Work Style - Great Place to Work Institute

Work Style
A worldwide observatory on work style changes
100 Best
Workplaces
in Europe
2010
Celebrate
diversity
This portrait
reminds us of the
unsuspected beauty
of the people we cross
everyday, giving us
a taste of the unique
universe that each
company constitutes.
• The Corners Project/five
corners, a thousand portraits,
by Friko Starc celebrates the
amazing diversity in cities.
• Published by The Work Style
magazine and Great Place To
Work ® Institute Europe.
The Work Style magazine — GPTW Special Issue 2010 — Europe 2.50 ¤, World 4.50 ¤

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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
Welcome to the 100 Best
Workplaces in Europe 2010
It is with great pleasure that we present this year’s list
of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe!
The organizations featured on this list represent the
best of the best – the top 100 out of 1,300 European
companies that this year participated in the Great
Place to Work ® Institute’s annual Trust Index © Survey,
the largest annual workplace study in the world.
We are delighted for the first time to be able to include
Polish companies on the European lists; two companies
from Poland made the cut this year. With this addition,
there are now 17 nations represented on the
lists; in the coming year, we will also be bringing Luxembourg
and Turkey on board.
As we reviewed the results from the eighth-annual
Trust Index © Survey, one thing was clear: the competition
is getting stiffer. The scores of the 100 Best are
higher than ever before, raising the bar for companies
that benchmark themselves against the best. Remarkably,
there are still two companies that have made the
list all eight years: these “Trust Champions” are Admiral
Group, a UK-based insurance company, and Middelfart
Sparekasse, a Danish bank.
Notice also the astonishing improvement in productivity
that the 100 Best are making. During the past year
the 100 Best has improved productivity by 12.9%!
We hope you enjoy reading this report. •
Cities are not a concrete jungle.
They are a human zoo where
the only common denominator
is the certainty that creative
cities offer greater possibilities
than anywhere else. The Corners
Project by Friko Starc (2007) is a
visual celebration of the amazing
variety of ethnicities, ambitions,
and purposes that fuel the world.
Table of Contents
• The Best Workplaces at a Glance .................3
• 50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe
2010..................................................................4
• 100 Companies, 100 Opinions......................6
• 50 Small and Medium-sized
Workplaces in Europe 2010........................11
• The Special Awards......................................17
• GPTW Methodology for the List Process 21
• A Collective Effort.........................................23
• Mediterranean Attractiveness....................25
• Industrial Competitiveness..........................26
• Trust in Business............................................28
• The Work Style magazine............................30
Colophon
Welcome by Palle Ellemann Knudsen, Managing Director Great Place to Work ® Institute Europe
The Work Style magazine
Editor in Chief Giorgio Tedeschi
GPTW Special Edition
Editor in Chief Cristina Milani
Editors Palle Ellemann Knudsen,
Otto Zell, Blake Esterday,
Pia Colombo, Laura Maanavilja,
Riccardo Mercurio, Antonio Tajani,
Latraviette Smith, Robert Levering
Authors’ illustrator Alessandro Baronciani
Photographer Friko Starc

In the next pages, you may find
all the contact information of the
Best Workplaces in Europe. The
five Great Place to Work Models
are listed in the pages that have
a full page photo on the left.
You can read a brief description
of the Great Place to Work ®
Institute next to the photos in
blue color.
General Facts
1.300 participated in the 2009-10 Best Workplaces
study in Europe. 293.911 employee surveys were correctly
filled out by employees for this edition of the
study. The companies taking part in the study represent
all together 1.619.076 employees. The average
Best Workplace is 37 years old. Oldest company on
the list: The Austrian branch of Worthington Cylinders
can date its history back to 1817 – 193 years! An average
of 92% of the employees in the 100 Best affirms
that “taking everything into account, I would say this
is a great place to work.” 20% of the 100 Best Workplaces
are consulting companies, while 19% are manufacturing
and production companies. The lists also
include retail companies as well as social services and
government agencies, which illustrates the variety of
companies and the fact that any company can become
a great workplace.
90%
88%
86%
84%
82%
80%
78%
The Best Workplaces at a Glance
2010
by Otto Zell*
A Great Business
The 100 Best Workplaces in Europe are definitely also
impacted by the global economic crisis as any other
company and the 100 Best hire fewer people than before,
although they are still hiring – on average 2.2%.
But, despite the crisis, the 100 Best have still been
growing revenues by 15.4% on average, which taking
the growth in the number of employees means
that they have improved productivity by an astonishing
12.9%. The Best Workplaces are obviously popular
employers, who receive a lot of job applications. On
average, the 100 Best received 5.7 job applications per
year per each existing staff member. WL Gore in Italy
has 88 employees, but received during the past year
about 6,000 job applications. This accounts for 68 job
applications per year per existing employees. On average
the largest employee groups at the 100 Best receive
about 66 hours of formal training per year. The
Voluntary Employee Turnover is lower than ever before.
The average is 4.7%. The average absenteeism at
the 100 Best in Europe is 2.5% per year.
The Quality of the Best Workplaces has steadily improved
over time. •
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Respect
Camaraderie
Credibility
Fairness
Pride
100 Best Workplaces
in Europe 2003-10,
average scores
by dimension
* Otto Zell, List Director Great Place to Work ® Source:
Great Place to Work®
Institute Europe,
2010.
Institute Europe
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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
1 Microsoft
Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, UK
• Information Technology
• 12.464
• www.microsoft.com
2 ATP
Denmark
• Financial Services & Insurance
• 777
• www.atp.dk
3 SMA Solar
Technology
Germany
• Electronics
• 2.736
• www.sma.de
4 3M Deutschland
3M ESPE
Germany
• Manufacturing & Production
• 4.255
• www.mmm.de
5 IRMA
Denmark
• Retail, Food, Grocery
• 2.182
• www.irma.dk
Why did we chose to present
the Corner Project with the Best
Workplaces in Europe 2010?
