’On the 30th of March 2022, Great Place to Work® – a global research, training and consultancy firm that recognizes the Best Workplaces™ in over 60 countries worldwide – has revealed its annual list of ‘Best Workplaces™ in the United Arab Emirates for the year 2022’. The list recognized organizations with outstanding workplace cultures as the top 50 companies and top 20 companies in the ‘Small and Medium’ size category, and ‘Large’ category, respectively.
Organizations that have made it to the list this year have had to work hard towards maintaining employee wellbeing in a post-pandemic era. Leaders this year got even more creative in the ways with which they connect with their employees, thus continuously building up on a solid foundation of trust. With constant communication across all-levels of the organization, employees felt listened to and cared for.
Organizations this year also built upon a sense of belonging. When everything seemed to be at risk after the pandemic, employees were made to feel comfortable with their choices. The stability that was granted to them throughout the year provided them with the chance to get inspired and grow mentally-as well as physically-while seeking to uphold the success of their work-life/personal-life balance.
To boost employee morale, organizations made sure to provide their staff with learning opportunities, as well as fun and engaging programs. A package that would not be complete without a simple ‘thank you’ note. Continuous appreciation and recognition to employees when they least expect offers them the needed confidence to express themselves as best as they could and showcase the best of their attributes.
Employees even began to form a stronger bond not only with their colleagues, but across all levels of the organization as well.
Our heroes this year have utilized what they do best and not only did they reflect that internally within their organization, but they extended it out to the community as well under the notion, ‘we are in this together.’
It is important to note as well some of the efforts some of the organizations had in providing a more sustainable environment in which employees can prosper. This included renewable energy campaigns such as recycling and carpooling, not to mention strict limitations being carried out on materials that could harm the environment.
Best Workplaces in the UAE: Small and Medium size category
For the second year in a row, THE One is ranked number 1 in the Small and Medium size category.
The made-in-the-UAE retail company has been featured in every UAE Best Workplaces™ list since it was first launched in 2011. THE One maintains this position due to the commitment of their leadership to deliver the best experiences to their employees. Year after year they make sure to raise the bar by adopting the best practices in the market and this year was no different.
“During times of unforeseen crisis, consistent communication is key. Through our clear and inspiring message, “We are all in this together and we will not leave anyone behind”, we build trust, loyalty and a sense of purpose for the long term.” – THE One team.
Pizza Express, coming in second on our list was first started in the year 2000 in Dubai and has grown over 20 years in the hospitality business, with 13 restaurants and 1 virtual kitchen across 5 Emirates.
Employees at Pizza Express have learned to seek challenges and overcome them with the support of their leadership. This goes to show that appreciating people for the work they do goes a long way!
“We carry forward our founder, Peter’s spirit, vision, and passion for good food and great times. We are proud of his legacy through our people and our culture.” – Pizza Express team
Ranked third for this year is Century Financial. With over 30 years of market presence, Century Financial has remained the UAE’s oldest and trusted investment solutions provider.
Century Financial did not think twice about investing in its employees. The organization allowed their employees to grow by providing them with all that is necessary to support them throughout their journey,
“Century operates as a big family and not just a company. It is due this sentiment that an emotional bond is developed between our staff and the company. At Century Financial, there is trust, mutual respect, and an understanding of the person and their limitations which is why we invest in the growth of our family members (employees) through mentoring and continuous skill development. This enables us to thrive together and achieve individual and organizational goals.” – Century Financial team
Ranking 4th to 10th in this year’s Best Workplaces list was Transworld Group, Eva Interiors, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, Hadi Express Exchange, Charterhouse, PetroGas Piping and Metropolitan Group.
From 11th to 25th place on the list were Bacardi Ltd, Westford University, Blue Ocean Academy, DP World, Privilee, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Akamai Technologies Limited, Loccitane, AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals, Groupe SEB, Global Food Industries, International Beverage and Filling Industries, SARA Group, Maersk and MIDSTAR.
The final 25 positions on the list were Amgen, Omni Clouds, Zee Entertainment, Shift Electronics, MSD, Marc Ellis, GAC, Hilti, TDRA, Greenstone Equity Partners, Aldar Khidmah, Medtronic, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Coberg Technologies, Redington Gulf, Aldar Education, Government of Sharjah – Department of eGov, Aldar Properties, Omnicom Media Group, Glander International Bunkering, AlphaSights, BDP INTERNATIONAL, Arada and Servier.
Best Workplaces in the UAE: Large size category
Ranking first in this year’s Best Workplaces in the UAE in the Large list category is Dubai Police Academy. The Academy was fully inaugurated in 1989 and has taken in students from Arabic countries such as Yemen, Oman, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories where it continues to maintain international standards of teaching. Dubai Police Academy has moved up an incredible 13 ranks from last year simply by putting their people first.
