Today we released the 2019 Best 100 companies to work for report, a compilation of sought-after employers in Kenya, as voted by current, former and prospective employees.

Here at BrighterMonday, we are thrilled to congratulate the winners. These employers have made a deliberate effort to make their offices a place employees feel a sense of pride and belonging.

In case you are an employer wondering how to boost your brand position, our guide to employer branding might help. If you need tips on recruiting, workplace issues, developing talent and employee retention, check out the Employer’s Corner for these and more.

First, here are the top 10 companies in the Best 100 list

See all the companies that made the 2019 list in the infographic below.

Leading companies in different industries

So, how did we determine the 2018 best 100 winners?

The main factors we used to determine the best 100 companies are attributes that matter most to employees. These include;

• Pride: How employees feel about working in the company. Is their sense of belonging strong enough for them to recommend someone else to work for their employer?
• Culture: How engaged are employees? Do they feel like they are living the company’s vision and mission?
• Career growth: Do these companies provide opportunities for upward mobility as well as lateral development?
• Diversity and inclusion: Do the companies provide opportunities for diversity and inclusion where different people from different background thrive?
• Competitive pay package: How competitive their remuneration packages are.

We sent online surveys to our database of over 800,000 employees and analysed feedback from current and former employees of companies listed. Respondents were expected to provide information on defining attributes like gender, age and their level of experience. This data was then analysed and clustered to create the report.

There are some interesting demographic insights

We were able to get some insights into how different demographic and job experience segments think: their motivations, their desire to leave their current companies, their overall satisfaction etc.

Some highlights include:

• Men occupy more senior level jobs while women take up more entry-level and mid-level jobs.
• There is a higher percentage of male earners in the higher salary bracket.
• There is a higher percentage of employees who are not willing to recommend their employer.  
• The level of job satisfaction is low in both male and female employees, but lower in the female employees.
• Female respondents posed a greater flight risk (willing to leave their current place of work) when compared to their male counterparts.
• Younger employees have a positive perception of their companies but they are still willing to leave when better opportunities come knocking.
• Both men and women value the same traits in a company. The top 3 traits being: Good Pay, Job Security, and Proximity to Home.

These are just a few, more insights are contained in the report.  You can download the full report here.

How to build a stronger employer brand

Do you wish to appear in the next best 100 companies ranking? Would you like to improve your employee retention strategy? You need to begin working on improving the aspects of your company that your employees consider important to them.

• Give your employees a sense of pride: Your vision, mission and values should make your employees proud to be associated with. Support them with tools they need to embody your vision.
• Rethink your culture: Culture is a sum total of employee engagement and how well the company vision lives through them. Create such an environment. Involve them in shaping the company culture.
• Provide career growth opportunities: Provide opportunities for upward mobility and lateral progress.
• Encourage and implement diversity and inclusion: Diversity and inclusion encompass all spheres that make people unique and special, not just gender. Ensure your workplace has an environment where anyone of any race, age, tribe, and gender, can thrive without discrimination.
• Endeavour to provide a competitive pay package: Work to ensure your remuneration packages are competitive in your industry. If your budget cannot allow you to compete with more established competitors, consider offering attractive benefits.

Once again, congratulations to the best 100 companies, and thank you for living your true branding inspiration through your employees.

Download the full report for comprehensive analysis of the best 100 companies to work for survey.

afaricom has been ranked the best company to work for in Kenya, according to a new report that puts the mobile services provider ahead of United Nations, KenGen, Google and Kenya Revenue Authority. The ranking results from recruitment firm Brighter Monday’s 2018 Best 100 companies to work survey. Other companies in the top ten include Centum Investments, Kenya Power, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Unilever and Coca-Cola. [See full list below]

In determining the best 100 companies to work for, the survey looked at attributes that matter most to employees which include pride, culture, career growth, diversity, inclusion as well as competitive pay package. Brighter Monday says it used an online survey of its database of more than 800,000 employees and analyzed feedback from current and former employees of the companies listed.