Because the Best Workplaces
are also diverse, surprising and
inspiring.
50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe 2010
500 + employees
6 Coca-Cola HBC
Greece
• Manufacturing
• 2.275
www.coca-cola.gr
7 SAS Institute
Belgium, The Netherlands,
Norway ad Sweden
• Information Technology
• 503
• www.sas.com
8 Accenture
Finland, Sweden
• IT Consulting
• 2.069
• www.accenture.com
9 domino-world TM
Germany
• Health Care
• 550
• www.domino-world.de
10 PepsiCo
(Tasty Foods -Greece)
France, Greece, Ireland
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.737
• www.pepsico.com
11 Nordea Liv
& Pension
Denmark
• Financial Services & Insurance
• 607
• www.nordealivogpension.dk
12 DIS AG
Germany
• Staffing & Recruitment
• 927
• www.dis-ag.com
13 EnergiMidt
Denmark
• Energy Distribution
• 574
• www.energimidt.dk
14 Telefónica O 2
Germany and Ireland
• Telecommunciations
• 7.482
• www.02.com
15 W.L. Gore
Associates
Germany, France, Italy
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.349
• www.gore.com
16 Louis Vuitton
Spain
• Manufacturing & Production
• 756
• www.louisvuitton.com
17 Cisco Systems
Austria, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, Spain and Switzerland
• Information Technology
• 2.098
• www.cisco.com
18 Schoenen Torfs
Belgium
• Retail
• 508
• www.torfs.be
19 SBK Siemens
-Betriebskrankenkasse
Germany
• Health Insurance
• 1.350
• www.sbk.org
20 Diageo GB
UK
• Manufacturing & Production
• 627
• www.diageo.com
21 Randstad Group
Belgium
• Staffing & Recruitment
• 1.356
• www.randstad.be
22 A1/mobilkom
austria
Austria
• Telecommunciations
• 3.004
• www.mobilkomaustria.com
23 Vodafone España
Spain
• Information Technology
• 4.000
• www.vodafone.es

Great Place to Work Netherlands
Amsterdam
www.greatplacetowork.nl
T 0031 628530433
24 FedEx Express
Belgium
• Package Transport
• 790
• www.fedex.com
25 Novo Nordisk
Finland, UK
• Pharmaceuticals
• 573
• www.novonordisk.com
26 Admiral Group
UK
• Auto Insurance
• 2.896
• www.admiralgroup.co.uk
27 AMEX
Sweden
• Banking, Credit Services
• 938
• www.americanexpress.com
28 Elica
Italy
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.227
• www.elica.com
29 Care
Belgium
• Social Services
• 1.085
• www.care.be
30 McDonald´s
Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and
the Great Britain
• Food and Beverage Service
• 34.281
• www.mcdonalds.com
31 Bright Horizons
Family Solutions
UK
• Education & Training
• 2.409
• www.brighthorizons.co.uk
32 Novozymes
Denmark, Switzerland
• Biotechnology
• 2.663
• www.novozymes.com
33 NetDesign
Denmark
• IT Consulting
• 518
• www.netdesign.dk
34 KBC
Belgium
• Banking
• 16.384
• www.kbc.be
35 Sparda-Bank
München
Germany
• Banking, Credit Services
• 664
• www.sparda-m.de
36 Johnson &
Johnson
Germany
• Health Care, Medical sales
• 750
• www.jnjgermany.de
37 CSU
The Netherlands
• Professional Services
• 11.324
• www.csu.nl
38 H. Lundbeck
Denmark
• Pharmaceuticals
• 2.341
• www.lundbeck.com
39 Techniker
Krankenkasse
Germany
• Health Insurance
• 11.386
• www.tk-online.de
40 HOCHLAND
Deutschland
Germany
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.408
• www.hochland-group.com
41 E.ON
Germany
• Energy Distribution
• 4.057
• www.eon.com
42 ING-DiBa
Germany
• Banking, Credit Services
• 2.794
• www.ing-diba.de
43 CIBA VISION
Germany
• Electrical and optical
• 969
• www.cibavision.de
44 Athenian
Brewery
Greece
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.277
• www.beerexports.gr
45 Volkswagen
Financial Services
Germany
• Financial Services & Insurance
• 4.028
• www.vwfsag.de
46 EMC Ireland
Ireland
• Information Technology
• 1.650
• uk.emc.com
47 Hilti
Switzerland
• Manufacturing & Production
• 1.922
• www.hilti.com
48 Tetra Pak
Italy
• Manufacturing & Production
• 704
• www.tetrapak.com
49 Grupa IKEA
w Polsce
Poland
• Retail
• 2.602
• www.ikea.com/pl
50 Unicarepharmacy
Ireland
• Retail
• 850
• www.unicarepharmacy.ie
Legend
Country winners
• Business sector
• Employees
• Web site
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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
In the summer of 2007 Friko Starc
started taking random shots of his
neighbors and passers-by at the
corner between Clinton Street and
Rivington Street in NYC. Soon his
interest in street corners grew:
wanting to capture how the most
divergent dreams and priorities
come together at crossroads
everyday, Friko photographed
thousands of strangers in this
corner as well as in the following
areas: Wall Street, Chinatown,
Chelsea, and East Harlem.
Twsm interviewed 100 companies (50 Best Large
Workplaces and 50 Small and Medium-Sized Workplaces
in Europe 2010) with the aim of analyzing
three themes in this article written with 100 hands.
