A great place to work is one where you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people that you work with. Our selection of Best Workplaces always begins with the employee experience, measured by the results of our Employee Trust Index© Survey across 60 survey statements. We also use our Culture Audit© to assess management’s approach to creating a great workplace For All™ .
In recognition of the great disruption that leadership confronted due to COVID-19, we focused our Culture Audit on one question:
“Tell us about the bold acts of leadership in your organization that has taken in response to the Covid-19 crisis to create a great workplace for all of your people, in community or in the world.”
Sales took a hit. Profits fell. Medtronic staff were banned from hospitals where they would usually spend time supporting surgeons with their devices. The pandemic exacted a large toll on the business, but they fought back! For their employees and the community.
At the peak of the pandemic, Medtronic, a global provider of critical healthcare products and therapies, saw their revenue and profit fall significantly as hospitals cancelled all elective surgeries and delayed surgical procedures
They prioritized the healthy well-being of employees and doing their part to stop the Covid-19 spread even as they deliver on their mission to provide critical products and therapies to patients in need.
The safety of their people were taken care of by a dedicated, cross-functional Covid-19 Response Team, aided by My Digital Workplace Hub and supported by the ‘We are Stronger Together’ campaign designed to engage employees in mind, body and spirit. Safety protocols and supplies, food delivery vouchers, wellness gift packs and training were provided.
Medtronic employees who needed to work on campus were provided with safety protocols, training and PPE supplies. Immunity juice stations were provided along with complimentary bento boxes for employees’ lunch each day, so employees did not need to go out to local food stalls, risking exposure. Staff expensed taxi rides to and from work to reduce the chance of exposure on public transportation.
To alleviate financial insecurity, they gave special bonus incentives for sales employees and a special incentive to motivate and reward non-sales employees. Every foreign employee working away from home will receive a company sponsored round-trip flight and two extra vacation days to reunite with their family post-pandemic.
They not only showed up for their people but also for the community. They distributed 1,650 appreciation packs to frontline workers, worked with Temasek Foundation to donate more than 330 ventilators regionally, and responded to urgent calls from hospitals with USD$1.5 million worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to hospitals across APAC.
Employees love the heart and compassion Medtronic manifested in these trying times and we do too. We are delighted to rank them among 2020 Best Workplaces in Singapore.

Check out how Medtronic APAC celebrated their win as our 2020 List Maker in this video.
We share these and other highlights from our study of this year’s Best Workplaces Culture Audit submissions and the common characteristics that thread across Best Workplaces in this Insights Report.
This is a first of a two-part release. Download this report and get an advanced copy of the second part straight to your inbox, where we will take a deeper dive into our employee survey data, including comparisons between employee experience in 2020 and 2019, during pre-COVID times.