best workplaces - Great Place to Work

BEST WORKPLACES
2016
This report is intellectual property owned by Great Place to Work® Institute Belgium.
©2016 Great Place to Work® Institute Belgium, All Rights Reserved.
Great Place to Work®
Our mission: ‘To improve society by creating better workplaces.’
Great Place to Work® is a global research, consulting and training organisation that helps companies identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high-trust workplace cultures. We
serve businesses, non-profits and government agencies in more than 45
countries on six continents.
From studying the world’s best workplaces, we have learned that TRUST
is the key differentiator. By raising the level of trust in the workplace,
companies everywhere can improve their business results since cooporation and innovation depend on trust.
By focusing on the examples set by great workplaces, we spread the
good news that any company anywhere can follow in their footsteps and
become a great place to work.
Our Methodology
Great Place to Work®’s annual research is based on data representing
more than 10 million employees in 50 countries representing about 6.000
organizations of varying sizes, industries, maturity and structures.
Great Workplaces are build through the day-to-day relationships that
employees experience. The key factor in common in these relationship is
TRUST. A great workplace is one built on trust. Trust drives sustainable
engagement and engagement drives business performance.
From the employee’s perspective, a great workplace is one where they:
TRUST the people they work for
have PRIDE in what they do
ENJOY the people they work with
Trust is the defining principle of great workplaces — created through
management’s credibility, the respect with which employees feel they
are treated, and the extent to which employees expect to be treated fairly.
The degree of pride and levels of authentic connection and camaraderie
employees feel with one are additional essential components.
From the Manager’s perspective, a great workplace is one where they:
Achieve organisational objectives
With employees who give their personal best
Work together as a team/family
... in an environment of TRUST
There are nine practice areas where leaders and managers create an
environment of trust. Great workplaces achieve organisational goals by
inspiring, speaking and listening. They have employees who give their
personal best by thanking, developing and caring. And they work together as a team/family by hiring, celebrating and sharing.
We look at TRUST through two lenses. We assess the culture of the organisation through answers provided on an employee survey, the Trust
Index©, which is modelled on the five dimensions found in the employee
view of a great workplace. And we look at the workplace through a Culture Audit©, organised by the nine practice areas in the management
definition of a great workplace.
These metrics – from the Trust Index© and Culture Audit© – form the
basis of the methodology Great Place to Work® uses to advise and train
companies on how to transform themselves into great workplaces.
Best Workplaces 2016
Based on an in-depth analyses of employees’ perception of the workplace and a thorough evaluation of an organisation’s HR practices, Great
Place to Work® Belgium releases its 14th annual Best Workplaces list for:
Organisations < 500 employees
Organisations > 500 employees
TOP 10
< 500 employees
1. EASI
2. AE
3. Protime
4. Ormit
5. Mars Belgium
6. AbbVie
7. Secretary Plus
8. Solvus
9. House Of Talents
10. Handson&Partners
EASI
For 17 years now, EASI has been offering innovative
150 employees
IT solutions to businesses. Today, 150 people are em-
ICT
ployed, and EASI is planning to grow by 50 new em-
www.easi.net
ployees in 2016.
In 2015, EASI focused on 3 main aspects: employee-centred management,
employer branding, and empowerment. With regard to employee-centred management, HR implemented a ‘Feel Good’ policy that offers the
employees a wide range of services and facilities. The HR team also puts
a lot of effort into promoting the company’s employer branding. Obtaining the Best Workplaces 2015 label has had such a major impact on both
the internal dynamics and the attractiveness of the company in the IT
world.
EASI also recognises that autonomy is vital for its employees, and so the
company strives to empower its employees to fully benefit from this freedom. Together with the reduction of the use of control tools, autonomy
helps to promote entrepreneurship and initiative-taking.
“Before our participation in GPTW, the well-being of our employees was
important but not a goal in itself. But since our first title in 2014, well-being has become a real objective. All the rest − customer satisfaction, visibility, growth of the company, and so on − almost follows by itself.”
