Best;Workplaces;;
in;Europe;2008;
;
50;Best;Large;Workplaces;in;Europe;2008;
50;Best;Small;and;Medium-Sized;Workplaces;in;Europe;2008;;
Building;a;better;society;by;helping;;
companies;transform;their;workplaces;
;
;;Table;of;content;;
;;
;;;?;Institute;proudly;presents;Key;findings;;;3;Great;Place;to;Work
the;Best;Workplaces;in;Europe;2008.;This;year,;50;Best;Large;Workplaces;4;we;recognise;the;100;Best;Workplaces;in;
50;Best;SME;Workplaces;5;Europe;on;two;separate;lists;depending;on;number;of;employees:;the;50;Best;Large;Case;Story:;Microsoft;;6;Workplaces;in;Europe;(500+;employees);and;
Case;Story:;Reaktor;Innovations;9;the;50;Best;Small;and;Medium-Sized;
Workplaces;in;Europe;(50-499;employees).;The;European;Special;Awards;12;
This;year,;the;competition;for;getting;on;the;lists;Basic;facts;about;the;100;Best;21;
is;stronger;than;ever;with;more;than;1,250;Gender,;Tenure;and;Age;22;companies;taking;part;in;the;list-process;in;
Business;success;;23;Europe.;Again,;we;see;the;compelling;evidence;
for;the;business;case;of;creating;a;great;Absenteeism;;25;
workplace.;The;range;of;companies;included;Continuous;Improvement;26;shows;how;unique;workplace;cultures;can;
Close;race;;;27;create;hugely;successful;businesses.;;
The;European;Trust;Champions;28;The;Report;shares;a;wealth;of;inspiring;
practices,;cases;and;findings;that;illustrate;what;Background;and;methodology;29;
it;takes;to;become;a;great;workplace.;;
?;Europe,;who;also;produce;the;lists;of;This;Report;has;been;produced;by;Great;Place;the;100;Best;Workplaces;in;Europe,;based;on;to;Work
extensive;input;from;the;15;national;Great;?;Institutes.;;;Place;to;Work
We;hope;that;you;enjoy;the;read!
2
Key;findings;Quick;facts;;
;
; More;than;1,250;European;
companies;participated.;;
; The;Global;software;company;Microsoft;; Throughout;Europe,;we;generally;see;; The;European;list;is;based;on;wins;the;number;1;spot;on;the;“50;Best;significantly;lower;absenteeism;among;national;studies;in;15;European;Large;Workplaces;in;Europe;2008”;list.;the;Best;Workplaces;compared;with;the;countries.;Impressively,;14;European;Microsoft;labour;market;in;general.;;?; Great;Place;to;Work;Institute;carries;subsidiaries;made;the;European;list.;;; On;average,;the;100;Best;Workplaces;in;out;similar;studies;in;40;countries;
; Another;software;company,;Reaktor;Europe;receive;almost;nine;(8.7);job;worldwide,;which;makes;this;the;
largest;annual;study;of;workplaces;in;Innovations;from;Finland,;wins;the;applications;each;year;per;current;staff;
the;world.;Worldwide,;more;than;number;1;spot;of;the;“50;Best;Small;and;member.;;
3500;companies;participate;in;the;Medium-Sized;Workplaces;in;Europe;; The;100;Best;save;costs;on;hiring;and;study.;;2008”.;This;is;the;first;time;that;this;80-training;–;the;voluntary;employee;people;company;participates;and;they;; All;participating;companies;carry;out;turnover;is;on;average;7.9%.;;went;straight;to;the;top!;an;employee;survey;and;a;Culture;?Audit;(an;analysis;of;workplace;; Four;companies;have;made;each;of;the;; This;year,;more;than;1,250;European;culture,;policies;and;practices).;previous;six;European;lists.;These;companies;have;participated;in;the;list-companies;are;Admiral;Group;from;the;; Two-thirds;of;the;scores;used;to;process,;which;is;an;increase;of;25%;UK,;Lilly;from;Spain,;Middelfart;determine;the;Best;Workplaces;are;since;last;year!;Worldwide,;more;than;Sparekasse;and;Unimerco;from;based;on;responses;to;the;employee;3,500;companies;from;40;countries;take;Denmark.;;survey.;;part;in;the;list-processes.;
