Mars joins inaugural World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list for 2011

Mars, Incorporated has been ranked 19th in the inaugural World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list, the world’s first global workplace excellence ranking by Great Place to Work®. The list, announced today at a ceremony and gala dinner at the New York Stock Exchange honored the top 25 global companies to work for in the world. The World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list is based upon all the Best Workplaces Lists published between September 2010 and August 2011 and is featured on Fortune.com.

Mars, Incorporated, alongside other qualifying companies were required to feature on at least five national Great Place to Work lists, have at least 5,000 Associates and have at least 40 percent of their workforce located outside the country in which their company is headquartered. Twelve of Mars, Incorporated’s operations are featured on the list including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

“As a global business, we are united by our Principles-based culture,” commented Paul S. Michaels, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mars, Incorporated. “Although we operate in 71 countries, speak different languages, and have diverse perspectives and opinions, our culture remains consistent and provides our 65,000 Associates with the opportunity to make their work mean more every day.”

“To receive this recognition from Great Places to Work and to be featured in the inaugural World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list is testament to every Mars Associate who is passionate about their work and takes pride in putting the Five Principles of Mars into action every day,” adds Michaels.

The Mars Five Principles of Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom are the foundation of its culture and approach to business. They unite Mars across generations, geographies, languages and cultures. First expressed by Forrest E. Mars, Sr. in the 1930s as his business model based on delivering a “mutuality of benefits” for all stakeholders, and later articulated as the Five Principles by the next generation of the Mars family, these philosophies guide Mars Associates’ relationships with consumers, customers, business partners, communities and one another.

The World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list collates the views of a company’s employees based on a criterion of five key attributes: credibility, fairness, respect, pride and camaraderie. With over 65,000 Associates in 71 countries globally, Mars, Incorporated’s reach extends to 365 locations around the world. The company was credited by Great Places to Work in three key areas for its unique working environment and Associate culture:

• Developing and implementing a successful global Associate engagement program since 2003, based on a mechanism of communication and involvement. Regular town hall meetings, ‘site involvement teams’ and suggestion boxes in local sites support feedback and recommendations to management
• Ombudsman program in local sites to help Associates address work related issues in a confidential setting
• Developing a Mars working culture that facilitates collaboration and a sense of communication. An open door policy that seeks to break down barriers and makes everyone, CEO through to Associate, more approachable

Additionally, Mars, Incorporated was recognized for its high percentage of women in executive and senior management positions – 27 per cent globally – and its low employee turnover rate – 8 per cent globally.

To learn more about Mars as a workplace and a company, please visit mars.com.