Pol Van Dionant, HR Advisor
1
2
AE
200 employees
AE - Architects for Business & ICT is a consultancy
ICT/Consultancy
company specialising in digital transformation. AE
www.ae.be
provides both advice and solutions that prepare for
successful change and that reinforce focus on customers, people, processes and technologies.
The company takes great pride in being chosen as
a Great Place to Work for its employees. AE encourages them to fully
express themselves, to be meaningful to each other, to leave a (digital)
footprint for society − and to keep generating amazing experiences!
In the past year, AE designed a future-proof organisational model suited
for the digital age. With the introduction of a value-creating structure,
AE’s self-organising teams work together toward a shared goal and have
the ability and authority to take decisions and readily adapt to changing demands. AE encourages its employees to act as a network of intrapreneurs − and invests heavily in talent development and well-being at
work.
“The results of the GPTW survey allow us to pinpoint the specific issues
employees have with how AE works. Using this valuable information, we
try to mould our company into a future-proof organisation that is able to
swiftly respond to the changes in our environment. We do this by taking
both short-term and long-term actions − which include an improved mobility policy and the transformation of AE into a true network organisation.”
Pieter Peremans, Consultant (and team member of AE’s internal GPTW
workgroup)
PROTIME
Make Time Valuable. That’s what Protime is all
136 employees
about. Protime offers solutions to optimise human
ICT/Software
capital’s available time. But not only for its custom-
www.protime.be
ers − the company also works hard to create an exciting and challenging environment for its employees where they can spend time with respect for their
work-life balance.
A unique culture, which Protime finds very important, is always a means
and never an end. Investing in its employees’ growth is the only thing
that has stayed constant in the 20 years of Protime’s history.
But, above all, Protime is a private company that can only exist thanks to
its customers. And that’s exactly why culture is so important: it’s an asset
that can be deployed in a customer relation. Engaged employees help to
serve happy customers. Happy customers lead to company profits. And
these profits can be used to invest in the employees’ growth. A valuable
symbiosis we like to take very seriously.
“What I like about Great Place to Work® is that it gives a name and a
brand to all our initiatives to have happy employees. It keeps us focused
on doing this just a tiny bit better every day.”
Jonas Van Herck, People & Culture Manager
3
4
ORMIT
82 employees
ORMIT specialises in developing future leaders
Prof. Services/Consulting
through traineeships. The company attracts young
www.ormit.be
talent, develops them into young leaders, and
connects them with partnering organisations to
strengthen both in the long-run.
ORMIT believes in the power of happiness in the
workplace. Happy and engaged employees work better together and deliver better quality − and, in turn, this leads to satisfied customers and
better business results.
To contribute to the happiness of its employees, ORMIT invests heavily
in a great work environment. The company does this by constantly valuing and nurturing what is good, improving what can be improved, and
having insight into − and focusing on − the qualities of its employees …
and, of course, having some fun while doing so! This vision is reflected
in everything they do: from recruitment and selection, to on-boarding,
learning and development, and so on.
“We constantly want to improve as an organisation and take care of our
most valuable assets, our people. This is the only way we can attract the
best talent in the market, set a good example for the leaders we develop,
and deliver good company results.”
Thomas De Wulf, Managing Director
MARS BELGIUM
5
Their unique, value-driven culture − based on put-
473 employees
ting ‘The 5 Principles of Mars’ into action every day
Manufacturing & Production
− is what makes Mars Belgium a great workplace.
www.mars.be
What unites the 473 Mars Belgium Associates with
the 75,000 other Mars Associates across geographies, languages, cultures and generations are
these corporate values: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. Doing business ‘the Mars way’ guides
their decisions, sets them apart, and is something they all take pride in.
At Mars, everybody is Talent. Development − as a shared responsibility
of Associate and Line Manager − is a top priority. Every Mars Associate
builds his/her personalised development plan in line with his/her aspirations, ambitions and life stage.
All Mars offices around the world are in ‘open landscape’ style and consistent in underscoring a non-hierarchal, collaborative community. Mars
welcomes open and informal conversations, values Associates’ input
and opinions, and empowers straightforward dialogue and fact-based
decision-making.