The three themes
1 — How has your company involved employees in
terms of developing new strategies, products, and
services? Please provide actual examples.
2 — What ideas and suggestions submitted by your
employees have specifically been implemented? What
is the process for how these ideas have been evaluated
and implemented by management? Were the results
positive or negative?
3 — Balance between Men and Women: What percentage
of your employees are men and women?
Please describe an average “profile” of the men and
women who work within your company.
The qualitative nature of the relationship
between management and employees.
Great Place to Work ® Institute has been listening to
employees and evaluating employers since 1980 in
order to understand what makes a workplace great.
We know that the foundation of every great workplace
is trust between employees and management.
Our employee survey, culture assessment tools, research,
and advisory services have made us leaders in
helping organizations build high-trust workplaces.
We’re trust specialists
In a great workplace, trust manifests itself in every relationship.
In a high-trust environment, people cooperate
and collaborate, leading to positive workplace interactions,
higher profits, and greater productivity.
Great Place to Work ® Institute’s employee-centered
model has been recognized for more than 20 years as a
clear, comprehensive representation of the importance
of trust in creating great workplace relationships.
100 Companies, 100 Opinions
One attitude: a high level quality relationship with the employees
by Blake Esterday and Pia Colombo*
We support your efforts
to build trust
The Great Place to Work ® Institute combines our expertise
and proprietary tools to help you turn your
workplace environment into a powerful source of
competitive strength - while creating collaborative,
successful relationships among people at all levels of
your organization.
The qualitative relationship between
management and employees is shown in both
the manager’s statements and the answers from
the questionnaires submitted by employees.
The responses of managers collected in this article
offer a glimpse of the intentions of the various leaders
towards creating a better organizational climate.
What surprises us are not the statements. We know
- from Cicerone to the present day - that whoever
manages has the ability to pave all his vision with
good intentions. What is surprising about the 100 Best
Companies to Work for in Europe is the convergence
between the enunciations and the facts directly observed
by employees.
Talk with 50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe 2010
By Blake Esterday
Involving the team:
an effective key word.
Sabine Vreden, Corporate Communications for ING-
DiBa AG Germany, talks about how the treatment
of employees effects the entire organization:“We are
convinced that we will only satisfy our customers and
subsequently have a successful business with the best
and, most importantly, with a satisfied staff. We provide
our employees with all the means which are in
our powers, so that they are able to develop and use
their full potential.”
Having a flat structure of management between the
* Blake Esterday and Pia Colombo, The Work Style magazine editors.

Great Place to WorkGreece
Athens
www.greatplacetowork.gr
T 0030 2106971098
Photographer Friko Starc has
launched global advertising
strategies for brands such as
American Express, Puma, Intel,
and Chivas Regal for instance.
Before moving to NYC in 2000,
Friko taught English in a Tibetan
monastery, ran a small restaurant
in Goa, started a beach baseball
league in Brazil, gave windsurfing
lessons in Aruba, and named a
couple of Unilever products in
Europe.
bottom and top employees is important to Sandra
Jasmins de Freitas, Marketing and Communication
Manager for Cisco Systems Portugal: “Collaboration
is a key word in Cisco and it is well represented by
employees’ interaction among peers and with senior
management. For example, “The Breakfast Party”
is where CEO John Chambers gives employees the
chance to ask him questions directly.”
Justin Beddows, Communications Manager for Admiral
Group UK says that communication is in fact the
key to this collaboration: “We have a number of ways
we consult our employees for their ideas and suggestions
on developing new strategies, products and services.
This forms part of our general communication
strategy, which is always two-ways, transparent and
consultative.” Communication is stated as a primary
factor of company success also by Nadine Hoffmann,
Product Manager for DIS AG Germany: “The most important
reason for our good results is the fact that
we listen to the needs of our employees and that we
take every one of them seriously as an individual.
The people in our company feel that this is not a
marketing slogan, but that we really mean it.” Marco
Scippa, Human Resources for Elica Italy talks about
specific examples of how people get involved: “We
involve our people regulary using our House Organ
(Elica News), General meeting (when we have special
events), and Face to Face meeting with our CEO and
President (every two months).”
On this point of involving employees, Anja Buechel,
Communications for Hilti Switzerland offers a unique
method in how to improve this goal: “The Continuous
Improvement Process (CIP) is a team process,
hosted by a moderator, which helps employees take
a self-critical view of their work under their own responsibility,
actively involves them in innovation and
improvement processes and, in doing so, helps to establish
new standards within the company.”
Going to the very heart of the matter, Jesper Johansen,
Director, People & Organisation for Novozymes A/S
Denmark points out how employees can change com-
pany’s direction: “We are working on revitalizing our
company values, and in that process, we have invited
all employees to participate in workshops around the
world, with the purpose of giving input to our new
values.” In fact, Sinead Brady, Human Resources Manager
for PepsiCo Ireland goes a step further by stating
how employees become owners of the company: “All
of the people management systems are designed to
encourage employees to become involved and feel
a greater sense of ownership in what is happening
within the company in terms of new strategies, products
and services.”
The final word comes from Markus Beer, Project
Manager Human Resources for SMA Solar Technology
AG Germany, who shows the psychological side of
improving the work environment: “An open style of
communication continues to characterize SMA’s firm
commitment to cooperative management. This participatory
corporate culture is carried out on three
levels: rational (with the mind), emotional (with the
heart) and monetary (with the wallet).”
