The Best Employers in Middle East list to be announced on 29th April 2009

The Best Employers in Middle East list to be announced on 29th April 2009.
Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting firm, in association with their Study Partners and distinguished Judges, has announced that the first ever Best Employers in Middle East Study has concluded, and the much awaited names of the region’s Best Employers will be announced at an Awards Announcement in Dubai on April 29th, where the CEOs and HR Heads of the Best Employers will be honoured.
Hewitt’s Study partners include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, Dubai Knowledge Village, the Tamkeen (Labour Fund) in Bahrain, and the American Chambers of Commerce in Egypt. The Hewitt study, which was launched last summer, realized its promised goal and became the largest employee research project ever undertaken in the Middle East region. Earlier this year, Hewitt reported that the representative employee base registered for the study was over 150,000 employees from across the GCC and Levant region. The study is now the definitive source of employee and human capital research across the Middle East region, with the largest benchmark database on Employee Engagement, Organization Culture, Nationalization, High-Performance, Leadership Development and many other People Practices.
Debabrat Mishra, Consulting Business Leader - Middle East, Hewitt Associates said, “We are delighted with the outcomes of the inaugural Best Employers in Middle East study. Amidst the global economic crisis, which has had its share of impact on this region as well, the research findings will provide cheer to organisations that are focused on the long-term.”
In addition to the announcement, Hewitt will also conduct round-tables in cities across GCC and Levant. All participants will get complimentary reports that will provide insights about their own organisation, as well as benchmark them externally. “Our endeavor is to make the study findings easily accessible to practitioners so that it benefits the region’s Human Capital development. Starting mid-May 2009, we are conducting round-tables, wherein we would be sharing the findings of the study with HR practitioners and business leaders. These sessions are non-commercial and support Hewitt’s mission of ‘Making the world a better place to work’”, added Mr. Mishra.
Judging for the final list was conducted on a ‘blind’ basis, i.e. without revealing the names of the organizations being judged. The Judging Panel members were all eminent, industry leaders, and represented a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. Their names will be announced alongside the Study findings on April 29th, 2009. 
Participation in the study is confidential and only the list of Best Employers will be publicly shared.