; For;more;than;25;years,;Great;Place;; The;European;lists;become;even;more;; The;Best;Workplaces;in;Europe;are;fast;??to;Work;Institute;has;been;competitive;-;average;Trust;Index;growing;and;productive;companies.;On;investigating;great;workplaces.;;scores;for;the;100;Best;Workplaces;in;average,;they;have;increased;their;?Europe;continue;to;increase.;See;more;about;Great;Place;to;Work;revenue;with;26%;in;the;past;year;and;Institute;on;page;29.;;staff;is;up;with;more;than;20,000;new; people.;;
; The;increase;in;the;staff;numbers;is;
significantly;lower;than;the;increase;in;
revenues;(16%;staff;compared;with;26%;
revenue),;which;means;that;the;Best;
Workplaces;have;improved;productivity.;;
3
;;
50;Best;
AT, BE, DK, FI, FR, 26 bauMax Austria
DE, GR, IE, IT, NL, 27 Johnson & Johnson Germany Microsoft NO, PT, ES, SW 1 28 Vitae Netherlands Large;2 Google FR, IE, IT, NL, UK 29 Sparda-Bank München Germany 3 Cisco BE, DK, DE, NL, ES Germany,
4 3M Germany Netherlands, Workplaces;impuls 30 SAS Institute Sweden
Finanzmanageme31 American Express Italy, Spain 5 nt Germany 32 Beaverbrooks UK 2008;;W.L. Gore & 33 Yell UK 6 Associates France, Germany (500+;employees) 34 Admiral UK 7 SMA Technologie Germany 35 NNIT Denmark 8 Grundfos Denmark,Germany Belgium, 9 Roskilde Bank Denmark 36 McDonald's Norway Pricewaterhouse37 Unicarepharmacy Ireland 10 Coopers Ireland London and Quadrant 11 Coca Cola HBC Italy 38 Housing Trust UK 12 CIBA Vision Germany 39 Elica Italy 13 Irma Denmark Bright Horizons Family E.ON 40 Solutions UK Führungsgesellsc41 PM Group Ireland 14 haften Germany 42 SICK Germany 15 Eli Lilly Spain,Sweden 43 KPMG Ireland 16 SAP Germany 44 Baxter Healthcare Ireland 17 Randstad Group Belgium Matheson Ormsby 18 Accenture BE, FI, IE, SW 45 Prentice Ireland 19 DIS Germany 46 Statkraft Norway 20 Care Belgium 47 AXA Insurance Ireland 21 Dow Deutschland Germany 48 Hugo Boss Germany 22 Deloitte Ireland 49 Wragge and Co UK 23 Bankinter Spain Starbucks Coffee
24 BIPA Parfümerien Austria 50 Company UK 25 FedEx Express Belgium,Germany
4
;;
;
50;Best;1 Reaktor Innovations Finland CB Richard Ellis Ireland 26 2 ConSol* Software Germany 27 Frøs Herreds Sparekasse Denmark 3 4flow Germany 28 Impact UK Small;and;4 Greece Piscines Ideales 29 Creativ Company Denmark 5 &Samhoud Netherlands 30 Brightwater Group Ireland 6 Sparkasse Neuhofen Austria Medium-31 Liberty Seguros Portugal 7 Middelfart Sparekasse Denmark 32 Unimerco Denmark Orion Pharma, Domestic 33 e-Office Netherlands 8 sales and marketing Finland Sized;Austria, 9 Cushman & Wakefield Portugal 34 Procter & Gamble Greece 10 The Structure Group UK 35 Mjølner Informatics Denmark Vedior Workplaces;36 ALD Automotive Denmark 11 Personaldienstleistungen Germany
37 Robert Half International Belgium 12 Management Events Finland
38 Grupo Intercom Spain 13 Roche Pharmaceuticals Denmark 2008;;39 Marathon Oil Ireland GE Commercial Aviation
14 Services Ireland 40 Clas Ohlson Finland (50-500;employees) 15 OMICRON electronics Austria 41 Hulp in huis Belgium 16 thuiszorg vleminckveld Belgium 42 Hewlett Packard Portugal 17 Schoenen Torfs Belgium 43 Kantega Norway 18 Pentasys Germany 44 Finn.no Norway
Germany, 45 Winvision Netherlands 19 Bain & Company Spain 46 3 Step IT Finland 20 Schindlerhof, Klaus Kobjoll Germany 47 Oslo Airport Express Train Norway 21 Sigmar Recruitment Ireland 48 Unique Spain 22 Diageo Ireland 49 Genesis Pharma Greece 23 Asthma UK 50 Oliver Wyman France 24 ARDEX Baustoff Austria
25 noventum consulting Germany
;
;
;
;
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Microsoft;–;the;Best;Large;
Workplace;in;Europe;2008;
.;