“Respondents were expected to provide information on defining attributes like gender, age and their level of experience. This data was then analyzed and clustered to create the report,” the firm says.

According to the report, men occupy more senior level jobs while women take up more entry-level and mid-level jobs with a higher percentage of males on the higher salary bracket. The level of job satisfaction is low in both male and female employees, but lower in the female employees as they posed a greater flight risk (willing to leave their current place of work) when compared to their male counterparts.

The report further revealed that 60% of the employed earn salaries of less than Ksh50,000 while 21% earn between Ksh50,000 and Sh100,000. Eight per cent earn between Ksh101,000 and Sh105,000 and 6% between Ksh151,000 and Sh250,000. Just 3% of the respondents reported earning Ksh251,000 to Sh400,000, while only 2% said they earned more.

Meanwhile, younger employees have a positive perception of their companies but they are still willing to leave when better opportunities come knocking. Both men and women value the same traits in a company. The top 3 traits being: Good Pay, Job Security, and Proximity to Home.

LIST OF THE TOP 100 COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN KENYA IN ORDER OF RANKING

1. SAFARICOM
2. UNITED NATIONS,
3. KENGEN
4. GOOGLE
5. KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY
6. CENTUM INVESTMENTS
7. KENYA POWER
8. PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS (PWC)
9. UNILEVER
10. COCA-COLA
11. DELOITTE
12. KENYA PIPELINE COMPANY
13. KENYA AIRWAYS
14. KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK (KCB)
15. KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY (KPA)
16. KPMG
17. BAT
18. MICROSOFT
19. WORD BANK
20. NGO
21. ORACLE
22. CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA (CBK)
23. BIDCO
24. CYTONN
25. PROCTOR & GAMBLE (P&G)
26. PENDA HEALTH
27. TOTAL
28. ANDELA
29. GENERAL ELECTRIC
30. GOVERNMENT OF KENYA
31. WORLD VISION
32. GLAXOSMITHKLINE
33. AMREF
34. BALLORE
35. BROOKSIDE
36. IBM
37. KENYA REDCROSS
38. TETRA PARK
39. UNEP
40. KTDA
41. BRITAM
42. EQUITY BANK
43. GENERAL MOTORS
44. ILRI (INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESEARCH INSTITUTE)
45. KENYA AIRPORTS AUTHORITY (KAA)
46. TOYOTA
47. BAMBURI
48. BRITISH COMMISSION
49. DAVIS &SHIRTLIFF
50. DHL
51. KENYA BREWERIES LTD (KBL)
52. NHIF
53. PLAN INTERNATIONAL
54. UNICEF
55. EACC (ETHICS & ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION)
56. NATION MEDIA GROUP (NMG)
57. BARCLAYS BANK
58. COMMERCIAL BANK OF AFRICA (CBA)
59. G4S
60. ICEA LION
61. JUBILEE INSURANCE
62. KEBS
63. MCKINSEY & COMPANY
64. MICHELLE COTTS
65. NESTLE
66. VIVO ENERGY
67. ROYAL MEDIA SERVICES
68. TULLOW
69. STANBIC BANK
70. AIRTEL
71. CO-OPERATIVE BANK
72. GEOTHERMANL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (GDC)
73. JOHNSON & JOHNSON
74. KENYA NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS (KNBS)
75. KENYA WINES AGENCY (KWAL)
76. KIBOS SUGAR
77. KNIGHT FRANK
78. MAERSK
79. MONSANTO
80. NAIROBI WATER
81. SPORTPESA
82. SAMSUNG
83. SAROVA HOTELS
84. SERENA HOTELS
85. TATA
86. ICRAF
87. KENYA NATIONAL HOSPITAL
88. SAVE THE CHILDREN
89. AAR
90. BRIGHTER MONDAY
91. AIG
92. ALEXANDER FORBES
93. BAYER
94. BOMILL
95. BONFIRE ADVENTURES
96. CHILD FUND
97. NAIROBI CITY COUNTY
98. CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES (CRS)
99. FAIRMONT
100. HEINEKEN