Best Employers in Latin America Share Three Key Traits, According to Hewitt Associates.

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Hewitt and America Economia Magazine Partner on First-Ever Pan-Regional Ranking of Latin America Best Employers

The 25 Best Employers in Latin America are diverse in size, industry and people practices, but they all share three traits that separate them as the "Best" from the rest, according to Hewitt Associates (NYSE:HEW), a global human resources firm.

Hewitt recently conducted a "Best Employers Latin America" study in partnership with America Economia, recognized as one of Latin America's most authoritative business publications. The June 18 issue of America Economia features more detail about the first-ever Latin America Best Employer Top 25 Ranking, which is led by seven companies each from Mexico and Brazil, with the remaining organizations representing eight other countries throughout Latin America (complete list at the end of this release).

"This is definitely a pan-regional list," said Craig Bruce, a Latin America business leader for Hewitt Associates. "In analyzing these 25 companies, it was interesting to find similar traits these companies share. Suffice it to say, being a Best Employer truly does cut across national and cultural boundaries, as well as industry and company size."

Three Traits of the Best

Traits shared by these Best Employers in Latin America include the following.

Employees are connected to the business

Best Employers are results focused. Employees of Best Employers understand company goals and objectives, and have direction in achieving these. In short, employees are committed to seeing the company succeed.

Best Employers have a "virtuous" circle of collaboration and alignment

At Best Employers, a circle of frequent and comprehensive communication exists between leaders, management and employees. For example, Best Employers have clearly stated philosophies, ethics and values that translate into behavior by employees. The result of this type of communication is a well-articulated business strategy, as well as the implementation of HR policies and practices that support and facilitate the achievement of this strategy.

Employees are intrinsically motivated

A critical element of the Best Employers study is employee engagement - the desire of employees to work for their company, speak positively about their company, and strive to help the company meet its business goals. The 25 Best Employers in Latin America have engagement levels of 88 percent, on average, compared to an average of 73 percent for the rest of the organizations in the study.

"We all know that there is no 'magic formula' to ensure business success," said Bruce. "However, if a company manages its people practices within the framework of these critical factors, we are confident that success will follow."

Selecting the 25 Best Employers

More than 100 companies throughout the region participated in this Best Employer initiative, and were asked to complete three surveys: an Employee Opinion Survey, a People Practices Inventory Survey and a CEO Survey.

Workers from participating companies completed the Employee Opinion Survey. A requisite number of employees from each organization filled out the survey and submitted it directly to Hewitt Associates. Employees were chosen randomly, and all responses were kept confidential.

Participants also were required to complete the People Practices Inventory Survey. This was used to collect data on various HR functions within the organization. The results from this survey shed light on why employee engagement levels are so much higher at Best Employers.

The CEO Survey included questions about business strategies and goals, organizational information and human resource program effectiveness.

The survey was conducted in 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

An independent judging panel was appointed to determine the list of companies in the region. The selection of Best Employers was conducted through a blind judging process, in which company names were not disclosed to the judges until after the final selections were made.

Best Employers Latin America List

1. Ritz Carlton, Cancun                             Mexico
2. Fedex Express Mexico                             Mexico
3. 3M de Chile S.A.                                 Chile
4. Kimberly-Clark Peru S.A.                         Peru
5. American Express Co. Mexico                      Mexico
6. Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico                   Mexico
7. Cargill Agricola S.A.                            Brazil
8. Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus y
    Johnston S.A.A.                                 Peru
9. Verizon Dominicana                               Dominican Republic
10. Microsoft Informatica Ltda.                     Brazil
11. Femsa (Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A. de C.V.) Mexico
12. Atlantica Hotels International                  Brazil
13. S.C. Johnson & Son Chile Ltda.                  Chile
14. WEG Industrias S.A.                             Brazil
15. AstraZeneca                                     Argentina
16. Dix Assistencia Medica Ltda.                    Brazil
17. Laboratorios Suizos                             El Salvador
18. Cargill Honduras (Alcon)                        Honduras
19. Casa Cuervo                                     Mexico
20. Eli Lilly y Cia. De Venezuela, S.A.             Venezuela
21. Diageo Venezuela                                Venezuela
22. KRAFT Foods Mexico                              Mexico
23. ALL - America Latina Logistica do Brasil S.A.   Brazil
24. AMIL - Assistencia Medica Internacional Ltda.   Brazil
25. Copa Airlines                                   Panama

"The partnership between America Economia and Hewitt Associates brings the region's best business magazine together with the worldwide leader in human resources," said Ian McCluskey, publisher and managing director of America Economia. "The result is the most complete and diverse business list Latin America has ever seen."

About Hewitt

Hewitt Associates (www.hewitt.com) is a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm. It provides services from offices in 38 countries.

About America Economia

Published since 1986, America Economia magazine is the leading regional business publication in Latin America. It is published every other week in Spanish and Portuguese and has the greatest impact among the most influential executives in the region. Its editors and reporters are distributed in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Miami, and it also relies on a network of correspondents around the world, ensuring a matchless coverage of local and international business developments with a true Latin American perspective. For more information, please visit www.americaeconomia.com.