Key insights
- 92% of employees at Indonesia’s Best Workplaces say people are willing to give extra effort, against 75% at typical Indonesian companies.
- 89.1% say they generally trust their workplace, against 71.4% at typical Indonesian companies.
- 85.2% say management delivers on its promises, against 56.6% at typical Indonesian companies.
Across the 2026 Best Workplaces in Indonesia list, the leaders we spoke with kept describing the same practice in different words: give people a channel to raise something, then act on what comes back.
The 2026 list was built on confidential survey results representing the views of 179,248 workers nationwide. The companies on it move freight, sell laptops, insure families and fill supermarket shelves.
What their leaders share is a working theory that credible management lets people speak up, learn faster and do better work.
How do Indonesia’s Best Workplaces build trust?
They build it through access. Employees have named, working routes to raise an issue, and leaders treat what comes back as information rather than noise.
Great Place To Work’s 2026 Trust Index survey data for Indonesia shows 89.1% of employees at the Best Workplaces say they generally trust their workplace, against 71.4% at typical Indonesian companies.
At Alcon Batam, whose plant makes eye care products shipped worldwide, Vice President Nokaraju Ramuloo lists the channels by name: one-on-ones, skip-level meetings, a Bipartite Meeting, an Associate Experience Dashboard and the Great Place To Work survey.
“By ensuring every voice can be heard, we create a workplace where associates feel valued, empowered, and accountable for driving positive change.”
Nokaraju Ramuloo · Vice President, Alcon Batam
That is factory-floor logic. A problem raised early is cheaper than a problem raised late.
Ayu Kristiana, Country Manager at Discova, part of Flight Centre Travel Group, arrives at the same place from the travel business. Her teams run a cross-functional committee open to any employee at any level, which shapes company events, engagement programs and the house rules everyone works to.
“Leadership isn’t about having all the answers or sitting in a corner office. It’s about listening, staying grounded, and clearing the path so our teams can thrive.”
Ayu Kristiana · Country Manager, Discova
The same survey data shows 92% of employees at the Best Workplaces say people are willing to give extra effort to get the job done, against 75% at typical Indonesian companies. On whether management delivers on its promises, the gap is wider again: 85.2% against 56.6%.
Nina Hatumena, Chief People & Culture Officer at Allianz Indonesia, applies the same instinct across several legal entities held together by one shared culture the insurer calls One Team, One Allianz. DHL placed three business units on this year’s list, led by Ahmad Mohamad at Express, Nicholas Bongsosartono at Global Forwarding and Mauricio Almeida at Supply Chain.
Does AI belong in an answer about culture?
These leaders think so, and they treat it as a skills question rather than a technology one. Two of them described programs built around what employees can do with the tools.
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DANA Indonesia trains employees to build with AI, not only use it
Interim Chief People Officer Putu Wisudantari Parthami calls the approach Heartware. DANA is one of the country’s largest digital wallets.
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TP Indonesia uses an engagement copilot to clear repetitive work
VP People Operations Sri Adhityo credits Persona AI with lower workload for agents and faster, more accurate answers for customers in healthcare, fintech and retail.
“We actively equip employees across functions with AI capabilities and encourage them to evolve from AI users to AI creators.”
Putu Wisudantari Parthami · Interim Chief People Officer, DANA Indonesia
Plenty of workplace AI writing casts employees as either dazzled converts or nervous bystanders. These two talk about judgement, training and support, which is considerably more useful.
What happens when culture leaves the building?
It shows up in what employees do outside their job description. Taufiqurrahman Basthami, President Director of URC Indonesia, puts it most bluntly: departing employees go through Pensiunpreneur, structured training in business fundamentals, financial literacy and entrepreneurial planning.
“We don’t retire our people. We relaunch them.”
