These are the 25 top companies to work for in South Africa

 ·7 Apr 2022

Professional networking platform LinkedIn has published its sixth annual top companies list, with South African companies included for the first time.

The companies were selected based on a combination of research and unique member data, with LinkedIn focusing on workplaces where professionals can ‘grow their careers’, and which make the biggest impact in the professional world.

To be eligible, companies must have at least 500 employees as of 31 December 2021, and employee attrition can be no higher than 10% over the prior 12 months.

Only parent companies rank on the list; majority-owned subsidiaries and associated data are wrapped into the parent company. All data counts are normalised based on company size across the pool of companies eligible for the list.

Ranking Company South African headcount Most notable skills Most common job titles
1 Standard Bank Group 34 740
  • Banking
  • Decision-Making
  • Graphs
  • Universal Banker
  • Business Analyst
  • Software Engineer
2 FirstRand Group 39 000
  • Retail Banking
  • Financial Services
  • Transactional Banking
  • Quantitative Analyst
  • Private Banker
  • Auditor
3 WPP  5 950
  • Advertising
  • Merchandising
  • Corporate Branding
  • Finance Manager
  • Television Producer
  • Merchandiser
4 Nedbank 18 225
  • Sales Effectiveness
  • Sales Strategy
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Sales Consultant
  • Business Manager
  • Banker
5 Absa Group 26 480
  • Banking
  • Financial Services
  • Consumer Services
  • Sales Consultant
  • Banker
  • Business Analyst
6 The Coca-Cola Company 3 330
  • Office Administration
  • Engineering
  • Customer Service
  • Account Manager
  • Warehouse Operator
  • Process Controller
7 Investec 4 760
  • Banking
  • Client Services
  • Legal Contract Review
  • Banker
  • Business Analyst
  • Software Engineer
8 Vodacom 11 925
  • Telecommunications
  • Consumer Services
  • Voice over IP (VoIP)
  • Sales Consultant
  • Head of Sales
  • Project Manager
9 Dimension Data (NTT) 9 055
  • Building Effective Relationships
  • Constructive Feedback
  • Call Centre Administration
  • DevOps Engineer
  • DevOps Manager
  • Senior Software Engineer
10 Amazon 11 800
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Contact Centers
  • Computer Literacy
  • Customer Service Specialist
  • Customer Service Advisor
  • Technical Support Associate
11 Discovery 11 545
  • Insurance
  • Constructive Feedback
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Financial Advisor
  • Service Consultant
  • Business Consultant
12 BP 830
  • Financial Accounting
  • Training
  • Sales
  • Cashier
  • Retail Territory Manager
  • Performance Analyst
13 Johnson & Johnson 1 345
  • Territory Management
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Personal Development
  • Salesperson
  • Customer Service Representative
  • Booking Coordinator
14 Total Energies 2 355
  • Consumer Services
  • Accounting
  • Engineering Customer Service
  • Depot Manager
  • Operations Manager
  • Project Engineer
15 Assmang 705
  • Planned Preventative Maintenance
  • Management
  • Analytical Skills
  • Laboratory Analyst
  • Instrumentation Technician
  • Mining Supervisor
16 Deloitte 4 865
  • International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
  • External Auditing
  • Accounting
  • Audit Manager
  • Actuarial Analyst
  • Data Analyst
17 Naspers 5 800
  • Call Centre Administration
  • Broadcast Television
  • Customer Service Management
  • Accountant
  • Senior Software Engineer
  • Business Analyst
18 Tongaat Hulett 2 415
  • Engineering
  • Problem Solving
  • Customer Service
  • Electrician
  • Process Engineer
  • Mechanical Fitter
19 Openserve (Telkom) 5 780
  • Telecommunications
  • Troubleshooting
  • Transmission
  • Operational Specialist
  • Technical Officer
  • Operations Manager
20 Unilever 4 240
  • Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
  • Machine Operation
  • E-commerce Optimisation
  • Machine Operator
  • National Account Manager
  • Assistant Brand Manager Marketing
21 Anglo American  10 960
  • Underground Mining
  • Mining Engineering
  • Mineral Processing
  • Project Manager
  • Human Resources Analyst
  • Metallurgist
22 ABB  1 830
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Project Engineering
  • Sales
  • Service Engineer
  • Sales Specialist
  • Project Manager
23 Sanlam 20 065
  • Financial Advisory
  • System Thinking
  • Retirement Planning
  • Financial Advisor
  • Sales Manager
  • Fund Administrator
24 RCL Foods 5 335
  • Food Safety
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
  • Credit Control
  • Human Resources Generalist
  • Management Accountant
  • Commercial Manager
25 TFG (The Foschini Group) 6 925
  • Visual Merchandising
  • Inventory Management
  • Recruiting
  • Salesperson
  • Store Manager
  • Credit Advisor

*Headcounts are provided by the companies directly or in public filings, unless otherwise noted

Methodology 

This list is meant to be a resource for employees, guiding professionals at every stage – whether that means a career pivot, jumping back into the workforce after a hiatus or investing in new skills.

To put together this year’s rankings, LinkedIn considered data across seven pillars, each revealing an important element of career progression:

  • Ability to advance tracks employee promotions within a company and when they move to a new company, based on standardised job titles.
  • Skills growth looks at how employees across the company are gaining skills while employed at the company, using standardised LinkedIn skills.
  • Company stability tracks attrition over the past year, as well as the percentage of employees that stay at the company at least three years.
  • External opportunity looks at recruiter outreach across employees at the company, signalling demand for workers coming from these companies.
  • Company affinity, which seeks to measure how supportive a company’s culture is, looks at connection volume on LinkedIn among employees, controlled for company size.
  • Gender diversity measures gender parity within a company and its subsidiaries.
  • Finally, educational background examines the variety of educational attainment among employees, from no degree up to Ph.D. levels, reflecting a commitment to recruiting a wide range of professionals.

Read: Ramaphosa on where South Africa is heading right now

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