Implementation of employee ideas
When a company’s management faces a structural
change, turning to employees for insight is beneficial,
as presented by Connie Mählmann, Human Resources
Director DACH & Benelux for Johnson & Johnson Germany:
“A great example of giving decision-making
to all levels in the organization is when J&J moved
our office from Düsseldorf to Neuss. Our management
team asked a group of employees to select and
decide everything for the office.” Agreeing with the
idea that solutions can lie in the hands of the employees,
Diane Casteels, Human Resources Representative
for FedEx Belgium states: “An employee identified an
opportunity to save costs when it was not possible to
deliver a shipment. This proposed solution is now in
operation and has been found to be particularly useful.”
By this approach, one department was directly affected
in a positive way, says Anne Lesandré, Manager
➘ Page 8
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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010

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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
Great Place to Work Spain
Madrid
www.greatplacetowork.es
T 0034 911410899
Human Resources for Care NV Belgium: “We brought
our back-office people and our operational management
of all levels together and asked them to do a
brainstorming on how to boost sales. We got no less
than 40 different ideas of which we implemented the
most interesting ones.”
On the point of giving employees more responsibility,
Petra Thees, Managing Director of Domino-World
Germany remarks: “Our process of participation and
contribution aims at giving more freedom to our people
for self-fulfilment and empowerment. We have
processes such as participation of people in team
meetings; Improvement ideas from a survey and Innovation
Workshops.” Forming a team across the entire
company in order to fight problems is the focus
for Ulrich Spie, Human Resources Manager for E.ON
AG Germany: “The ‘Accounts Receivable’ project has
the aim of reducing the level of outstanding debt. The
team is comprised of employees from the UK, Central
Europe, Pan-European Gas, Nordic,US-Midwest and
the Corporate Center.”
Companies are stronger when people come and
work together as a team, as Anne-Marie Berndt,
General Manager Employee & Labor Relations for 3M
Deutschland GmbH Germany says: “Our employees
are deeply involved in all of these processes. The
ideas of employees will be discussed with management
in team-meetings. We have a special seven steps
new product introduction plan.”
Agreeing with the positive impact of employee teams,
Anders Schroll, Human Resources Director for Lundbeck
A/S Denmark states: “In our research and development
organisation we have action-learning teams
for our key talents. Each year they get a specific assignment
and they come back after a weeks work
with proposals to the management team.”
In order to streamline the management of all these
new ideas, Christine Brandis, Personnel, Marketing
and Recruiting for Techniker Krankenkasse Germany,
provides a unique method: “On average 3000 suggestions
are received annually by the idea manage-
ment team. They establish what benefit the idea has
and any potential bonus for the person submitting
the idea.” Anika Weth, Head of Human Resources for
Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Germany, shows
how technology can also be used: “In 2009 we started
a methodology for the improvement of processes. We
implemented an internet-based platform where each
employee can bring in his or her ideas concerning
processes, quality, new products, etc.”
A final thought on company culture comes from Michael
Haag, Public Relations Manager for W.L. Gore
& Associates GmbH in Germany, Italy, France: “Because
of the strong personal relationships and immediate
lines of communication engrained in the corporate
culture, associates are able to introduce their
ideas and suggestions directly into their work environment
and so are closely involved in the decision
making process.”
Talk with 50 Small and Medium-sized Workplaces in
Europe 2010
By Pia Colombo
In all companies interviewed, the employees
from all levels of experience are directly
involved in providing suggestions and ideas.
Some companies use particular instruments to make
the amount of ideas collected visible. For example,
OMICRON has installed an “idea barometer” in the
main hall of the OMICRON Austria Development Center.
“As soon as the barometer is full, a raffle is made
in which everybody who provided an idea has the
chance to win a holiday weekend for two people or
other prizes”, states Harald Dörler, Human Resources
Manager.
People are involved in very different ways: “Regular
practice meetings enable our consultants to reflect on
progress in the last financial year, discuss our strat-

Great Place to Work Germany
Cologne
www.greatplacetowork.de
T 0049 221933350
Great Place to Work Denmark
Copenhagen
www.greatplacetowork.dk
T 0045 3369 369
egy/business plan and generally look forward to the
next year”, says Nichola Plower, HR Manager at Baringa
Partners UK.
Usually companies focus their attention on organizing
meetings, seminars etc. “We have one yearly full-day
event, which is devoted to open discussions and for
putting forward both small and large proposals.”, affirms
Majbritt Gert Poulsen, Chief Administrative Officer
at Mjølner Informatics A/S Denmark.
Other companies, such as Centiro Solutions AB Sweden,
focus their attention on becoming a flat organization.
“On a day to day basis our cross functional
teams have decisive power within their capability
area – it is only in rare cases they need to seek approval
from the management team. This translates to
a very flat organization.”, states Niklas Hedin, CEO.
To involve employees in the development of new
strategies, products, and services, some companies
have special elaborate programs, as in the case of Abbott
Denmark, Ireland and Norway with the program
Life Navigation “which empowers our employees to
take the initiative in prioritizing their life and work
goals and identifying and focusing on high-value, innovative
projects that will help them to deliver new
strategies, products and services”, affirms Matthew
Bedella, External Communications Abbot Public Affairs
Behind each initiative, there is a lot of attention given
to the planning and communication.
For example in Fondia, the strategy consists of five
main points and they have five groups that work on
their own strategy topics. Paula Stelander, HR Manager,
tells us, “Everybody is invited to join these groups.
(…) Anyone can present their ideas either by our Innovation
Board, our electronic innovation forum or
by walking up to our Head of Development who sits
in the middle of our open-plan office.”
The attention and effort that all the companies interviewed
bring to the collection of employee suggestions
is incessant. Kimmo Kedonpaa, Managing Director
at Pipelife Finland OY affirms, “it is a continuous
process. (…) We have given the responsibility to the
people who make the actual work as much as possible.
