Four South African companies on TIME’s 2024 list of world’s best

TIME Magazine and Statista have released the 2024 list of the top “1,000 companies changing the world” and Sasol came up tops among those named from South Africa.

Sasol, in the resource generation and infrastructure sector, ranked 605 from the 1000 companies listed.

The list is compiled using a formula of employee satisfaction surveys; revenue growth; and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) data.

Alana Semuels, economic correspondent at TIME says many companies cared about their employees’ well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic, however, soon after the lockdown restrictions were eased, many companies noticed playing parents won’t keep the shareholders happy.

“The list is compiled using a formula of employee satisfaction surveys; revenue growth; and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) data,” said Semuels.

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South African companies score low employee satisfaction

Sasol’s employee satisfaction is ranked 751 on the list.

The second South African company to appear on the list is Standard Bank, sitting not far from Sasol at 611. The bank’s employee satisfaction is ranked at 355 out of the 1,000 companies.

Sappi Limited, a company that specialises in engineering, manufacturing and medical technology sits at 623, with employee satisfaction ranked at 469. Insurance giant, Sanlam sits at 795, with an employee satisfaction of 755.

Trustworthy company

Sim Tshabalala, Group Chief Executive for Standard Bank Group says their accolade from TIME Magazine shows their determination to deliver excellent services for clients in, across and beyond Africa.

“Trust is the foundation of our business, and we are very pleased to be recognised among the world’s best. We will continue to work hard to earn the trust of our clients, our investors and the communities and countries where we work.”

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Apple is the best company in the world

The list names Apple as the best company in the world among 1,000. What played in Apple’s favour was its strong ESG rating, which was number 1 out of all the companies.

Semuels adds although the tech company’s employee satisfaction is the fourth highest in the world, it also played a role in the company’s overall score.  

Apple made a commitment to being carbon neutral by 2030. “The company is making more products with recycled materials; in early 2024, it also became the first big tech company to achieve gender equality on its board of directors, now composed of four men and four women.”

“But companies like Apple, Microsoft, and BMW still appear to be investing in their workers’ happiness, a trait that has put them at the top of the list of a new statistical ranking of 1,000 of the World’s Best Companies by Statista and TIME.”

Microsoft sits at position three

The giant tech company, Microsoft sits in third position as the best company in the world, and its employee satisfaction rating is the second highest. Microsoft made $88 billion in its latest fiscal year, up 22% from the prior year, and ranked highly in revenue growth.

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“Microsoft has said it tries to ensure that employees are thriving, which it defines as ‘energized and empowered to do meaningful work’, an approach that seems to be working both at keeping employees happy and at powering revenue,” she adds.

The company that scored the highest in employee satisfaction was Alphabet, the parent company of Google. However, in the list of 1,000 companies in the world, it sits at 25.

BMW only car company in top 10

The top 1,000 best companies in the world include the German automaker, the BMW Group at the fourth position. This makes the Germany headquartered company the only one in the automotive industry in the top ten.

The Group’s employee satisfaction is the seventh highest in the country, with an overall score of 97.41. Amazon sits at the fifth position, its employee satisfaction is the third highest in the world, with an overall score of 96.47.

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