“You join Mars for the great brands, loved and trusted by consumers in
Belgium and throughout the world, and you stay at Mars for the unique
culture.”
Steve Axe, General Manager
6
ABBVIE
152 employees
AbbVie has the expertise of a proven pharmaceuti-
Biotechnology & Pharma
cal leader and the focus and passion of an entrepre-
www.abbvie.be
neur and innovator. They are a global biopharmaceutical company that has the ability to discover and
advance innovative therapies and meet the health
needs of people and societies around the world.
AbbVie focuses on finding and retaining the best talent to address patients’ needs. It is essential for AbbVie that employees succeed in building a happy and satisfied career, and the company helps them achieve
this with tailored training programmes and support. In 2015, over 4500
training hours were delivered to AbbVie’s employees.
The company rewards the employees’ dedication by offering them various ways to balance their work and private lives. AbbVie also promotes
transparency in its working methods and gives employees the opportunity to speak up and be highly involved in daily business.
“GPTW allows us to compare internal employee opinions with external
views from same-sized companies in a variety of sectors.”
Valerie Evrard, Business Human Resources Manager
SECRETARY PLUS
7
Secretary Plus is the market leader in the recruit-
57 employees
ment, selection, training and assessment of multi-
Staffing & Recruitment
lingual professionals up to the executive level. The
www.secretary-plus.be
company’s success is related to its constant awareness of the changing HR market and its ability to
adapt and innovate.
Secretary Plus is based on a few key values: entrepreneurship, innovation, passion, involvement and professionalism. A people business at
heart, the company excels at matching candidates with employers in
innovative ways.
The key to its success is its employees’ loyalty: most have been with the
company for over 10 years, and all are passionate about their job. Therefore, Secretary Plus emphasises the importance of showing appreciation
and recognition. For example, in Summer, when temperatures rise above
30°C, Secretary Plus treats its employees with refreshing ice cream!
“Working with Great Place to Work®, and gaining its recognition for our
achievements, has been a great stimulation for our people and for our
business. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Karlijne Bertels, HR Manager
8
SOLVUS
56 employees
Taking on a central role in an organisation’s HR-re-
Staffing & Recruitment
lated challenges, Solvus is the consulting partner
www.solvus.be
for positive transformation of businesses. After all,
people are the main assets in every company’s value
chain. By lowering costs and increasing efficiency −
while taking both people and processes into account
− Solvus helps its clients prepare themselves for the
future. The company implements the vital changes and introduces the
right talent throughout the entire HR value chain.
As a results-driven, hands-on company, Solvus acknowledges the importance of its human capital, and this is reflected in the way it practices
HR. Management is closely involved in the daily business, communicating directly, and on a regular basis, about results and successes, and encouraging all employees to participate in new ideas, discussions, and so
on. Solvus realises that personal development contributes strongly to its
success − and so, amongst other initiatives, the company offers a wide
range of both internal and external training opportunities.
“The Great Place to Work® survey helped me manage Solvus’ priorities.
As we are a young company, not all of our processes were ready for the
fast growth we have gone through. The detailed results of the survey
clearly indicated on which organisational aspects we had to focus.”
Kristof Seyns, Director
HOUSE OF TALENTS
9
House Of Talents is a Staffing and Recruitment com-
104 employees
pany, specialising in shortage occupations. Today,
Staffing & Recruitment
House Of Talents groups 8 different companies that
www.houseoftalents.be
are specialised in 8 different shortage occupations.
House Of Talents is exemplified by a no-nonsense
mentality. The organisation is proud of its employees, and the employees are proud of the organisation. Success is rewarded on multiple levels: appreciation and respect, commission, bonus, incentives, group holidays, parties, and more. The individual approach is
key − everyone has different needs and questions, and to respond to this,
House Of Talents creates long-term commitment and success.
In 2015, the company chose to invest in Young Potentials. Because its human assets are of utmost importance, the company extended its growth
with 22 new recruits in 2015, a third of which are Young Potentials. A
training and internship course of several weeks groomed these young
talents for an autonomous role as Consultant.