This means that for example production workers
participate in the planning of production strategies.”
Taking care of the employee suggestions
is very important for all companies.
“Once the suggestions are collected, we work with
a team of Ambassadors (employees in the company
who are passionate about a particular topic) who
help implement ideas”, says Melanie Lejette, Human
Resources Manager, at Danone UK.
There are no specific rules to define the best way
to collect and analyze the employees’ ideas. For example
at Creativ Company Denmark, attention is focused
on employee diversity. “We see everyone as a
unique contributor to our business, our company and
our workplace”, affirms Pia Ørskov, HR Manager.
Technology surely has an important role. For some
companies it is not only a communication instrument,
but also a collector of ideas. “The “e-Idea” is a suggestion
box in the existing Intranet. Through this, we
provide to all employees the opportunity to express
their opinions” says Cristina Cabral, Director of Human
Resources at Liberty Seguros Portugal.
Sometimes special terms are used in the implementation
of suggestions. For example at Roche Denmark,
they have a term called “Golden Idea (…) where
people can send ideas to the management team. The
ones we implement will be recognized in our local
company magazine”, says Anja Gjelstrup Kjær, HR
Coordinator.
In some industries, the desire to collect employee
suggestions is integrated with the complexity of the
corporate structure. Webstep Norway for example
handles three major company processes: recruitment,
sales and delivery. “All three processes represent arenas
for collaboration between the management staff
and the consultants. (for example) In sales, the communication
between the consultants and the sales
managers represent a vital arena for new ideas and
➘ Page 13
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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
The Great Place
to Work ® Model ©
A great place to work is one in
which you “trust the people you
work for, have pride in what you
do, and enjoy the people you work
with.”

50 Best Small and Medium-sized Workplaces in Europe 2010
50-500 employees
1 &samhoud
The Netherlands
• Management Consulting
• 108
• www.samhoud.nl
2 Middelfart Sparekasse
Denmark
• Banking, Credit Services
• 186
• www.midspar.dk
3 Reaktor
Finland
• IT Consulting
• 120
• www.ri.fi
4 Roche Pharmaceuticals
Denmark
• Pharmaceuticals
• 128
• www.roche.dk
5 noventum consulting
Germany
• IT Consulting
• 75
• www.noventum.de
6 4flow
Germany
• Management Consulting
• 87
• www.4flow.de
7 Frøs Herreds Sparekasse
Denmark
• Banking, Credit Services
• 138
• www.froes.dk
Great Place to Work Ireland
Dublin
www.greatplacetowork.ie
T 00353 18909510
8 ConSol* Software
Germany
• Information Technology
• 187
• www.consol.de
9 Creativ Company
Denmark
• Retail
• 95
• www.cchobby.dk
10 Autisme Center
Vestsjælland
Denmark
• Health Care, Services
• 361
• www.a-c-v.dk
11 Baringa Partners
UK
• Management Consulting
• 119
• www.baringa.com
12 Bofællesskaberne
Edelsvej
Denmark
• Social Services and Government Agencies
• 51
13 Softonic.com
Spain
• Information Technology
• 164
• www.softonic.com
14 Bain & Company Ibérica
Spain
• Professional Services
• 73
• www.bain.com
15 Procter & Gamble
Austria
• Manufacturing & Production
• 98
• www.pg.com
16 SCA Hygiene Products
Denmark
• Manufacturing & Production
• 85
• www.sca.dk
17 Management Events
Finland
• Professional Services
• 70
• www.managementevents.fi
18 GlaxoSmithKline
Pharma
Denmark
• Health Care
• 130
• www.glaxosmithkline.dk
19 Mjølner Informatics
Denmark
• IT Consulting
• 68
• www.mjolner.dk
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Great Place to Work Finland
Helsinki
www.greatplacetowork.fi
T 00358 401989765
20 SimCorp
Germany
• Software
• 172
• www.simcorp.de
21 Sparkasse Neuhofen
Bank
Austria
• Banking, Credit Services
• 62
• www.sparkasse.neuhofen.at
22 Atrias
personalmanagement
Germany
• Staffing & Recruitment
• 55
• www.atrias.de
23 Liberty Seguros
Portugal
• Insurance
• 447
• www.libertyseguros.pt
24 OMICRON electronics
Austria
• Electronics
• 282
• www.omicron.at
25 Pipelife Finland Oy
Finland
• Manufacturing & Production
• 95
• www.pipelife.fi
26 Everis Portugal
Portugal
• IT Consulting
• 203
• www.everis.com
27 OC&C Strategy
Consultants
Germany
• Management Consulting
• 80
• www.occstrategy.com
28 Danone
UK
• Manufacturing & Production
• 114
• www.danone.co.uk
29 Euro Car Parks
Ireland
• Construction & Real Estate
• 210
• www.eurocarparks.com
30 NetApp
Switzerland, UK
• Information Technology
• 346
• www.netapp.com
31 Abbott Laboratories
Denmark, Ireland, Norway
• Health Care
• 328
• www.abbott.com
Great Place to Work Portugal
Lisbon
www.greatplacetowork.pt
T 00351 214177419
32 Borgerservice Haderslev
Kommune
Denmark
• Government Agency
• 55
• www.Haderslev.dk
33 Mars
Finland, Ireland, Italy
• Manufacturing & Production
• 396
• www.mars.com
34 Kantega
Norway
• IT Consulting
• 66
• www.kantega.no
35 Lego
Germany
• Manufacturing & Production
• 167
• www.lego.com
36 Fondia Oy
Finland
• Professional Services
• 55
• www.fondia.fi
37 ConVista Consulting
Germany
• IT Consulting
• 146
• www.convista.com

The Great Place To Work ® Institute report lists the 50 Best Small
and Medium-Sized Workplaces (companies with less than 500
employees) and the 50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe this year.
