Delta Employees join forces to build a kid\u2019s playground in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Rank Studios for Delta Air Lines<\/p>\n
Securing the doors for takeoff is an essential safety protocol onboard any Delta Air Lines flight. But back at corporate, the metaphorical doors are always open. Delta\u2019s \u201copen-door policy\u201d enables employees to communicate with leaders directly through email or in person, says Allison Ausband, executive vice president and chief people officer at Delta Air Lines. In addition, each corporate market has a designated senior leader who regularly visits employees, providing updates on the business and answering any questions. Those leaders also listen to employees and take their concerns seriously\u2014so much so that Delta has even introduced new benefits programs as a direct result of employee feedback.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want and need to hear from our people about what\u2019s working well and what needs improvement,\u201d Ausband says.<\/p>\n
These open lines of communication, says Ausband, have been well received by employees, and have led to a more positive work environment. The strategy has also helped Delta Air Lines<\/strong><\/a> earn the No. 2 spot (up from No. 6 in 2024) on our list of the World’s Best Employers 2025<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n To determine this annual ranking, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista<\/a> to survey more than 300,000 employees in over 50 countries who work for multinational corporations employing more than 1,000 workers. Respondents were asked how likely they\u2019d be to recommend their company to family or friends, and to rate it on such criteria as benefits, talent development, work environment and training opportunities. Participants could also rate previous employers (within the past two years) and companies they knew through their own industry knowledge and through friends and family who worked there.<\/p>\n Survey responses were analyzed and tallied\u2014along with data from the previous three years\u2014with a heavier weight put on the more recent data and on the evaluations from current employees. While the number of honorees per country varied based on the population and qualifying companies in each area, the 900 companies with the highest scores earned a spot on our list.<\/p>\n Delta stands out as the only company in the transportation and logistics industry to crack the top 50 on the list. The second-highest in the sector was Air France-KLM<\/strong><\/a> (No. 84), followed by ocean shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk<\/strong><\/a> (No. 114) and Southwest Airlines<\/strong><\/a> (No. 125).<\/p>\n Industries such as logistics, along with manufacturing, retail and some trades, tend to struggle with structural or cultural hurdles, says Jess LaRochelle, senior manager of executive search and talent consulting at W Talent Solutions. These industries often have leadership models that are stuck in the past or demonstrate a lack of flexibility due to the nature of the sector\u2019s work, which often requires employees to be on site. Transportation and logistics employers also face an aging workforce, with the median age of workers being just above 43 years old, a year older than the overall workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> (BLS).<\/p>\n \u201cMany are making strides, but culture and communication still lag behind what employees want,\u201d LaRochelle says of companies in these industries.<\/p>\n To reduce this gap between old-school industry norms and what employees need now, Delta, according to Ausband, utilizes a communication approach deemed \u201clisten-act-listen.\u201d After receiving feedback through employee engagement surveys about the need for more financial guidance and support, the airline launched an Emergency Savings Program in 2023<\/a>, in which employees could attend financial wellness training and earn $1,000 for a rainy-day fund. To date, more than 40,000 employees have participated in the program, according to Ausband. In addition, the company heard employees asking for more flexibility related to its employee pass travel, so Delta adjusted privileges to allow for an additional travel companion.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, industries such as professional services, technology and healthcare<\/a> tend to excel at keeping employees content. \u201cThese sectors have embraced flexibility, career development and strong internal communication to stay competitive,\u201d LaRochelle says.<\/p>\n That finding rings true on Forbes\u2019 latest list, in which three of the top 5 companies are in the IT software and services industry, with Microsoft<\/strong><\/a> at No. 1 for the second year in a row, Alphabet<\/strong><\/a> (Google) at No. 3 and Adobe<\/strong><\/a> at No. 4.<\/p>\n For Adobe, it\u2019s the company\u2019 \u201cspirit of innovation\u201d that has inspired many employees to stay with and grow at the company, says Gloria Chen, Adobe\u2019s chief people officer and executive vice president of employee experience. Chen herself has been at the company for more than 25 years.<\/p>\n As a software company, Adobe is \u201calways looking ahead to the next big thing,\u201d Chen says. \u201cNow, in the AI era, that drive is as strong as ever.\u201d Indeed, AI has taken the enterprise world by storm. In a McKinsey study<\/a> published in March, 78% of respondents said their companies use AI in at least one business function, with 63% using the technology in at least two functions.<\/p>\n Siemens employees at the Hannover Messe 2025 trade fair in Germany<\/p>\n GIULIA IANNICELLI for Siemens<\/p>\n Siemens<\/strong><\/a> (No. 41), which doesn\u2019t shy away from change, has also embraced AI, says Nanda Burke, global head of talent and organization at the company. She notes that Siemens is continuously reinventing itself, \u201cand we invite our people to do the same.\u201d One such invention is the new SiemensGPT, which lets employees chat, interact and create their own bots, Burke says. Since last October, employees have created more than 15,000 bots.<\/p>\n With AI rapidly catching on in many workplaces, AI-people collaboration has become \u201ca core competency\u201d among the strongest employers, says Larry Durham, president of St. Charles Consulting Group. He sees leading organizations using AI for tasks such as pattern detection or analysis, affording employees more time to focus on creativity and relationship-building. \u201cEmployees report higher job satisfaction because they can focus on meaningful, strategic work,\u201d Durham says.<\/p>\n Incorporating AI and encouraging employees to engage with the technology also gives workers a chance to learn new skills. And without skill development, employees tend to feel stagnant and stuck without clear pathways to grow, says Durham. \u201cEmployees leave when they can’t see how to expand their capabilities beyond their current role.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile employers are keenly aware that it\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to retain employees. The most recent data from BLS shows that the median length of time an employee stays with their company is 3.9 years, the lowest tenure<\/a> since 2002. So, while there is no magic formula to keeping employees engaged and content, the companies on this year\u2019s list are working toward those goals every day.<\/p>\n For the full list of the World\u2019s Best Employers, click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Methodology<\/p>\n