Taufiqurrahman Basthami · President Director, URC Indonesia
Six companies on the list described programs that send employees into the community as part of the job rather than alongside it.
| Company | Program | What employees do |
|---|---|---|
| URC Indonesia | Pensiunpreneur | Departing employees complete structured training in business fundamentals, financial literacy and entrepreneurial planning. |
| Hilton | Hilton Educare | Team members give students skills, mentorship and industry exposure, alongside industrial class programs at several hotels. |
| PT Acer Indonesia | #SayangBumi | Employees go out as volunteers and ambassadors teaching responsible e-waste management. |
| Syngenta Indonesia | Petani MAJU | Employees work alongside farmers on the ground as partners in the company’s strategy. |
| Sun Life Financial Indonesia | BESTIE, or Being Someone to Inspire Everyone | Employees join volunteering and collective giving under the company’s High-Performance Caring Culture. |
| Luminary | Wellbeing app built with Beyond Blue | The Small category lister built the app with the Australian mental health charity for its own team and the wider community. |
Hilton SVP Alex Murray describes the hotel version as “hospitality beyond the hotel”, embedded into everyday team member experience and linking wellbeing and growth with community action.
At Syngenta Indonesia, President Director Eryanto says the partnership model does something to the org chart: “Boundaries disappear as employees step beyond their roles to build trust, empathy, and collective ownership of success.”
Sun Life’s Head of Talent Management Inga Nuh says the culture has pulled more employees into volunteering and collective giving. At PT Acer Indonesia, President Director Leny Ng points to the same effect through environmental education.
Luminary CEO Marty Drill sums up the test each of these programs has to pass: “It supports our team and the community.”
What can people managers and CHROs take from this?
Innovation follows permission. Our 2026 Special Insights Report for Indonesia found that 55% of employees at the Best Workplaces say they have meaningful opportunities to innovate, against 35% at typical Indonesian companies.
Employees with meaningful opportunities to innovate
Best Workplaces in Indonesia
Typical Indonesian companies
Employees at the Best Workplaces are 20 percentage points more likely to say they can innovate. Both bars are scaled against 100% of employees surveyed.
Every leader quoted here has built a route from an employee’s idea to something that happens: a channel, a committee, a training program, a day in the community.
There is a second lesson here for employer branding. The material that moves people is a respected leader explaining one specific thing they did, in enough detail to prove they were in the room.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Best Workplaces in Indonesia 2026?
The Best Workplaces in Indonesia 2026 list recognizes organisations where employees consistently report strong trust, fairness and leadership. The list is based on confidential employee feedback gathered through Great Place To Work’s methodology, representing the views of 179,248 workers across Indonesia.
How are Best Workplaces in Indonesia selected?
Best Workplaces in Indonesia are selected primarily through employee survey data. Employees assess trust, fairness, leadership, pride, camaraderie and respect through the Trust Index Survey. List placement depends on how people experience the workplace, which gives HR and employer branding leaders a stronger signal than self-reported employer claims alone.
Why does trust matter in Best Workplaces in Indonesia?
Trust matters because it changes how employees behave at work. At Indonesia’s Best Workplaces, 92% of employees say people are willing to give extra effort and 85.2% say management delivers on its promises. High trust supports commitment, better communication and stronger retention, especially in a labour market where younger workers are paying close attention to fairness and credibility.
How do Best Workplaces in Indonesia support communities?
They support communities by connecting employee growth with social impact. Hilton links team member development with hospitality education pathways, URC Indonesia equips departing employees with business and financial skills through Pensiunpreneur, and Acer Indonesia involves employees in environmental education through #SayangBumi. In each case, culture improves outcomes inside the organization and beyond it.
Does Great Place To Work Certification help employer branding?
Yes, though its value depends on whether the experience is real. Certification and list recognition strengthen employer reputation, employee pride and talent attraction when they reflect what employees genuinely report. The strongest employer brands are built on trusted leadership, fairness and follow-through, which is why confidential employee feedback sits at the centre of the Best Workplaces in Indonesia methodology.