Great;Place;to;Work?;Institute;is;proud;to;culture;of;openness;at;Microsoft:;“This;is;an;recognise;Microsoft;as;the;number;one;among;open;organization;that;makes;you;feel;at;home;the;50;Best;Large;Workplaces;in;Europe;2008;quickly…;Higher;management;is;open;for;a;talk;(500+;employees).;Microsoft;is;winning;with;when;you;need;advice;or;feedback…;They;more;than;7,000;employees;from;14;European;share;the;goals;and;results;without;withholding;countries:;Austria;(253),;Belgium;(250),;any;information….;When;I;just;joined,;they;Denmark;(337),;Finland;(225),;France;(1303),;asked;my;opinion;about;what;my;function;Germany;(2228),;Greece;(95),;Ireland;(1223),;should;be.;They;actually;did;something;with;my;Italy;(809),;Netherlands;(601),;Norway;(221),;feedback.”;
Portugal;(266),;Spain;(652);and;Sweden;(475).;Roughly;nine;out;of;ten;employees;surveyed;at;;Microsoft;Netherlands,;for;example,;feel;that;
they;can;“ask;management;any;reasonable;Microsoft;question;and;get;a;straight;answer”;;95%;say;
that;“management;is;approachable,;easy;to;talk;;with”;and;91%;responded;that;“management;
genuinely;seeks;and;responds;to;suggestions;The;winner;of;this;year‟s;“Best;Workplace;in;
and;ideas”.;Europe”;award;for;large;organizations;(those;
with;more;than;500;employees);is;Microsoft.;As;Other;Microsoft;national;offices;had;similarly;reflected;in;consistently;high;scores;on;the;high;scores;in;this;area,;a;testament;to;the;fact;??Great;Place;to;Work;Trust;Index;Survey,;the;that;the;culture;of;openness;starts;all;the;way;to;global;software;company;excels;in;maintaining;the;top.;This;is;also;borne;out;in;practice:;CEO;high;levels;of;satisfaction;among;its;7,526;Steve;Ballmer;insists;that;employees;call;him;employees,;who;work;in;14;branches;across;“Steve,”;and;first;names;are;used;throughout;Europe,;largely;through;a;loose,;informal;the;company.;culture;that;keeps;all;employees;aligned;
No;matter;what;country;it;operates;in,;Microsoft;through;a;set;of;core;values;and;a;variety;of;
also;continually;reinforces;the;core;belief;that;communication;vehicles.;
its;employees;are;its;greatest;assets,;an;idea;?In;their;comments;on;the;Trust;Index;Survey,;reflected;in;the;mission;and;values;statement:;employees;commented;frequently;on;the;“to;enable;people;and;businesses;throughout;
6
the;world;to;realize;their;full;potential.”;How;using;the;company‟s;state-of-the-art;IT;and;Microsoft‟s;employees;carry;out;their;mission;is;mobile;devices;to;make;their;work;lives;more;shaped;by;the;company‟s;strong;values,;which;flexible.;
begin;with;the;principle,;“We;strive;to;develop;Digital;technology;is;also;key;to;the;company‟s;and;maintain;a;culture;and;work;environment;communications:;through;video;conferencing;that;enables;employees;to;realise;their;potential;and;other;technologies,;all;the;global;offices;and;in;which;great;people;can;do;their;best;can;participate;in;the;quarterly;all-company;work.”;meetings,;and;managers;also;keep;people;up;Regardless;of;where;they;work,;Microsoft;to;date;through;regular;e-mails,;global;and;employees;also;have;a;lot;of;fun.;The;entire;national;newsletters.;(Each;month;a;new;company;also;holds;a;“Happy;Hour”;on;every;employee;takes;the;editor-in-chief;hat;for;second;Friday;of;the;month;;these;events;begin;Microsoft;magazine;;that;issue;is;named;in;that;with;a;formal;meeting,;usually;with;a;person‟s;honour).;
presentation;by;a;manager,;followed;by;a;Microsoft;executives;also;maintain;blogs:;Lisa;chance;to;eat;and;drink;together.;A;different;Brummel,;senior;vice-president;for;human;department;hosts;each;happy;hour,;and;talks;resources,;uses;her;blog;to;encourage;about;its;accomplishments;and;current;goals.;employees;to;participate;in;discussions;about;New;employees;are;introduced;at;these;events,;pay;and;salaries.;;as;well.;
