More and more companies, from multinational corporations to state owned enterprises and startups, are now racing to earn the Great Place to Work (GPTW) Certification. This is not happening by accident. Amid growing competition to secure top talent, this certification has become real proof that a company genuinely deserves to be called a good place to work, rather than just a claim made by management. This article explores what Great Place to Work certification is, its benefits, examples of companies that have earned it, the requirements involved, and how it connects to employer branding strategy.
Great Place to Work Certification is an official recognition awarded by the Great Place to Work Institute, an independent global organization that evaluates workplace culture and employee experience within a company. Unlike awards judged based on outside opinion, this certification is based entirely on direct employee feedback through a survey called the Trust Index Survey, which measures employee trust across five dimensions: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.
Because the assessment is grounded directly in employee voice, this certification carries more credibility than workplace culture claims communicated solely through a company’s own marketing materials.
The certification serves as independent, external validation, showing potential employees, business partners, and investors that a company genuinely upholds the quality of its employees’ work experience.
Research from Great Place to Work shows that the majority of job seekers prefer companies that are certified over those that are not. The certification badge can be used directly in recruitment materials to attract quality candidates.
Certified companies typically record significantly lower turnover rates than the industry average, since employees feel more trusted and valued in their day to day work.
Certified companies automatically become eligible for consideration on prestigious lists such as Best Workplaces in Indonesia or the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, which can significantly boost brand exposure.
Based on historical data from Great Place to Work, consistently certified companies tend to show stronger stock performance and business growth compared to the market average, since a strong culture of trust correlates with higher productivity and innovation.
At the global level, the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, released annually by Fortune in partnership with Great Place to Work, serves as one of the leading benchmarks. Some names that consistently appear on this list include World Wide Technology, which has earned this recognition for 15 consecutive years, and Kimley-Horn, which has maintained certification for 19 years. Synchrony Financial even took the top spot in 2026, while major names like Marriott International are also widely known for consistently upholding top tier workplace standards across the many countries where they operate, including Indonesia.
In Indonesia, an increasing number of companies, both state owned and private, are pursuing this certification. Jasa Raharja, for example, earned Great Place to Work certification for the 2025-2026 period, affirming its commitment to employee well being. Indonesia AirAsia was also recorded as the only airline in Indonesia to earn this certification, achieving it in late 2025. Several multinational companies operating in Indonesia have also consistently maintained this certification, including Schneider Electric Indonesia, which has been certified for five consecutive years and ranked among the top five in Best Workplaces in Indonesia 2026, DHL Supply Chain Indonesia, PT Hilti Nusantara, PT Link Net Tbk, and Allianz Indonesia, which placed fourth in the large company category on the same list.
The certification process consists of two main stages. First, a company needs to distribute the Trust Index Survey to its employees, which includes dozens of statements and open ended questions designed to measure the overall employee experience. Second, the company also needs to complete a short questionnaire about the programs and policies it has in place related to workplace culture.
Distributing this survey must meet certain distribution and participation standards to ensure the results genuinely represent the voice of the entire workforce, not just a small portion of it. To pass certification, the average positive score across all employees needs to reach a certain threshold, typically around seven out of ten employees reporting a consistently positive work experience. The certification is valid for twelve months, meaning companies need to go through the assessment process again each year to maintain their status.
Great Place to Work certification is essentially one form of tangible proof of strong employer branding. If employer branding is how a company builds and communicates its image as a good place to work, then this certification becomes the objective validation that reinforces that image in the eyes of potential employees and the wider public.
Companies that take employer branding seriously usually do not stop at social media campaigns or an attractive careers page. They make sure the actual day to day experience inside the company genuinely matches the image being communicated externally. Certifications like Great Place to Work help ensure this consistency, while also providing credible promotional material to support a company’s employer branding strategy.
Medium to large companies, particularly those operating in sectors with intense competition for talent such as technology, financial services, consulting, and manufacturing, are now investing more seriously in employer branding. These companies recognize that recruiting quality talent, especially the increasingly scarce digital talent, takes more than just a competitive salary.
State owned enterprises and public companies are also starting to follow this trend, since a reputation as a good employer now shapes how investors and business partners perceive them, not just prospective employees. B2B companies, which have traditionally been known primarily through their product or service reputation, are also beginning to recognize that their image as an employer influences how much clients and partners trust their overall business credibility.
At its core, employer branding exists to ensure a company maintains a consistent and credible image as a workplace, allowing it to attract the right candidates, speed up the recruitment process, and reduce the cost of sourcing new talent. Beyond that, strong employer branding also helps retain existing employees, since they feel proud of and trust the place where they work.
Beyond recruitment, well managed employer branding also strengthens a company’s overall reputation, since how the public perceives a company as an employer has become part of its full brand image, alongside how that brand is perceived by customers and business partners.
Melon Branding helps companies develop a comprehensive brand strategy, including how to strengthen their image as a good place to work, ensuring the employer branding they build stays aligned with their overall brand identity and strategy.
Great Place to Work certification is not just a symbolic award, it is tangible proof grounded in the voices of employees themselves. This certification offers wide ranging benefits, from making recruitment easier to strengthening business reputation, while also serving as an important pillar of an effective employer branding strategy. For medium to large companies looking to stay competitive in the race for talent, building a workplace culture worth certifying, and communicating it consistently through employer branding, is becoming an investment that is increasingly hard to ignore.
What is the difference between Great Place to Work certification and a Best Workplaces award? Certification is the baseline requirement showing a company meets the standard for employee trust, while a Best Workplaces award is an additional recognition given only to certified companies with the top scores in a specific category or industry.
Can any company pursue this certification? Yes, companies of any size and industry can pursue this certification, as long as they are willing to run the Trust Index survey and meet the required distribution and employee participation standards.
How long does Great Place to Work certification last? The certification is valid for twelve months, so companies need to go through the assessment process again each year to maintain their status.
Is employer branding only important for recruitment purposes? No, strong employer branding also impacts employee retention, investor and business partner trust, and overall brand reputation, not just attracting new candidates.
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