Two Minnesota companies have been ranked among the 25 “best multinational workplaces” in the world: Medtronic, Inc., and 3M Company.

The list, which was published in Fortune magazine, was created by the Great Place to Work Institute-which produces its “best companies” lists in 45 countries. To be considered for the World's Best Multinational Workplaces ranking, companies must have appeared on at least five national “best workplaces” lists, have a minimum of 5,000 employees worldwide, and have at least 5,000 employees or 40 percent of their work force based outside of the country in which they're headquartered. Scoring was based in large part on employee surveys.

Fridley-based Medtronic, which employs about 43,269 workers throughout the world, ranked 13th on the list. It has previously been named to “best workplaces” lists in Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the European Union.

“Through innovation, we strive to create an environment where talented people want to work. The people at Medtronic are truly unique and it is their commitment to living Medtronic's mission every day that makes this recognition possible,” Caroline Stockdale, Medtronic's senior vice president and chief human resources officer, said in a statement, adding that the company plans to “continue to accelerate growth” internationally.

Maplewood-based 3M ranked 16th on the Best Multinational Workplaces list. The company employs more than 80,000 worldwide, and it has been recognized on “best workplaces” lists from Austria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Peru, and Spain.

The Great Place to Work Institute said that the new top 25 list represents firms that have “succeeded the most in becoming the world's best workplaces across both physical and cultural borders,” adding that they also stand out as exceptional job creators.

The two Minnesota companies appearing on the list were selected from a total of 350 eligible companies. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corporation topped the list, followed by Cary, North Carolina-based SAS Institute, Inc. Click here to view the complete list.