Avanade Named to Newsweek’s First-Ever Most Loved Workplaces List

2021 Microsoft Global Alliance SI Partner of the Year Ranked #31 Among 100 U.S. Companies Recognized for Employee Sentiment and Satisfaction

Avanade, the leading digital innovator on the Microsoft ecosystem, has been ranked #31 in Newsweek‘s inaugural Most Loved Workplaces list. The list recognizes Avanade as one of the top 100 companies in the U.S. for employee happiness and satisfaction at work and is produced in collaboration with the Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company. The final rankings were determined after surveying more than 800,000 employees from businesses with workforces varying in size from 50 to over 10,000.

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“Our mission at Avanade is to create a genuine human impact for our clients, our people and the communities we serve,” said Avanade CEO, Pam Maynard. “We strongly believe that an exceptional employee experience leads to an exceptional client experience and our goal every day is to make sure our people feel inspired, confident and cared for. To be recognized by such an influential and respected publication as Newsweek is validation of our strategy and the journey we’ve been on for more than twenty years to create an environment where our people can show up, be themselves and do their best work.”

A joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft, Avanade is Microsoft’s largest dedicated global partner, and was recently named Microsoft 2021 Global Alliance SI Partner of the Year – the 16^th time receiving the recognition. With one of the largest numbers of Microsoft certified professionals worldwide, Avanade has grown significantly over the course of the pandemic, welcoming more than 15,000 new hires and reaching 50,000 people globally. As an expert in employee experience, staff enjoy flexible work schedules so they can prioritize their personal and home lives and achieve a tangible work-life balance.

“In the wake of the pandemic, businesses hit hurdles in terms of retaining and attracting employees – but the companies that made this list are delivering the respect, care, and appreciation that it takes to create a positive workplace that nurtures talent,” said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief, Newsweek.

With Maynard at the helm, Avanade has greatly enhanced its support systems for employees and placed a large focus on inclusion and diversity. In addition to fostering an inclusive culture and hiring the company’s first Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Maynard and Avanade have instituted specific programs to recruit and retain talent from underrepresented backgrounds. These include:

• actively recruiting neurodiverse candidates
• providing gender transition leave and coverage
• hiring and promoting more women into leadership positions
• establishing employee networks for a wide array of identities and providing dedicated support for them
• bolstering global training resources with mandatory all-employee courses on unconscious bias and anti-racism
• mandating executive diversity interview training to mitigate bias in the selection system
• setting specific I&D metrics that departments must report on to increase representation across underrepresented communities with bold goals for progress over the next few years.
• creating a clear and differentiated Employee Value Proposition that outlines the promises we make to our people and the workplace experiences that make us unique.

“The best way to determine the strength of a company’s culture is by measuring the degree of love employees feel for their workplace,” said Louis Carter, CEO and Founder of Best Practice Institute and Most Loved Workplace.

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The full Newsweek list of 2021’s Most Loved Workplaces will be featured in the magazine’s October 29 print edition and is currently available online.