FORTUNE Magazine/Hay Group Name the World’s Most Admired Companies

Employee Engagement & Innovation Are Key to Sustaining Company Performance

PHILADELPHIA--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, and FORTUNE magazine today released their fourteenth annual World’s Most Admired Companies (WMAC) list. Find FORTUNE’s full list of the World’s Most Admired Companies here: http://www.fortune.com/mostadmired.

“Employee engagement has become critical to organizational performance, particularly as we emerge from a time when many employees were asked to do more with less”

In addition to conducting the survey and analyzing the results to identify the WMAC, Hay Group also performed supplemental research on how these organizations are sustaining performance. According to Hay Group’s research, companies at the top of the list are more adept at responding to changing markets and equipping employees with the opportunity and necessary skills to execute corporate strategies.

“Amid economic and organizational changes, the World’s Most Admired Companies have created an edge over their peer companies by leveraging the resources and opportunities they have at all levels, not just in the C-Suite,” said Jeff Shiraki, Vice President at Hay Group. “These companies are committed to continuous improvement and innovation, even in areas of strength, and are enlisting the creativity of their employees to help stay competitive.”

Engaging Employees to Increase Productivity. According to Hay Group’s research, efficiency and effectiveness are priorities for the WMAC and peer companies alike. However, among the WMAC, employees at all levels are more likely to be encouraged to take reasonable risks in an attempt to increase organizational effectiveness (94 percent vs. 77 percent). Moreover, the WMAC make a stronger effort to solicit ideas from employees for increasing efficiency (91 percent vs. 76 percent).

Ingraining Innovation in Company Culture. In addition, while innovation in product and service development is an important business strategy for all companies, the WMAC take more action to promote innovation throughout the organization. Executives at the WMAC are more likely to say their organization does a good job of leveraging new technologies and creative approaches to improve efficiency (81 percent vs. 72 percent) and capturing innovative ideas and diffusing them through the organization (87 percent vs. 74 percent). At the same time, managers and employees at the WMAC are more likely to be encouraged to innovate in areas of current strength (83 percent vs. 70 percent).

Addressing Work-Life & Generational Needs. Hay Group’s research also found that, amid greater performance and workload demands, responding to work-life balance concerns is more likely to be seen as a top or very important priority for the WMAC (49 percent vs. 30 percent). The Most Admired also see onboarding new employees as a significant priority (55 percent vs. 43 percent) – and with younger generations changing the workplace dynamic, they are more likely to view responding to different generational needs as a top or very important priority (45 percent vs. 30 percent).

“Employee engagement has become critical to organizational performance, particularly as we emerge from a time when many employees were asked to do more with less,” said Mel Stark, Vice President & Regional Reward Practice Leader at Hay Group. “The World’s Most Admired Companies understand that money is not always what matters most to employees and over the past year, they have focused on fostering work-life balance for employees, while increasing productivity and decreasing the likelihood that work tasks will crowd out personal time.”

Other major findings from the FORTUNE magazine/Hay Group World’s Most Admired Companies research include:

Emerging Markets and Fast-Growing Units	Most Admired Companies	Peer Companies
Increasing our presence in emerging markets is a top or very important priority in the next two years	79%	59%
Supporting and managing fast-growing units/subsidiaries is a top or very important priority in the next two years	82%	68%
Promoting Innovation	Most Admired Companies	Peer Companies
Innovation in product and service development is a top or very important priority in the next two years	88%	79%
We do a good job of proactively addressing potential problems before they occur	83% Agree	70% Agree
Managers and employees are actively encouraged to innovate in areas of current strength (i.e., to "fix" things that aren't broken)	83% Agree	70% Agree
We effectively manage the pace of change to ensure that we take on a manageable number of priorities and initiatives	75% Agree	63% Agree
Human Capital & Performance Management Issues	Most Admired Companies	Peer Companies
Addressing frustrations over work conditions not conducive to employees' success is a top or very important priority in the next two years	44%	34%
Our organization does a good job of ensuring that employee skills keep up with changing job demands	89% Agree	76% Agree
Managers coach employees on an ongoing basis to provide them with feedback and identify performance barriers	89% Agree	78% Agree
Reward systems in our organization effectively differentiate rewards based on employee contributions	89% Agree	77% Agree

About the FORTUNE magazine/Hay Group World’s Most Admired Companies research

Hay Group has collaborated with FORTUNE magazine annually since 1997 to identify, select and rank the World’s Most Admired Companies and uncover the business practices that make these companies both highly regarded and successful. For more information on how the rankings are determined, please view the full methodology on Hay Group’s website.

For the supplemental research, Hay Group surveyed senior executives at a sample of companies that participated in the 2011 Most Admired Companies survey, and compared the responses from companies that ranked in the top three in their industries in overall corporate reputation, with those of other participating organizations to better understand how the World’s Most Admired Companies approach sustaining performance compared to their peers.

For more information and to see related content, please visit Hay Group’s Most Admired Companies microsite at http://bit.ly/hFy2d0, join the conversation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/hay_group or discuss key issues and questions on LinkedIn at http://linkd.in/hkUJKc.

To arrange an interview, please contact Keri Toomey at 212-584-5471 or [e-mail].

For questions regarding FORTUNE’s logo and licensing, please contact PARS International at [e-mail].

About Hay Group

Hay Group is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 49 countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.

About Hay Group Insight

For over 35 years Hay Group Insight – the survey research division of Hay Group – has partnered with the world’s largest and most complex organizations to create value through the strategic use of employee survey research. Our mission is to help senior leaders identify the barriers to individual and organizational effectiveness, and remove them to improve the performance of people, teams and entire organizations. By providing employee feedback and supporting strategy, our surveys help organizations achieve high levels of performance and lasting change.

About FORTUNE

FORTUNE magazine is a global leader in business journalism with a domestic circulation of over 850,000 and a global readership of nearly 5 million, which include major franchises such as the FORTUNE 500 and the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For. FORTUNE Live Media extends the brand's mission into live events, hosting a wide range of annual conferences, including FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women and the FORTUNE Global Forum. FORTUNE publishes English-language editions in Europe and Asia, and local-language editions in China, Turkey, South Korea, Indonesia, India and Greece. CNNMoney.com, is the online home of FORTUNE.com, which draws 5.7 million readers a month.