The Great Place To Work ® Institute is an international organization which
has been identifying and evaluating great workplaces for the past 25
years, ever since Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, two journalists
based in San Francisco (California), published their bestselling book,
100 Best Companies to Work for in America. Their first list of the Best
Workplaces in Europe was supported by the European Commission which
sought to help the European business community with developing great
workplaces, improving quality of life, and elevating the competitiveness
of industries in Europe.
38 Bristol-Myers Squibb
Greece, Poland
• Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
• 334
• www.bms.com
39 Psimitis
Greece
• Health Care
• 75
• www.psimitis.gr
40 Grupo Visual MS
Spain
• Information Technology
• 51
• www.visualms.com
41 Tandberg
Norway
• Information Technology
• 473
• www.tandberg.no
42 Centiro Solutions
Sweden
• Information Technology
• 59
• www.centiro.se
43 Ormit
The Netherlands
• Management Consulting
• 152
• www.ormit.nl
Legend
Country winners
• Business sector
• Employees
• Web site
44 Novia Finland Oy
Finland
• Professional Services
• 90
• www.noviafinland.fi
45 Webstep
Norway
• IT Consulting
• 180
• www.webstep.no
46 House of Performance
The Netherlands
• Management Consulting
• 54
• www.hofp.nl
47 Worthington Cylinders
Austria
• Manufacturing & Production
• 368
• www.worthingtoncylinders.com
48 Impact International
UK
• Professional Services
• 103
• www.impact-dtg.com
49 Jones Lang LaSalle
Ireland
• Real Estate
• 74
• www.joneslanglasalle.ie
50 Accuracy
France
• Consulting-Actuarial, Risk Assessment
• 77
• www.accuracy.fr
suggestions” states Arnt R Aasen,
Director of Communications / Adviser.
The ideas are disparate
and often applied to
entire processes.
In Danone UK for example, Melanie
Lejette tells us “This process
has been used for: Reviewing the
flexible benefits choices, changing
a company policy, improve our
Active Health Programme, sharing
the results and the actions following
the feedback on the various
surveys”.
Sometimes the ideas of the employees
contribute to the naming
of the company, as in the Autisme
Center Sjælland Denmark. “The
name was adopted and put into
service in 2003 and in this context,
a competition was held to create a
new beautiful and distinctive logo.
The contestants were both residents
and staff” says Arnt R Aasen,
Director of Communications /
Adviser.
Other ideas have been implemented
to improve a service or to better
plan activities: “Just now there has
been a wish from the employees
to centralise customers with losses
and a new employee has been
hired to fulfil this job” states Bente
Graae from Frøs Herreds Sparekasse
Denmark.
Another example comes from
Psimitis Greece, when the personnel
recommended a new system to
➘ Page 14
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14
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The story behind Great Place
To Work ® Institute.
Extract from “Where it All Began”
(“1984, The 100 Best Companies
to Work For In America”),
from Robert Levering’s Transforming
Workplace Cultures.
2009, Primavera Editorial, São
Paulo, Brasil.
Finding a good place to work is
not easy. Over the years everyone
hears about great places to
work… but how do you go about
finding America’s superlative employers?
American companies are rarely
examined from the standpoint
of their employees. The literature
of business is rich with stories
about companies and analyses
of their operations. The Wall
Street Journal chronicles these
activities so well that it has become
the largest selling daily
newspaper in the nation. During
the course of a year, Businessweek,
Forbes, and Fortune pub-
follow consignments in hospitals. “In particular, the
company distributes highly technical and expensive
medical devices (…) Because the technologies have
short expiration dates, the ability of the company to
track and manage them (…) influences the profitability”
states Elina Psimitis, President and CEO.
Another important factor is the attention given to the
individual and his or her physical and psychological
well-being. “For us it is important to solve personal
conflicts and injustice as soon as they are perceived
by any employee (…) Our employees suggested to
implement a kind of “ombudsman” – a person who
provides impartial advice and support if necessary”,
affirms Wolfgang Plemper, Director Business Consulting
at Noventum Consulting GmbH Germany.
At ConVista Consulting AG Germany an employee
has suggested creating a “Sport-AG”. “For 2 years we
have had regular sport activities for all employees”
states Oliver Kewes, Member of the Executive Board.
At Esbjerg Kommune Denmark, two employees developed
a non-discrimination policy regarding gender.
Company managers supported the new plan by
introducing it into daily work and continuing to improve
it at various seminars” affirms Maria Møbjerg,
HR Manager.
Giving joy is the idea suggested at Sca Hygiene Products
A/S Denmark which works with baby diapers.
“One of our local employees suggested to put a print
of a crown on the diaper when we had a little newborn
prince in Denmark (…) The result was met with
a very positive response from our customers”, tells
Aagaard Jytte, HR Manager.
There are also ideas to improve hygiene, as Cristina
Cabral, Director of Human Resources at Liberty Seguros
tells us “one suggestion implemented has been
to install in each of the bathrooms a container with
anti-bacterial spray to clean the tops of toilets.”
Finally, employees even offer ideas on how to overcome
the crisis, as Gjelstrup Kjær, HR Coordinator at
Roche Denmark states “When we had to lower our
costs, our GM sent out an e-mail to all employees to
ask for their ideas on how to save money. Many ideas
have been announced and implemented, e.g the opportunity
to buy an extra week of summer holiday,
automatic 2-side printing.”