“Our participation in Great Place to Work confirms our strong HR initiatives and demonstrates our positive culture. It gives us the push to go the
extra mile − success is definitely our attitude!”
Valentine Gerard, HR Business Partner
10
HANDSON&PARTNERS
87 employees
Handson & Partners is a service provider offering a
Financial Services
broad spectrum of services in the Finance & Control
www.handsonpartners.be
sector to both small and large enterprises. The company is proud to have a true ‘Handson & Partners spirit’,
which includes being close to clients and colleagues,
anticipating client needs, and being flexible.
Handson & Partners’ HR focus in 2015 was building a new career framework, with transparent evolution possibilities, a new bonus & reward
programme, and a new approach towards evaluation and career path
follow-up. By differentiating based on competences and function profiles,
a fair and stimulating reward package can be offered to every employee
and close follow-up on everyone’s individual career path is guaranteed.
“The preparation of the Great Place To Work file allows us to take a step
back and reflect on all the nice things that happen in just 1 year.”
Veerle Geysen, HR Manager
TOP 10
> 500 employees
1. Schoenen Torfs
2. Accent Jobs
3. McDonald’s Belgium
4. Start People
5. Adecco
6. Monsanto
7. KBC Groep
8. Care
9. Media Markt
10. EY
1
SCHOENEN TORFS
602 employees
Schoenen Torfs is a Belgian retail company with a
Retail
67-year tradition of selling shoes. To meet the needs
www.torfs.be
of the digital era − which is evolving faster than ever
before − the company is integrating and innovating
its ‘shopping’ concept both off-line and on-line.
Ever since its beginning, the company’s focus has been on people. The
‘360° CARING FOR 360° ADDED VALUE’ campaign continuously strives
for ‘Happy customers and Happy employees’, from the conviction that
these go hand-in-hand.
At the end of 2014, Torfs updated its customer-centricity vision. In fact, the
roll-out of this new vision and approach in retail was the most important
HR project of the year: trying to get Torfs’ co-workers involved in the ‘refreshed approach’ towards their customers.
“As a family-owned company, taking care of the co-workers has always
been the focus. This means that aiming to be a Best Workplace is definitely in our DNA. We don’t see contributing to this beautiful and meaningful
work as an assignment or burden, but as an honour and a great opportunity. Bringing all our projects together in the GPTW Culture Audit©
hopefully gives other companies the energy and inspiration to join the
movement.”
Els Van Keymeulen, HR Manager
ACCENT JOBS
2
Accent Jobs is a temp-to-perm company with the big-
746 employees
gest network of specialised offices (205) in Belgium.
Staffing & Recruitment
Every day, Accent Jobs sets more than 10,000 people
www.accentjobs.be
to work.
On the one hand, Accent Jobs seeks to maintain its
sales-driven, dynamic, no-nonsense company culture. On the other hand, the company wants to meet the evolving expectations of candidates and employers. Current hot topics include: digitisation, internationalisation, ‘war for talent’ and work-life balance.
With a new website, Digital Talent Hunters, Swop, and other initiatives,
Accent Jobs is implementing all of the new resources to open up recruitment as wide as possible. The company’s internationalisation gives
its own employees new career opportunities; and it has taken the first
successful steps in its healthy lifestyle programme thanks to Accent Allstars. Moreover, Accent Jobs continues to invest in its core values: education, career opportunities, and a healthy dose of fun!
“Great Place To Work® is an annual moment to reflect on our HR policy
and our employees. Each year, the competition stimulates us to perform
even better than before and to network with other companies to exchange
best practices.”
Lien Byttebier, HR Manager
3
McDONALD’s BELGIUM
3500 employees
McDonald’s Belgium attaches great importance to
Horeca
showing commitment towards its employees, ethical
www.mcdonalds.be
and sustainable business practices, and giving back
to the community, while striving for continuous improvement.
In order to leverage everyone’s potential, McDonald’s creates a work environment where everyone can keep on growing. This year’s HR focus
was built around: “We believe in authentic empowered people” based
on 3 building blocks: Hiring, Training & Development, and Motivation &
Engagement:
First: ‘Hire for attitude’, which means: offer chances to everybody with
the right attitude, no specific degree or experience is required.
