BESIDES giving out quarterly bonuses, supervisors in this company tutor its staff towards obtaining a high school diploma or college degree.

Such commitment to its staff was one reason that local semiconductor firm Flextronics earned top spot in Fortune magazine's 2008 survey of the World's Most Admired Companies in Asia (excluding Japan and China).

Besides Flextronics, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the other home-grown representative to make it to the honours list, ranking 21st in Fortune's Global 500.

However, SIA lost out to Flextronics in the Asian category because it was scored, at 6.51, lower within its industry. Flextronics scored 7.11 within its industry.

The list was released in Singapore yesterday. The top 20 companies on the worldwide list are predominantly American.

Flextronics' inclusion in the list means that its global rewards strategy has won acclaim not just from its 200,000 employees - spread over 30 countries - but also from its peers.

The company's winning score means it is the top leader within its industry in Asia, ahead of notable names such as Samsung Electronics (6.48) and LG (6.41).

Mr Richard Wong, Flextronics' vice-president of human resources in Asia, told my paper:

'We believe not just in financial compensation but total rewards in terms of career growth and working environment.'

That means helping employees to 'plug and play'. Supervisors discuss staff progression and career advancement prospects.

Additionally, local culture is also taken into consideration.

For instance, the Japanese usually hand out summer and winter bonuses - a practice that Flextronics adopted for staff in the country even though it does not do so globally.

Said Mr Wong: 'Being sensitive to local culture and sustaining a complete rewards strategy are part of our recipe for success.'

Such business practices are what Fortune aims to uncover when identifying, selecting and ranking the world's most admired companies.

Held annually in collaboration with global consulting firm Hay Group, this year's poll covered more than 160 companies across 18 industries.

An interesting finding which emerged showed that most admired companies paid junior staff, such as fresh entrants and those with less than five years of experience, an average of five per cent less compared to their industry counterparts.

However, admired companies used performance-related bonuses more as part of their reward philosophy.

Hay Group's Singapore general manager, Mr Andrew How, said: 'The pay philosophy shows that most admired companies emphasise employee growth from within, so they do not have to pay a premium on attracting staff from outside the organisation.'

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