Israeli consumers typically cite the country’s banks and cellular providers as among their least favorite corporate institutions, but a new survey shows that those are precisely the places where Israelis want to work.
This year’s annual survey by TheMarker and BDI ranking the 50 highest-rated workplaces in the country found that the two largest banks, Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim, are in the top 10, as are cellular providers Partner and Cellcom.
The huge salaries of the senior management at those places may make the headlines, and is one of the reasons consumers love to hate them. But the job security and relatively high wages make them desirable to work for.
The top 10 list is headed by semiconductor giant Intel. Also on the list are the power monopoly Israel Electric Corporation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, hardware company HP, foodstuffs maker Strauss Group and phone company Bezeq.
Intel is actually the exception, even if it is in first place. The company has been an island of stability over the years and withstood many crises when other firms laid off hundreds of workers.
Intel: Family and environmentally friendly
Whether the enormous state grants it receives are justified or not, employees aren’t complaining. They have excellent benefits at an innovative and successful company that has the reputation of being family-friendly as well as environmentally friendly; provides a range of job options, and is not in Tel Aviv.
“Intel inside” is more than a slogan for the workers, many of whom say they pride in their achievements. By contrast, Israelis are left feeling unduly dependent on, and exploited by, the banks and cell phone companies.
The Israeli “startup nation” loves the big high-tech companies, especially international ones, which is why IBM, HP, Microsoft, SAP, Google and software house Amdocs are all high on the list.
But there are a number of surprises in this year’s results: Credit card company Leumi Card moved up from 47 in 2008 to 15 this year, well above better-known firms such as the fresh-foods cooperative Tnuva, firewall technology company Check Point and Migdal Insurance.
One company that fell off the top-50 list this year is cable company HOT, which was in 26th place last year. The Yes satellite broadcaster fell only four places, to 38.
Comverse is also out of the top 50, but its relatively high spot − 55 − indicates that either the survey was conducted before its latest financial reports and layoffs became public knowledge, or Israelis still have a fond spot in their hearts for one of the stars of yesteryear.
One sector that does not speak to Israeli workers is the local fashion scene, with Fox and Castro falling to the bottom of the top 100 and other fashion firms failing to reach even that level.
Pay is paramount, mainly among the men
The survey sampled 50,000 Israelis over a 12-month period, including employees, students, employers and human resources managers from all over the country. Workers at several companies also filled out questionnaires to determine their satisfaction with the companies they work for and their views of other firms.
The survey makes it clear that the global economic crisis is behind us, at least as far as employee perception goes. In 2009 job security was the most important expectation for workers, who ranked a company’s stability as the third most important factor in deciding how they rated a given firm. This year, though, salary conditions topped the list and job security fell to third place, indicating that employees seem to feel more secure. Fringe benefits ranked fourth.
Other leading factors were the social atmosphere in the workplace, the availability of professional training, the flexibility of hours, proximity to home and availability of social activities.
High-tech workers were more interested in professional advancement than the general population, according to the survey. Perhaps they have deserved the reputation of being more restless and impatient than workers in other sectors.
The survey also shows that men place a much greater emphasis on salary, benefits and the financial health of the company, while women are more interested in factors such as flexible hours and social conditions.