“Managers;and;technical;experts;are;freely;In;Finland,;the;entire;staff;spent;a;day;with;their;accessible;in;many;ways,”;wrote;one;employee.;families;at;Linnanmäki,;an;amusement;park;in;“You;can;walk;up;to;their;desks,;send;an;instant;Helsinki,;and;also;organized;a;two-day;message,;send;an;email,;make;a;phone;call,;“Amazing;Race”;competition;at;an;outdoor;etc.;And;their;agendas;are;visible;-;you;can;see;sports;centre.;Many;of;Microsoft‟s;offices;have;whether;they;are;available;or;busy.;I've;never;game;rooms;and;lounges,;with;theatre;worked;for;an;organization;as;open;as;this.”;equipment;where;employees;can;pop;in;and;
Microsoft;is;also;very;transparent;about;its;pay;play;X-box;video;games;;employees;can;also;
model;and;bonus;plans,;and;encourages;a;borrow;X-boxes;to;take;home;with;them.;
sense;of;fairness;in;compensation.;All;Microsoft;also;uses;its;own;technological;employees;are;eligible;for;a;bonus,;regardless;innovations;to;make;its;employees;work;lives;of;rank,;and;everyone;is;also;eligible;for;stock;better.;Microsoft;Netherlands;has;launched;an;awards,;which;encourages;a;commitment;to;the;experimental;pilot;program;for;the;company;company‟s;long-term;success.;Microsoft;also;called;“The;New;World;of;Work,”;in;which;conducts;a;thorough;analysis;of;pay;to;ensure;employees;helped;to;re-design;their;work;lives;there;is;no;difference;in;the;pay;between;(including;designing;a;brand;new;office);by;
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women;and;men,;and;employees;also;receive;annual;training;to;help;them;understand;their;benefits.;
“There;are;equal;benefits;for;all,;regardless;of;position;in;the;company,”;wrote;one;employee;?comment;in;the;Trust;Index;Survey.;
;
;;
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Reaktor;Innovations;–;the;Best;
Small;and;Medium-Sized;
Workplace;in;Europe;2008;
The;winner;of;this;year‟s;“50;Best;Workplaces;Because;its;business;relies;on;maintaining;high;in;Europe;competition;for;small;organisations;levels;of;technological;expertise,;Reaktor;(with;50-500;employees);is;Reaktor;Innovations,;places;a;strong;focus;on;professional;a;privately;owned;software;and;technology;development.;The;firm‟s;exceptional;training;is;consulting;company;based;in;Helsinki,;Finland.;rooted;in;the;CEO‟s;philosophy;that;the;
company;can;–;and;must;–;continue;to;improve.;A;first-time;participant;in;the;Best;Workplaces;“Our;goal;is;to;build;the;best;specialist;company;competition,;Reaktor;received;a;score;of;96%;of;the;world,”;says;Chief;Executive;Officer;Vesa;?across;the;Great;Place;to;Work;Trust;Index；,;Lauronen.;“Being;number;one;means;we;are;the;survey;instrument;used;to;measure;doing;something;right.;However,;we;believe;workplace;satisfaction.;The;company;also;things;can;always;be;done;better.”;received;high;scores;in;the;independent;
Reaktor;also;empowers;its;employees;to;train;evaluation;of;the;workplace;practices;of;
each;other:;the;company;organises;panel;approximately;1,250;companies;located;in;15;
discussions;for;employees;to;share;their;countries;across;Europe.;
expertise;with;their;colleagues,;and;people;with;“Reaktor;actually;told;us;that;they;have;never;similar;functions;on;different;teams;form;cross-carried;out;any;HR;development;activities,”;divisional;specialist;groups,;such;as;a;says;Asta;Rossi,;CEO;of;the;Great;Place;to;“presentation;group,”;“team;leader;group,”;and;?Work;Institute;Finland.;“When;we;evaluated;a;“project;management;group.”;；their;Culture;Audit,;we;understood;why:;they;
