having ranked as top employer in Kenya and Nigeria and ranked second in South Africa. Japan Tobacco International (JTI) ranked second on the continent, followed by telco group, Orange.

Billy Elliott, Top Employers Institute country manager for Africa, commented on the list, saying that:

“The certification provides employers with an important quality metric that enables them to position their brands more effectively in the attraction, retention and engagement of top talent.

“A key trend that emerged in the recent research was that Top Employers empower employees to take ownership of their development.

“Organisations are shifting from manager-driven development plans towards empowering employees to take direct ownership of their careers and development.

“What sets Africa’s Top Employers apart is a growing recognition that people development is not a top down strategy, but a partnership between the employer and the employee.”

Here’s the list of the top 10 companies:

And in case you were interested, these are the 15 new companies to join the list this year:

• AON
• Avbob
• Avon Justine
• ATNS
• CHEP South Africa
• Comair
• Continental
• Curo
• Danone
• Experian
• Hollard
• Schauenberg
• Schindler
• ThermoFisher Scientific
• WesBank

Yeah, dude, Schindler is the company that has installed nearly every escalator and elevator you have ever stepped on in southern Africa.

And there you have it – you can see the full list of 108 companies here.

[source:businesstech]