Human resources consultancy Hay Group has named Infosys [Get Quote] among the world's 20 best companies for leadership, evident from its continued focus on employee development even during the global slowdown.

The annual study by Hay Group, in partnership with Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com, ranked the best companies for leadership globally and examined how those companies develop leaders.

General Electric, which has been ranked number one in the list, spends about $400 million annually on leadership development, the study said.

It is followed by low-cost American airline Southwest Airlines, conglomerate 3M Company, consumer products maker Procter & Gamble and IT consultancy Accenture. Indian IT firm Infosys, which employs over 100,000 people, has been ranked 10th overall in the top 20 list for best companies in terms of leadership practices.

The study quoted Infosys leadership philosophy, "Creating leaders is an absolute need. We have no option other than a process that is formalized, hard-coded into our DNA." Other firms in the list include -- retailer Wal-Mart(6th), Nestle [Get Quote] (7th), Coca-Cola (8th) and fast-food chain McDonald's (9th).

"Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership not only entered recession with strong leadership in place, they maintained their commitment to prepare and retain leaders and are highly committed to developing leaders," Hay Group Leadership and Talent Practice director Rick Lash said.

Infosys has been ranked ahead of technology giant IBM (11th), Cisco Systems (12th), United Parcel Service (13), Ikea (14) and Switzerland-based ABB Group (15th).

The study also identified a variety of factors that make the 20 Best Companies for Leadership stand out when it comes to identifying and developing great leaders.

About 90 per cent of respondents in the top 20 firms agree that all employees at their company have the opportunity to develop and practice capabilities needed to lead others, compared to 67 per cent of all respondents.

The last five firms named in the top 20 are -- online shoe and clothing shop firm Zappos (16), Hewlett-Packard (17), Goldman Sachs (18), Unilever (19) and General Mills (20). The 2009 survey included responses from 1,869 individuals from 1,109 organisations worldwide.

The survey was based on the organisation's response to an online questionnaire and peer nominations.