Balance between
men and women
In most companies performing in the field of IT Management
consulting, the proportion of men is higher
than the proportion of women. Nevertheless, gender
is not a criteria during recruitment.
For example, SimCorp Germany traditionally attracts
more men than women. “Among the qualifications required,
considerably more men than women are represented”,
says Rita Jeziorowski.
Generally, companies strongly believe that an increase
in diversity creates an increase in different perspectives.
“Currently, 60% of the Italian Board is composed
of women. On the whole, 50% of the employees are
women and 50% are men” says Cristiana Milanesi, HR
Director at Mars Italia.
Another clear example of diversity comes from Abbott,
with the presence of women in leadership positions.
“In Ireland women hold nearly 60 percent of
management positions, and in Denmark and Norway,
women hold half of the management positions,” says
Matthew Bedella. “Moreover, gender does not drive
differences in salaries, which are generally based on
the level of education, experience and expertise, and
on an employee’s demonstrated performance and results.”
At ConSol* there are no gender specific salaries,
as remuneration orients itself exclusively on performance.
“The formula for success at ConSol* is the
implicitness, with which equal opportunity is lived in
all company divisions. Our approach is innovative: We
try to put the individual needs and capabilities of male
and female employees on a level with the operational
requirements and tasks”, says Isabel Baum Marketing
Manager at ConSol* Consulting & Solutions GmbH
Germany.

lish 103 issues that are crammed
with lists, tables, and charts
tracking the progress of companies
in a multitude of categories.
Yet none of these sources regularly
spotlight the human condition
inside business. They don’t,
as a rule, tell how employees are
treated. They don’t discuss which
companies have the best benefit
programs.
We asked all kinds of people
to recommend great places to
work. After we had compiled a
➘ Page 23
People working for the Best Workplaces in Europe are
described as people who are willing to take responsibilities,
display a great spirit of collaboration, show
a positive and proactive attitude, passionate about the
work they do and open minded. “A recent survey,
shows that the ORMIT BV The Netherlands employees
are more extravert, flexible, result driven, people oriented,
ambitious and pragmatic”, says Nick Hoogendoorn,
HR.
At &Samhoud The Netherlands the cultural “click”
is of the utmost importance during the selection of
new employees. “We examine whether the new employees
identify with our mission and whether they
correspond to our core values: intensity, authenticity,
friendship” says Else van Harten, HR Manager.
Liisa Huusari, HR Manager at Reaktor Innovations Ltd.
Finland, affirms “all Reaktor employees love and are
passionate about their work, but they do have a life
outside the office as well. We look for employees who
are not only enthusiastic professionals but also great
people to work with. ”
Francisca Buccellato, Communication Manager at Everis
Portugal states “At Everis, we look for people that
are a match with the company’s overall goals and mission.
With this, we give special attention to the behavioral
characteristics, such as team spirit, flexibility,
ease of integration and adaptation, responsibility and,
above all, positive attitude.”
Conclusions
The employee satisfaction is thus reflected in the effectiveness
of the company. The axiom that provides
“Trust in exchange for the employee’s performance and
thus satisfaction of the market” is reflected in the company’s
results (including economic, see article on page
3, edited by Otto Zell). You could say that the “happier”
company “works well.” The key terms to describe the
relationship of trust established between management
and employees in the companies are characterized by
different situations. What we think is appropriate to
emphasize is the word “dialogue” as a constant factor
of success in its various applications. The circularity of
the information has always been a factor in winning:
the employee converses - the manager converses - the
employee implements - the manager implements.
The “sense of involvement” is the tangible result of initiatives
undertaken by companies to improve or maintain
the excellence of their work environments. Often
the ideas of employees are transformed into the efficient
improvement of company processes. Men and
women finally are on the same floor. There is no excellent
environment that can be maintained over time
without the diversity.
What’s sad about this? We still talk about it. We should
not talk about it. The “normality”, with no journalistic
inspiration, should be the fact that there is no difference
whatsoever in the companies. The rationality of
economic theories, from Adam Smith to this day prevents
it. In the investigation into the nature and the
causes of the wealth of Nations, Smith explores the
“forces” that determine the wealth of nations from the
end of the mercantilist period. After 220 years it is time
to think that equal treatment is a force in the complex
world we live. To quote Thomas L. Friemanm, successfully
navigating an increasingly flat world requires the
ability to live on the wave of change, considering the
cyclical movements of the economy that have caused
tantrums in recent years. •
To follow the main themes of the Great Place to Work
philosophy, “The Work Style magazine” is a unique
international magazine focused on “work style.” It is
a solid and innovative source; trough research and
ideas, HR management, trends, books and environmen
in the workplaces. A four times per year appointment
for the HR community in the world.
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The Great Place to Work ® Model ©
Credibility
• Communication is open and
accessible
• Competence in coordinating
human and material resources
• Integrity in carrying out vision
with consistency

The Special Awards
Great Place to Work ® Institute is recognizing five companies
for extraordinary practices in five areas of the GiftWork Model
1
Inspiring leadership
this is not just a job
Winner Creativ Company (Denmark)
Runner Up IKEA Group (Poland)
Runner Up Liberty Seguros (Portugal)
The winner of this year’s Great
Place to Work® Special Award for
“Inspiring” is Creativ Company,
a retailer of art supplies based in
Denmark. This award is given to
a company that fosters a strong
sense of pride across the organization
and helps employees feel
that their work is “more than just a
job.”Although it is relatively small,
with only 95 employees, Creativ
Company has managed to make a
difference, not only for its own employees,
but also for socially marginalized
groups in society, including
people who suffer from physical
or mental disabilities, such as industrial
injuries, drug addiction, or
eating disorders. One employee – a
former drug addict – told a newspaper,
“This place is special. You
are not allowed to hide and give
up when something is difficult.
