From the Editor

Most of us work long hours. Exactly how long? Here's one calculation: An average working person spends 87,500 hours or 3,646 days or 10 years of his life in office. If only waking hours were to be considered, office will occupy an even more predominant part of our existence. Given this fact, how much importance do we give to the kind of organisation we work for? How much and how well is the organisation's culture shaping our professional and personal life?

Most people don't really think beyond salary and current job profile in deciding which company to work for. Once every year, Business Today attempts to make you think better in choosing your employer (and we've been doing so for the past eight years). Of course, we also tell companies how to make themselves a beehive of the best hands and minds in the country.

Our 9th annual "Best Companies to Work For" study is a continuation of that effort. This year, our study is vastly revised, reshaped, expanded and improved. The rationale for revamping the methodology is explained on pages 34 and 74. You will find the following "new" in this year's package:

• Coverage of many more employers than ever before.over 1,000 small and big companies included in the survey universe.
• That yielded us 25 top employers this year.up from 10 till last year.
• Some of India's biggest employers and companies (including PSUs) enter our rankings, making it much more useful for our readers.
• For the first time, we also found sector specific "best employers", though only for six sectors to start with.
• We reached out to employees directly, without involving their companies.as was the case till last year.
• In addition to current employees, we also reached out to former and future (potential hires) employees.

A company's attractiveness now depends not only on what people working in its sector of operation think of it, but also on what employees in other sectors and professions think of it. This is particularly relevant now, with companies beginning to hire executives from sectors vastly different from their own. We believe this year's survey is not only more comprehensive, it is also more relevant. It now truly brings out the HR equity of the companies rated.

We intend to improve the methodology further next year. Given the bountiful data at our disposal, we aren't sure if even the 45-page cover package does complete justice to the study, but we will be happy to address your questions on further details. or doubts. Just reach out to us through e-mail, web or good old India Post.