Second: Lifelong learning is one of the company’s values. Training is given to each individual as from Day 1.
Third: Committed, engaged employees is one step further than satisfied
employees. In order to increase commitment/engagement, it’s important
to communicate with your employees.
“We believe in authentic empowered people − in order to leverage everyone’s potential, we create a work environment where everyone can keep
on growing.”
Sabine Gekiere, HR & Training Dept. Director
START PEOPLE
4
Start People is No. 2 in the Belgian temporary labour
514 employees
market, employing an average of 10,000 temporary
Staffing & Recruitment
employees in more than 4,000 companies − from
www.startpeople.be
SMEs to multinationals − every year.
Start People is a value-driven organisation that
strives to embed its values − progress, passion, professionalism, involvement and commitment − in all of its HR practices.
As a hands-on, performance-oriented organisation that emphasises
‘fun’, Start People strives to create a transparent and low-threshold communication culture. Start People believes that honesty and transparency
in internal policies will lead to higher trust and thus happier and more
engaged employees. The company’s quarterly individual super bonuses
are one of many initiatives to stimulate recognition within the company
in a transparent and accessible way.
“Great Place to Work® provides insight into the strengths and bottlenecks of our HR policies. Confrontational, for sure, but rewarding as well:
it enables us to stay focused and to work on the things that really matter
to our employees.”
Xenia Elbers, HR Manager
5
ADECCO
756 employees
The Adecco Group is the world’s leading provider of
Staffing & Recruitment
a broad range of Human Resources services to both
www.adecco.be
its clients and associates. The company continuously optimises its services and distribution channels.
Adecco aims to be ‘Top of Heart’ with all of its stakeholders (customers, candidates and colleagues).
Adecco Belgium has been a Great Place to Work for 4 years in a row. The
company truly lives its values (customer focus, responsibility, team spirit, entrepreneurship and passion) and leadership principles (cool head,
warm heart, working hands & curious minds).
Adecco has focused on improving internal communication − both topdown and bottom-up. For this reason, the company invested a lot of time
and energy in roadshows, communicating around Great Place To Work®,
their Reward Strategy, and career development and learning opportunities.
“As an ambassador, I found out that GPTW is not just a PR strategy or
simple image building. It’s really about working hard together to make
sure Adecco continues to provide a stimulating and pleasant work environment. I’m happy to have been part of this in 2015 − and I’m looking
forward to going the extra mile in 2016!”
GPtW-Ambassador
MONSANTO
6
Monsanto is a sustainable agriculture company. The
841 employees
company produces seeds for fruits, vegetables and
Biotechnology & Pharma
key crops that help farmers have better harvests
www.monsanto.com
while using water and other important resources
more efficiently.
In this rapidly changing business environment,
Monsanto has not only changed its commercial organisation to a customer-centric organisation, but the company has also redefined its HR
operating model within EME. In 2015, the HR Operations team and its
new HR 3.0 vision was formed. This new HR Operations team not only
wants to focus on the basics and be more efficient, but it also wants to
add value as a trusted HR advisor and an advocate of an environment
that brings the best out of its people. Of course, people are key to this
strategy: making them responsible and proud of their actions by developing their capabilities.
“The Great Place to Work research offers the unique possibility to benchmark internal company-specific HR practices with those of external
organisations. Combined with Vlerick Business School’s insights and
knowledge, the GPTW research challenges HR professionals and leaders
to continuously improve and create a Great Place to Work for its employees.”
Frederik Noak, HR Generalist
7
KBC GROEP
13,500 employees
More than a bank and insurer, KBC is ‘a bank-insur-
Financial Servives
er’. This means that KBC is able to provide a better
www.kbc.be
response to its clients’ every financial need.
KBC has the ambition to be the best bank-insurer.
In an industry developing with lightning speed, the
skill lies in marrying rapid digitisation with proper security and, at the
same time, embracing technological development as a lever to raise client-centricity to the next level. KBC feels braced to tackle this challenge
because they can count on the serious commitment, creative approach
and keen sense of responsibility of its 13,500 employees. KBC stimulates
them to work together to develop creative solutions that make KBC a better bank-insurer, which includes being socially responsible.
