Top 10 companies ‘Filipinos want to work for’ in 2016

MANILA, Philippines – Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and nutrition and wellness multinational Nestlé Philippines top the list of companies Fillipinos would most like to work for, according to a survey by online employment marketplace Jobstreet.com.

Accenture in the Philippines, BDO Unibank Incorporated, and Ayala Land Incorporated rounded out the top 5 most preferred employers in the Philippines in 2016, Jobstreet announced in a briefing in Pasig City on Wednesday, July 27.

Other companies in the top 10 include:

• Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines (6th)
• SM Investments Corporation (7th)
• Google Philippines (8th)
• Procter & Gamble Philippines (9th)
• ABS-CBN Corporation (10th)

For the third straight year, SMC topped the list of Jobstreet’s most preferred employers in the country. (READ: The highest-paying jobs for fresh grads in the Philippines 2015)

Accenture in the Philippines, meanwhile, moved up to 3rd this year and last year, from 2014’s 5th spot.

A total of 14,062 Philippine-based candidates took part in the survey, which ran from May to July this year.

The two Henry Sy-led companies – BDO Unibank and SM Investments – maintained their strong presence in the top 10. 

BDO Unibank moved up to 4th place from 8th last year, making the company the highest-ranking financial institution in the history of Jobstreet’s top companies report in the country.

SM Investments, meanwhile, slid a notch to 7th from 6th.

Ayala Land and Google Philippines made their debut in the 2016 list, as job preferences of Filipinos changed.

“Most of the companies included are among the most profitable firms in the country,” Jobstreet country manager Philip Gioca said during the briefing.

Among the most profitable firms 

San Miguel Corporation recorded $824.7 million in net income in 2015. 

Ayala Corporation, Ayala Land’s parent company, and SMIC were included in Forbes’ list of the world’s largest, most powerful companies based on revenues, profits, assets, and market values in 2015. 

At the 911th spot, SMIC is the only Philippine company in the upper half of Forbes’ list, outranking all other Philippine firms by a wide margin. 

SMIC earned $640 million in 2015.

Meanwhile, BDO Unibank is the largest bank in the country in terms of assets, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.

Salary still the main driver

The Jobstreet country manager told reporters that salary remains the most significant factor in employer preference in this year’s report.

In its 2015 report, benefits and incentives – such as extended health insurance, performance-based bonuses, retirement pay, car and housing loans – were among the top answers. 

These preferences, however, vary depending on rank of job seekers. 

Gioca said junior executives and employees in the supervisory level look for training and development opportunities (3rd), career growth opportunities (4th), and company reputation (5th), on top of competitive salary as well as perks and benefits. 

“Those in the managerial level are on the lookout for companies with excellent reputation which could provide superior salary, benefits, and perks,” he added.

But for fresh graduates and those with less than a year of work experience, Gioca said they consider superior training and development programs as their top priority. 

Internet as main source of info

The Jobstreet report showed that most Filipino jobseekers did their research on their desired companies through social media and online news portals (1st), word of mouth (2nd), and company websites (3rd).

“More than 50% of our respondents are considered millennials; and Internet and the social media are very popular among them,” Gioca told reporters. (RELATED: Fresh grads: Do employers care about where you went to college?)

The Jobstreet country manager said online channels have growing influence on how employees perceive companies, particularly among the newer generation of jobseekers. 

“The 2016 survey showed that Filipino jobseekers today are more demanding than ever because they are more informed as info becomes readily available to them and they have more employer choices than ever before,” he added.

Gioca, however, clarified that contractual workers are excluded from the survey, so issues on end of contract (endo) or contractualization were not touched on.

“Jobstreet only surveys full-time employees. It’s hard to determine them (contractual workers) so they are not in our system,” Gioca said. – Rappler.com