Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, New World Development Company Limited (0017.HK) and Yahoo! Hong Kong Limited are among 20 winners of the HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2015.

The awards, organised by HR trade journal – HR Asia, saw 137 companies competing to be known as the best workplaces in Hong Kong and Asia.

The Awards is based on a proprietary survey developed by HR Asia and encompasses employees’ feedback and input, and management comments and presentation. In total, 5,000 Hong Kong employees were surveryed to determine their intention and motivation, emotional engagement and advocacy of their respective employers.

“This is one of the most extensive surveys on employee engagement and workplace practices in this region. Since embarking on the project last year, HR Asia has discovered that many of these companies – both local and international – have workplace practices that are the best in the world,” said William Ng, group editor-in-chief of Business Media International, the publishers of HR Asia.

Good Employers Score Higher

Survey participants were asked affirmative statements about their employers, and either agree or disagree with each of the statements. Based on these answers across the survey, the top 3 areas that employees in Hong Kong agree about their jobs are:

Understanding expectation at work
Meet or exceed customer expectations
Looking for better ways to improve work

On the other hand, the 3 areas that score the lowest in the survey (i.e. the ones which the employees feel their companies can improve on) are:

Lack of confidence in the senior management team
Not fully informed about what’s going on
Not trusted to do work without interference

“Happy employees see long term growth potential and opportunity for progress in their workplace. They get along well, not just with their fellow colleagues but also with their superiors,” shared Ng.

“Most of the employees in the winning companies enjoy job satisfaction in what they do. They believe that they are providing value to their companies and are appreciated for their contributions. An important factor is that these employees have fostered a sense of ownership within the companies that they work for. Employees are motivated and empowered to do their best, because they realise that there will be recognition and reward for their efforts,” he added.

“It is no co-incidence that companies listed in the Best Companies to Work for in AsiaTM are also performing well financially. Employers that create benchmark setting workplaces and are better at engaging employees, do well in both recruting and retaining talents – the most crucial differentiator in today’s talent economy”, said Ng.

Recipients were excited with being named among winners of the Awards.

“GCL-Poly as the world’s largest solar photovoltaic enterprises, is the best platform for talents to fully develop their career and excel.” says Charles Yeung, Chief Financial Officer, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited.

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is a reality ( John Lennon). The award reinforced Kimberly-Clark ( Hong Kong) is doing the right things moving toward the type of company we want to be” says April Lai, Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark ( Hong Kong) Limited”.

“Winning this award is a good recognition that we are doing something right in keeping our employees happy and productive. We’re glad to have a culture that enables, and we will continue in this direction” says Richard E. Zinkiewicz, Deputy Group Managing Director, Qi Group.

“It’s our pleasure to be named as a ‘HR Asia Best Companies To Work For in Asia 2015’ and it really means a lot to us. Let me take this opportunity to give special thanks to all our employees for their continuous efforts throughout the years” says Jessica Li, Group General Manager, Tsui Wah Holdings Limited.

The Awards covers 12 markets across Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Mercer, the global leader in HR consulting, is the official knowledge partner for the Awards. Also present at the Awards was Joanne Hon, Chief Operating Officer, Mercer Greater China.

HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia 2015 – Hong Kong

(in alphabetical order)

A.S. Watson & Co. Limited
Ageas Insurance Company ( Asia) Limited
Arrow Asia Pac Limited
British American Tobacco Asia-Pacific Region Limited
China Engineer Limited
FrieslandCampina ( Hong Kong) Limited
G2000 (Apparel) Limited
GCL – Poly Energy Holdings Limited
Janco International Freight Limited
Kimberly-Clark ( Hong Kong) Limited
Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holdings) Limited
Microsoft Hong Kong Limited
New World Development Company Limited
Qi Group Hong Kong
Starbucks Hong Kong
The Excelsior, Hong Kong
Tsui Wah Group
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
UA Cinema Circuit Limited
Yahoo! Hong Kong Limited