The Academy’s leadership continuously works on maintaining enthusiasm at the workplaces and guiding employees and inspiring them across all levels of the organization.
It is of no doubt as well that the Academy made sure to provide a safe environment for its employees as well as its students to grow.
Leminar came in second place this year with the support of their leadership. As part of the reputed Al Shirawi Group, Leminar Global provides cutting-edge, bespoke and sustainable solutions to the region.
Leminar stuck to their values and perceptions while providing learning opportunities for increased cultural awareness. This organization cares for all as they support not only their employees but their communities as well!
“At Leminar Air Conditioning Company, we realise that through our business activities and initiatives we can contribute to the overall wellbeing of the communities in which we operate.” – Leminar team.
DHL Express in third place created an amazing workplace culture for its employees. DHL believes empowering and developing employees is a worthy investment. They are not wrong!
“At DHL Express UAE we maintain a primary focus on Motivated People by continuously placing all our people at the heart of everything we do, through onboarding, engagement, recognition, wellbeing, safety, development, and social involvement. The Leadership Culture at DHL Express UAE is based on Empowerment, accountably, involvement & trusting every employee which in turn contributes to the high levels of employee satisfaction, loyalty and pride.” – DHL Express team
4th to 10th place ranks are for Hilton, Mcdonalds, FIVE Hotels, DEWA, Ajman Police, Chalhoub Group and Al-Dabbagh Group.
The final 10 positions were occupied by Apparel Group, Talabat, Teleperformance, DHL Global Forwarding, Dubai Customs, Dubai DED, Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered, Deloitte and SEWA
Commenting on this year’s Best Workplaces™ in the UAE list, Ibrahim Mougharbel, Managing Director for the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, Great Place to Work® Middle East, said: “Despite the challenges we have faced during the pandemic, we are proud to witness even more continuous growth in employee culture awareness among leaders in the UAE and the Middle East in general. Our Best Workplaces™ for this year have persevered through the time of unprecedented upheaval and have continued to persevere post-pandemic and we are here to celebrate them. We are therefore not celebrating companies; we are celebrating heroes.”
Great Place to Work® Middle East conducts a rigorous audit of every participating company before it can be listed as one of the Best Workplaces™ in the region. This year, the Best Workplaces™ spanned across multiple industries that include retail, social services and government agencies, transportation, finance and media. The organizations were surveyed on fundamental issues that consider how trustworthy and caring an organization is for their employees.
To obtain Best Workplace™ ranking, the companies are scored. A large portion of a company’s score is based on the confidential feedback of their employees while the remaining score is attained from an audit of management and HR practices- a reflection of the company’s solutions to specific criteria. Within this framework, organizations were asked about their values, trust process, leadership methods, innovation processes and how they maximize their employees’ potential. The heroes that are continuously building a greater environment for their employees have stood out, and we are always here to celebrate them.
For more information on the 2022 list: https://www.greatplacetowork.me/best-work-places-uae/
Table 1. Top 50 Best Workplaces™ in the UAE 2022 in the Small and Medium Size Category
| Top 50 Best Workplaces™ in the UAE 2022 in the Small and Medium Size Category | |||
| Rank | Company name | Industry | Website |
| 1 | THE One | Retail | https://www.theone.com |
| 2 | Pizza Express | Hospitality | https://www.pizzaexpress.ae |
| 3 | Century Financial | Financial Services & Insurance | https://www.century.ae |
| 4 | Transworld Group | Transportation | https://www.transworld.com |
| 5 | Eva Interiors | Professional Services | www.evainteriors.ae |
| 6 | Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://visitrasalkhaimah.com/ |
| 7 | Hadi Express Exchange | Financial Services & Insurance | https://www.hadiexchange.ae |
| 8 | Charterhouse | Other | https://www.charterhouseme.ae |
| 9 | PetroGas Piping | Industrial Services | https://www.petrogaspiping.com |
| 10 | Metropolitan Group | Real Estate | https://metropolitan.realestate/ |
| 11 | Bacardi Ltd | Manufacturing & Production | https://www.bacardi.com |
| 12 | Westford University | Education & Training | https://www.mywestford.com/ |
| 13 | Blue Ocean Academy | Education & Training | https://www.blueoceanacademy.com |
