SMC among Forbes’ World’s Best Employers

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp., the country’s diversified conglomerate, is among the highest-ranked Filipino firms in Forbes’ annual roster of the World’s Best Employers.

The company, which ranked 174 in a list of 800 firms from some 57 countries, is one of just two Philippine firms along with fast-food giant Jollibee Foods – to make it to the top 200 companies in the roster.

SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said the company is honored to stand with six other Filipino companies.

The list was based on a survey, compiled for the past six years by Forbes, and conducted together with its partner, Statista.

“It’s a major honor for us at San Miguel to be included in such a list, and to be ranked within the top 200 in the world, and one of the very best in the Philippines. We’re also very proud to stand together with other Filipino companies that have emerged as among the best in the world in advancing the welfare of employees and workers,” Ang said.

He said that apart from compensation and benefits, SMC also implements various programs to help employees hone their skills, maintain their health and advance in their careers.

Statista surveyed some 150,000 full-time and part-time workers from 57 countries working for multinationals and institutions, to determine which firms excel in key areas, such as corporate impact and image, talent development, gender equality, and social responsibility.

Ang said that throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, SMC not only extended extraordinary assistance to the country, but also to its employees.

SMC was the first Filipino company to build a dedicated RT-PCR testing laboratory for its workforce at the start of the pandemic. It also guaranteed the full salaries and benefits of employees and workers in its nationwide network, through the most difficult and uncertain periods of the pandemic when most businesses lost income.

It likewise invested in putting in place additional health and safety protocols for employees, to ensure the continued delivery of essential goods and services to the public.

For its support workers, SMC launched several initiatives, including providing interest-free loans with easy payment schemes, so they can buy alternative modes of transportation such as bicycles and motorcycles.

SMC has allotted P1 billion to procure COVID-19 vaccines and set up numerous vaccination centers nationwide for its over 70,000 employees and extended workforce and their families.

Aside from SMC, other Philippine companies on the Forbes list are Jollibee Foods at 106th place; Ayala Corp. at 581st spot; SM Investments Corp. at 605th place; Metrobank at 637th place; Alliance Global Group at 688th place and Aboitiz Equity Ventures at 740th spot.