Still, it’s the single key task of each employee that lies at the heart of the
business: to provide clients with service that is so good that they want to
stay with KBC for the long-term. With thanks to its staff, KBC is extremely
pleased to receive the Best Workplaces award for the 11th year in a row.
“No satisfied clients without engaged employees.”
Employee
CARE
8
Care is a facility company that focuses on cleaning
1180 employees
offices and clean rooms. Along with the ancillary
Professional Services
services Care helps to create a pleasant working en-
www.care.be
vironment for its clients’ employees, which, in turn,
helps them excel in their jobs.
The company’s name is important to Care: that’s how
they look at the world we live in. Whether it’s the environment, Care’s own staff, social problems close to home or projects
abroad, Care deliberately works hard to be an exemplary business in
terms of CSR in practice.
The HR focus for 2015 was the Eff² Project − whose aim was to optimise
the workload in the operational department. As the team leaders’ jobs
became more complex, Care noticed that they were finding it harder and
harder to be sufficiently present for their clients and staff. The project
was created to make the team leader’s job more efficient. This also enables the people involved to pay more attention to what really matters:
the clients and the staff.
“I myself regularly take the pulse from the staff’s findings in order to see
whether our efforts are bearing the necessary fruit. The Great Place To
Work® process is a real benefit for any company, because it gives you
an honest and unbiased insight into employees’ perceptions. I am really
proud to be lucky enough to work for a company in which the people
themselves can contribute to a sustainable policy − both in professional
terms and with regard to social involvement.”
Reinhilde Switser, CSR Responsible
9
MEDIA MARKT
1700 employees
Media Markt is the leading consumer electronics re-
Retail
tail chain in Europe and present on the Belgian retail
www.mediamarkt.be
market since 2002. Every store manager has a shareholder stake in his own store, and is therefore co-responsible for the policies of his store.
With the concept ‘From a Great Place to Work to a
Great Place to Shop’, Media Markt convinces its staff that there can be
no delighted customers without committed co-workers. Media Markt implements this culture change through a combination of national-scale
HR projects reflecting the core values fun, autonomy and responsibility
and local store initiatives.
This culture change encompasses, without exception, all HR practice areas covered by Great Place to Work®. ‘World of Products/Solutions’ is
an example of a practice that makes a difference at the level of involvement, social learning (fun) and co-creation. An event created by and for
store personnel, product suppliers and the Purchasing and HR teams.
“With the concept ‘From a Great Place to Work to a Great Place to Shop’,
Media Markt creates commitment around the organisational switch from
product to customer intimacy. Personal autonomy and initiative from employees are highly valued. And at the same time, employees feel strongly
connected and focused due to the common responsibility for the customer.”
Filip De Cuyper, HR Manager
EY
10
EY’s global purpose is to build a better working
1700 employees
world. Every audit, every tax return, every valua-
Financial Services
tion, every interaction helps EY’s clients fulfil their
www.ey.com/BE
purpose and contributes to a better working world.
Every day 212,000 people based in 728 offices in 150
countries work to bring that mission to live.
A distinctive culture starts with great people. Therefore, EY’s approach
is built on the promise of a new employee proposition: Whenever you
join, and however long you stay, the exceptional EY experience lasts a
lifetime!
In 2015, EY introduced its new global recognition programme − ‘Better
begins with you’ − which gives everyone at EY Belgium the opportunity
to recognise and celebrate individuals and teams who are consistently living the company’s values and bringing its purpose to life in their
everyday behaviour. EY also concentrated on open and honest two-way
communication, addressing their people’s questions, and actively seeking their ideas.
“By means of the GPTW process, we got a broad overview of the amazing
engagement of our people! They were very eager to share both their commitment within EY and their satisfaction with our values and our ways of
teaming together.”
Riet Bots, HR Manager
Best
Workplaces
Belgium
2017
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©2016 Great Place to Work® Institute Belgium