| 14 | DP World | Transportation | https://www.dpworld.com/ |
| 15 | Privilee | Other | https://privilee.ae/ |
| 16 | Hill + Knowlton Strategies | Advertising & Marketing | https://www.hkstrategies.com/en/ |
| 17 | Akamai Technologies Limited | Information Technology | https://www.akamai.com |
| 18 | Loccitane | Retail | https://me.loccitane.com/ |
| 19 | AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals | Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals | https://www.abbvie.com/ |
| 20 | Groupe SEB | Manufacturing & Production | https://www.groupeseb.com/en |
| 21 | Global Food Industries | Manufacturing & Production | https://www.global-food.com |
| 22 | International Beverage and Filling Industries | Manufacturing & Production | https://stardrinks.com |
| 23 | SARA Group | Retail | https://www.saragroup.com |
| 24 | Maersk | Transportation | https://www.maersk.com |
| 25 | MIDSTAR | Agriculture | https://www.midstar.com |
| 26 | Amgen | Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals | https://www.amgen.com/ |
| 27 | Omni Clouds | Information Technology | https://omniclouds.com/ |
| 28 | Zee Entertainment | Media | https://www.zee.com |
| 29 | Shift Electronics | Electronics | http://www.shift.ae |
| 30 | MSD | Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals | https://connect.msdgcc.com/ |
| 31 | Marc Ellis | Professional Services | https://www.marc-ellis.com |
| 32 | GAC | Other | https://www.gac.com/bunkers |
| 33 | Hilti | Manufacturing & Production | http://www.hilti.ae |
| 34 | TDRA | Telecommunications | https://tdra.gov.ae/ |
| 35 | Greenstone Equity Partners | Financial Services & Insurance | https://www.gsequity.com |
| 36 | Aldar Khidmah | Other | https://www.khidmah.com/en |
| 37 | Medtronic | Health Care | https://www.medtronic.com/me-en/about/medtronic-middle-east.html |
| 38 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals | https://www.takeda.com/ |
| 39 | Coberg Technologies | Information Technology | https://coberg.net/ |
| 40 | Redington Gulf | Information Technology | https://redingtongroup.com/mea/ |
| 41 | Aldar Education | Education & Training | https://www.aldareducation.com/ |
| 42 | Government of Sharjah – Department of eGov | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://deg.sharjah.ae/ |
| 43 | Aldar Properties | Real Estate | https://www.aldar.com/ |
| 44 | Omnicom Media Group | Advertising & Marketing | https://omnicommediagroup.com/markets/mena/ |
| 45 | Glander International Bunkering | Professional Services | http://www.gibunkering.com |
| 46 | AlphaSights | Professional Services | https://www.alphasights.com/ |
| 47 | BDP INTERNATIONAL | Transportation | www.bdpinternational.com |
| 48 | Arada | Real Estate | https://www.arada.com/en |
| 49 | Servier | Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals | https://servier-gcc.com/en/ |
| 50 | Mohebi Martin Brower | Retail | https://martinbrower.com/; https://mohebi.com/ |
Table 2. Top 20 Best Workplaces™ in the UAE 2022 in the Large Size Category
| Top 20 Best Workplaces™ in the UAE 2022 in the Large Size Category | |||
| Rank | Company name | Industry | Website |
| 1 | Dubai Police Academy | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://www.dubaipolice.ac.ae/ |
| 2 | Leminar | Manufacturing & Production | https://www.leminarglobal.com/ |
| 3 | DHL Express | Transportation | www.dhl.com |
| 4 | Hilton | Hospitality | https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/ |
| 5 | Mcdonalds | Hospitality | https://www.mcdonalds.com/ae/en-ae.html |
| 6 | FIVE Hotels | Hospitality | https://www.fivehotelsandresorts.com/ |
| 7 | DEWA | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://www.dewa.gov.ae |
| 8 | Ajman Police | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://www.ajmanpolice.gov.ae/portal/ |
| 9 | Chalhoub Group | Retail | https://www.chalhoub.com |
| 10 | Al-Dabbagh Group | Other | https://www.aldabbagh.com |
| 11 | Apparel Group | Retail | https://www.appareluae.com/ |
| 12 | Talabat | Information Technology | https://www.talabat.com |
| 13 | Teleperformance | Professional Services | https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/ |
| 14 | DHL Global Forwarding | Transportation | https://www.dhl.com/ae-en/home/our-divisions/global-forwarding.html |
| 15 | Dubai Customs | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/ar/Pages/default.aspx |
| 16 | Dubai DED | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://ded.ae/page/en/about_department |
| 17 | Coca-Cola | Manufacturing & Production | https://www.coca-colacompany.com/ |
| 18 | Standard Chartered | Financial Services & Insurance | https://www.sc.com/ae/ |
| 19 | Deloitte | Professional Services | https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en.html |
| 20 | SEWA | Social Services and Government Agencies | https://www.sewa.gov.ae/ |
