Apple retains top spot among Singapore's best employers, with Asia Pacific Breweries at No. 2

Straits Times

30-04-2025

Tech giant Apple has retained its ranking as Singapore's best employer. PHOTO: ST FILE
Apple retains top spot among Singapore's best employers, with Asia Pacific Breweries at No. 2
SINGAPORE – Tech giant Apple has retained its ranking as Singapore's best employer in an annual league table compiled by The Straits Times and global research company Statista.
Rounding up the top five are Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (Heineken Asia Pacific), BMW Group Asia, The Lego Group and GSK .
Singapore's Best Employers 2025 ranks the top 250 firms among companies and institutions that have at least 200 employees here.
It is based on an online survey conducted in October and November 2024 that allowed eligible employees to recommend their own company as well as other employers within the same sector.
The survey attracted responses from about 14,000 staff from 2,000 or so organisations in 27 sectors.
The sector with the most number of employers was government services, with 24 on the top 250 list this year, said Statista analyst Wu Ruoh-Yiang. This sector includes ministries and statutory boards.
Topping the government services sector list was the Singapore Civil Defence Force at 81st overall, followed by sovereign wealth fund GIC (83) and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (90).
Ms Wu noted that there has been a steady increase in the number of awardees within the government services sector over the past five years. 'This strong showing may be linked to Singapore's global reputation for government excellence,' she said.
Ms Swechha Mohapatra, an Institute for Human Resource Professionals certified senior professional, noted that rising rankings in the government services sector could also be attributed to purpose-driven work that contributes to nationwide initiatives.
As a result, jobs in the government sector may even be more appealing to new work entrants who value meaningful roles.
She added that in an uncertain environment, both employers and employees turn to the Government for stability and policies that align with the changing environment and employee needs.
Ms Mohapatra noted that policies like the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests have attracted talented employees, making government roles 'equally competitive' with those in the private sector.
With the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests – in effect since Dec 1, 2024 – both office and non-office staff can formally submit flexi-work requests.
BMW Group Asia, a new entrant to the list of best employers, came in at No. 3. The company's managing director Lars Nielsen said the company supports workers' ambitions and encourages them to step out of their comfort zones and explore new fields of interest.
'If you are going to spend a majority of your time during the week at work, it's important that it's interesting, and even fun, at times,' he added.
'In today's world, salary and benefits aren't enough to retain talent that is looking for a career, and not just a job.'
BMW Group Asia employee Gopinath Uthirapathi said the company's commitment to growing his professional development has resonated with him.
'What matters the most to me is the opportunity to do more and make an impact. The company and its leadership always have one eye on the company and another eye on its people,' he said.
Mr Gopinath Uthirapathi said BMW Group Asia's commitment to growing his professional development has resonated with him.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GOPINATH UTHIRAPATHI
Food and beverage company Koufu Group, another new entrant, said it conducts annual benchmarking exercises to ensure its salary packages remain attractive and competitive within the industry.
Its chief financial officer Chua Sher Lin said the company, which came in seventh on the list, places importance on variable compensation, directly linking rewards to an individual's sales performance, the respective outlets and broader business units.
The tiered incentive scheme has offered the potential for high-performing and loyal employees to increase their overall annual income by up to 30 per cent, said Koufu.
Training programmes, which include food safety certification and customer service excellence courses, have also been part of its retention strategy to encourage improvement and innovation. This has led to 50 per cent of its 1,500-strong workforce having been with Koufu for more than three years.
Ms Tracy Tan's role as an assistant manager in Koufu's learning and development department includes helping staff find purpose in their job and empowering them to create value and take pride in their work.
'I want to inspire hope, drive positive change, foster continuous learning and build resilience within our team. Koufu has given me the platform and trust to make this possible,' she said.
Ms Tracy Tan, who works in the learning and development department at Koufu Group, helps staff find purpose in their job.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TRACY TAN
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which was ranked 38th in 2024, rose to ninth place this year.
Ms Clarinda Ng, a patient advocacy manager at Novartis, said the company's 'unbossed' style of working has helped her navigate work more independently. 'That kind of trust and flexibility have been key drivers to my growth, both professionally and personally.'
Ms Clarinda Ng said the 'unbossed' style of working at Novartis has helped her navigate work more independently.
PHOTO: NOVARTIS
How the survey was done
The online survey was conducted anonymously. Participants could openly state their opinion without influence from their employer.
Staff members were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family on a scale from 0 to 10 – where 0 means 'I wouldn't recommend my employer under any circumstances'.
They were also asked questions in areas such as working conditions, salary, career growth potential and company image.
The survey found that the strongest correlation with an employee's willingness to recommend their employer was their company's image. This was followed by factors like work atmosphere and the potential for career development.
Ms Wu from Statista said statements such as 'employees speak highly of their employer', 'management is loyal to employees', and 'there is a climate of fairness and trust' showed particularly high correlations.
'This highlights the importance of reputation and workplace culture in shaping positive employee perceptions,' she noted.
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