Reaktor;also;has;internal;coaching;services,;live;and;breathe;being;a;great;workplace.”;
which;means;that;teams;can;request;that;a;Reaktor‟s;90;employees;are;primarily;engineers;specialist;from;another;team;come;in;to;work;and;consultants,;who;develop;software;for;large;with;them;to;build;their;skills.;And;the;firm;also;public;and;private;organisations.;Reaktor;holds;sponsors;training;camps;on;such;topics;as;as;its;mission;a;desire;“to;combine;cutting-edge;presentation;skills;and;coding;languages;;about;technology;with;an;uncomplicated,;human;two-thirds;of;employees;participate;in;these;approach”.;This;might;explain;the;fact;that;only;camps,;even;though;they;are;often;held;on;2;employees;have;left;the;company;since;it;Saturdays.;started;back;in;2000.;
9
“We;do;things;together;that;satisfy;us;and;“retrospective,”;a;feedback;session;to;reflect;on;change;the;world;in;a;better;direction,”;wrote;their;progress;and;areas;for;improvement,;and;one;employee,;in;a;comment;on;the;Trust;the;company‟s;intranet;includes;online;；discussions;and;blogs;for;people;to;voice;their;Index;Survey.;“Because;of;the;constructive;
opinions.;and;humble;atmosphere;everyone;is;able;to;
learn;from;one;another.”;“At;Reaktor;it;is;possible;to;implement;ideas;
that;could;not;be;supported;in;any;„regular;Reaktor;also;maintains;a;strong;culture;by;
company,‟;wrote;another;employee.;“There;is;ensuring;that;all;the;new;people;brought;into;
no;other;workplace;like;this;in;Finland.;Really.”;the;company;have;what;it;takes;to;be;
“Reaktorians,”;the;term;employees;use;to;Everyone;in;the;company;meets;each;month;for;describe;themselves.;In;the;past,;the;a;meeting,;and;employees;can;suggest;topics;company‟s;leaders;have;even;turned;away;new;for;the;agenda.;Reaktor;also;holds;a;twice-business;because;they;did;not;want;to;yearly;Open;Space;event,;an;off-site;retreat;for;compromise;in;quality;by;making;quick;hires;for;generating;ideas;for;improvement.;The;short-term;gain.;company;also;sponsors;a;variety;of;employee;
clubs;to;ensure;that;employees;maintain;strong;“The;company;is;led;by;a;long-term;perspective,;
relationships.;which;has;so;far;proved;to;be;to;the;advantage;
of;clients,;employees,;and;the;company,”;wrote;“I;feel;special;and;unique;about;our;company;is;one;employee.;“I;would;currently;not;see;myself;that;it;is;not;just;a;workplace,;but;a;unique;working;anywhere;else.”;community,”;wrote;one;employee;in;the;Trust;；Once;hired;by;Reaktor,;new;employees;are;Index;Survey.;;“I;dare;to;say;that;for;none;of;immediately;made;to;feel;a;part;of;the;family.;us;this;is;„just;a;job‟.”;
Even;before;their;first;day;on;the;job,;they;are;Reaktor;actively;supports;its;employees;to;get;given;passwords;to;access;the;intranet;and;are;involved;in;the;industry;as;a;whole,;by;invited;to;company;events.;Reaktor;also;goes;sponsoring;them;to;attend;conferences;and;out;of;its;way;to;hold;on;to;employees;once;events;both;as;guests;and;speakers,;and;to;they;are;hired:;both;of;the;company‟s;satellite;contribute;to;outside;blogs;and;publications.;offices,;in;western;Finland;and;in;Buenos;Aires,;Not;surprisingly,;the;company;is;considered;a;Argentina,;were;established;to;retain;leader;in;software;development;industry;in;employees;who;had;to;move;away;for;other;Finland;and;Europe,;in;part;for;its;contributions;reasons.;;to;standards;for;the;industry.;
Managers;and;employees;also;uphold;a;strong;One;“industry;standard”;that;Reaktor;does;not;working;team;through;constant;communication.;adhere;to,;however,;are;long;work;hours:;Teams;sit;down;once;a;month;for;a;despite;the;pressures;of;their;work,;employees;
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