Please congratulate POSCO for being selected as one of the best companies to work for in South Korea! According to 2014 Korea Great Work Place Index (K-GWPI), POSCO ranked 1st in steel industry – for seven consecutive years – and 3rd in manufacturing sector as the ‘Best Company to Work For’. K-GWPI was developed by Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC) in 2008 and it releases annual reports to encourage corporations to promote ‘happy workplaces’ since KMAC’s annual reports act as an objective measurement for corporate evaluations.

K-GWPI released its 7^th report this year, and over the period of three months since March to June, it surveyed over 6,200 industry workers, 300 Human Resource specialists via both online and offline questionnaires. The aim is to nominate ‘Best 30 Corporations’ regardless of industry and to honor ”The Best Corporation” in each industry.

POSCO Tops in Steel Industry for Seven Consecutive Years

‘The Best Corporation’ survey was based on 220 companies of 47 industries, including 17 from manufacturing, 22 from service and 8 from public sector.  In this assessment, POSCO recorded a score of 78.1, which granted POSCO seven consecutive win as the steel industry’s best company since the initial start of KMAC’s annual reports in 2008.

This result shows that, POSCO has been successfully managing and investing in its employees despite of difficult business environments, locally and abroad. This effort, along with the seven-consecutive-year title as the industry’s leading company, will not only secure happiness amongst workers, but also contribute in achieving future corporate goals.

POSCO Selected in Top 3 in Manufacturing Sector

‘Best 30 Corporations’ were selected from a total of 101 candidates (Manufacturing Sector 50 Corporations · Service Industry 51 Corporations) and POSCO came in third on the list, following Samsung Electronics and Yuhan-Kimberly.

According to KMAC, POSCO ranked high on the list for various aspects, including excellent vision (3^rd), fair system in HR (3^rd), happy corporate culture (5^th), commitment of employees (4^th), and overall happiness level (3^rd).

This year’s reward is especially more meaningful since POSCO has earned recognition for its effort in enhancing working environments and satisfaction of the employees. In comparison with corporate evaluation from last year, POSCO stepped up from 9^th to 5^th and 4^th to 3^rd in ‘happy corporate culture’ and ‘overall happiness level’ category respectively.

POSCO’s Efforts to be ‘The Great Company to Work At’

1. Extended and Flexible Retirement Age 

Reflecting social trends and changes in the world, POSCO extended retirement age from 56 to 58 years old. Furthermore, POSCO has been boosting motivations of employees by adopting a salary peak system and hiring back retired employees.

2. Improvement in In-house Baby Care System 

POSCO made significant improvements in POSCO’s daycare center and other maternity-related policies, including, but not limited to, maternity leave up to 2 years, flexible working hours, and flexible leave of absence to support all employees to seek happiness and balance between work and home.

3. Expanding Opportunities in Employees’ Cultural and Leisure Life 

POSCO offers tickets, opportunities and access to various events, concerts, eco-friendly farming educational center POSCO ECOFARM, and other diverse recreational facilities where both employees and his/her family can interact and spend quality off-work time.

4. Please check out more for what else POSCO is doing for employees! (Please click the titles)

“POSCO, the Great Company to Work at” Episode #1 Training Future Global Leaders at POSCO

‘POSCO, the Great Company to Work at #2’-Building Global Competence: POSCO’s Global Human Resource Development Programs

‘POSCO, the Great Company to Work at #3′: The Health of Employees Represents the Company’s Power, POSCO’s Health Up Program!

 Pictured here: The first production using eco-friendly FINEX method at POSCO’s plant

For the 11^th consecutive year, POSCO has been named one of the ‘Most Respected Companies in Korea’ by the Korean Management Association Consultants (KMAC).  POSCO topped the list in the steel industry category for its 11^th straight year. In addition, POSCO ranked second in the overall ‘All Star Company’ category for 8 straight years. The ‘Most Respected Companies in Korea’ ranking is the only comprehensive survey model in Korea and was developed in 2004 by KMAC to evaluate and publish the value of Korean companies.

Lessons from one of Korea’s most respected companies

The importance of corporate reputation has achieved all-time highs nowadays. POSCO was recognized on this year’s Interbrand’s Best Korean Brands list for its second consecutive year. It must be doing something right.  A great company does not just excel because of its products, but because of its values and other initiatives. Fortune annually publishes its World’s Most Admired Companies list  and 100 Best Companies to Work For list to distinguish the best from the rest. What lessons can be learned from Korea’s leading steelmaker?

POSCO was highly rated for its CSR activities, reliability, values, talent fostering, employee welfare, and eco-friendly management in addition to ethical management. It also gained recognition as Korea`s leading company in fulfilling social responsibilities through internal activities, resulting in increased profitability and decreased production costs, volunteer activities with all employees participating, 1% sharing activities for the socially disadvantaged, and support for multi-cultural families.

Pictured here: POSCO’s women employees participating in Women’s Mentoring Day, held since 2011

 Pictured here: Joint effort between POSCO’s global volunteering program, Beyond, and Habitat for Humanity

Methodology

The ‘All Star Companies’ category includes the 30 most respected Korean companies regardless of industry and is based on a survey of 5,920 industry officers, 230 securities company analysts, and 4,560 general consumers between  October 2^nd, 2013 through January 6^th, 2014. Companies are surveyed based on the following six factors:

1)     Innovation capability

2)     Shareholder value

3)     Employee value

4)     Customer value

5)     Social value

6)     Image value

See below for the 2014 top 10 ‘All Star Companies’ list:

1.     Samsung Electronics

2.     POSCO

3.     Yuhan-Kimberly

4.     Yuhan Corporation

5.     Hyundai Motors

6.     Incheon International Airport

7.     SK Telecom

8.     LG Electronics

9.     Samsung C&T

10.  Samsung Life