BIZ BUZZ: The country’s best employers

How did the Philippines’ best companies fare when compared to other top firms around the world?

Pretty well, apparently—especially in terms of being the most favorably viewed by their employees—according to Forbes Magazine’s 2023 edition of their World’s Best Employers list.

According to employee-respondents—who were asked whether they would recommend their company to family and friends and to rate their employer based on criteria such as working environment and hours, health benefits, opportunities for training and advancement, salary and workplace diversity—the best employer in the country is none other than San Miguel Corp.

The Forbes survey, conducted by market research firm Statista, ranked San Miguel at 43rd globally, making it the only Filipino firm in the top 50 of 700 firms surveyed around the world.

Apparently, the over 50,000 employees of the country’s biggest conglomerate are only too happy to work under the leadership of its CEO Ramon Ang, whose generosity toward his staffers is also legendary.

Another Filipino firm that made it to the annual ranking is Security Bank Corp. which, at the rank of No. 54 according to its 7,300 employees, just narrowly missed being in the top 50.

The banking arm of the Ty brothers’ conglomerate was the third Filipino firm on the prestigious list. Forbes said Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. garnered a rank of 162, according to its 10,000 employees, thanks to the able leadership of bank chair Arthur Ty and bank president Fabian Dee.

The country’s oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corp., with its 64,000 employees, was ranked 186th, while up and coming Alliance Global Group—now run by Kevin Tan—ranked 283rd, thanks to the votes of its 33,000 employees.

A surprise entry was the government’s Land Bank of the Philippines, which came in at 304th, courtesy of its 10,000 employees. LT Group came in at 361st, with its 14,300 employees.

Finally, SM Investments Corp. of the Sy family—the country’s wealthiest—came in at 420th place. The group has a staggering 140,000 people in its employ.

Hopefully, there will be more Filipino firms on the list next year.

—Daxim L. Lucas INQ