Fortune names Hilton the best company to work for in Europe

Hilton Worldwide Holdings has come out on top in Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For – Europe’ ranking.

The hospitality giant pips AbbVie to the top of the rankings, while former leader DHL Group ranks third. The remainder of the top ten includes Cisco Systems, Specsavers, Allianz, Stryker, Aviva, Siemens Healthineers and Salesforce.

The Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For – Europe 2026 rankings include companies headquartered across 25 countries across Europe. Around half of the businesses are privately held, while just over a third are European operations of large US businesses. Women lead six of the 100 companies on the list.

Sector leaders

On a sector-by-sector basis, technology is the most represented, with 26 companies on the list, followed by healthcare with 17 and financial services with 15.

The top 25 positions of the rankings welcomed six newcomers this year – Alshaya Group, Groupe Sii, Kiabi, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Verisure – while a third of firms in the top 100 are new to the overall list.

In terms of the biggest movers, TD Synnex was the biggest climber, moving up 62 places to 32nd. Pluxee rose 49 places to 50th, Volkswagen Financial Services climbed 43 places to 47th, Trek Bicycle moved up 39 places to 26th, while Reitan rose 34 places to 61st.

‘Doubled down on trust’

“In a year of non-stop disruption, these companies didn’t retreat to old formulas; they doubled down on trust,” commented Grethe Schepers, lists director Europe at Fortune. “Congratulations to every workplace on our list for proving that a people-first culture is your greatest asset for navigating change.”

The ranking is produced by Great Place To Work and is based primarily on employee surveys, alongside information provided by participating companies about workplace programmes and strategy. Read more here.