The ones who would rather hide
are those most needed to be seen.
Here, you are seen and accepted
for who you are. You just have to
behave. That is a simple and fair
demand. Besides becoming clean,
this job is the largest success I have
experienced in my life.”
2
Speaking the truth
credible communication
Winner Unicarepharmacy (Ireland)
Runner Up 3M Deutschland (Germany)
Runner Up Bristol-Myers Squibb (Greece)
Unicarepharmacy has been forced
to freeze salaries for its roughly 850
employees twice in two years.
Yet throughout these difficult times,
the company’s leaders did not isolate
themselves, but rather they
reached out to their “colleagues,”
as the company’s employees are
known, to make sure that people
understood what was happening
– and help them understand how
they could pitch in to help avoid
layoffs. The result? More than nine
out of ten Unicarepharmacy employees
responding to the Great
Place to Work ® Trust Index © Survey
this year agreed that “management
would lay people off only as
a last resort” – and as of October
2009, the company had reached
97% of its “Plan A” targets (‘Plan
A’ would “protect... colleagues’ job
security and avoid having to pursue
an alternative route). For outstanding
communication practices
during this trying period, Unicarepharmacy
is this year’s recipient of
the Great Place to Work ® Special
Award for “Speaking,” which recognizes
a European company that
excels in communicating.
Thank you!
The Great Place to Work ® Institute
is so grateful for the time and effort
that people have dedicated to making
the European Award and Conference
events in Madrid a great success. We
thank the speakers from the following
companies:
• NetApp
• Vodafone Spain
• Nordea Life & Pension
• ORMIT
• IKEA Spain
• Admiral Group
• High Performance Sport
• noventum consulting
• Telefónica International
And a special Thank You to our sponsor
of a Workplace Culture Session
NetApp.
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The Great Place to Work ® Model ©
Respect
• Supporting professional
development and showing
appreciation
• Collaboration with employees on
relevant decisions
• Caring for employees as
individuals with personal lives

Great Place to Work UK
London
www.greatplacetowork.co.uk
T 0044 8706088780
3
Listening
getting employees involved
Winner Mars (Ireland)
Runner Up domino-world (Germany)
Runner Up Kantega (Norway)
Mars is one of the largest familyowned
companies in the world,
with more than 48,000 associates in
over 66 countries. Keeping people
informed and engaged in the business
is essential for living out the
company’s five principles: quality,
responsibility, mutuality, efficiency,
and freedom, which is defined
as “more freedom to make a difference.”
There are no private offices
at Mars; relationships are on a
first-name basis, everybody has the
same desk, and there are no personal
offices reserved. The openness
to ideas begins with every
new hire; the company’s recruiting
materials ask for people who
“always have a point of view and
speak their mind,” who have a
“high sense of responsibility” and
who “like to challenge the status
quo.”
“There is no ‘us and them feeling,’
wrote one employee in this year’s
Trust Index© Survey. “It makes everyone
feel important in the wider
view of the company’s success, and
everyone’s opinions are important
and encouraged.”
4
Developing the full potential of
employees
Winner Coca-Cola HBC (Greece)
Runner Up Microsoft (Portugal)
Runner Up SMA Solar Technology
(Germany)
“Coca-Cola HBC is one of the few
companies in Greece that develops
employees’ competencies to
the maximum... Employees get the
right training and motivation in order
to give 100% of themselves”.
All employees have their own development
plan that is connected
to the company’s Performance Appraisal
System; employees evaluate
themselves first before receiving
input from their supervisor.
The company also uses a succession
planning tool that encourages
every person to develop a career
path; in 2009, more than 50 percent
of the company’s employees
used this tool. There is also a “leadership
pipeline” that follows seven
career levels: i) Manage of Self, ii)
Manager of Others, iii) Manager of
Managers, iv) Function Manager, v)
Business Manager, vi) Group Manager
and vii) Enterprise Manager.
For each of these levels, the company
has created training modules
to develop specific skills and competencies.
5
Caring for employees in
times of need
Winner 3M Deutschland (Germany)
Runner Up Bofællesskaberne Edelsvej
(Denmark)
Runner Up Coca-Cola HBC (Greece)
The award is related to Trust Index
© Survey statements such as
“management shows a sincere interest
in me as a person, not just an
employee” and “people care about
each other here.
3M offers a wide array of support
services to ensure that both employees
and their family members
have a strong base of support in
tough times.
All 3M people undergoing financial
hardship can receive direct and immediate
support. The company offers
support to people who have to
cope with illness or periods following
the death of a loved one.
The company also gives people
more paid days than are required
by law to take care of sick family
members. To support employees
who travel for work,
3M provides an emergency card,
with phone numbers to connect
to support resources in countries
around the world. The company
also provides counselling related to
addiction and other issues, much
of which is available to employees’
families. •
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The Great Place to Work ® Model ©
Fairness
• Equity - balanced treatment for all
in terms of rewards
• Impartiality - absence of
favouritism in hiring and
promotions
• Justice - lack of discrimination and
process for appeals

Great Place to Work Belgium
Leuven
www.greatplacetowork.be
T 0032 92109737
Today’s reports
Today, the Great Place to Work ®
Institute conducts national workplace
studies in more than 45 nations
around the world, including
18 national studies in Europe,
which are carried out by a network
of affiliate offices. For the
2009-2010 edition of the European
Best Workplaces Study, more than
1,300 European companies participated,
representing approximately
more than 1.1 million employees
who participated by filling out the
Trust Index © (an employee survey)
and providing anonymous, written
opinions about their organisations.
Any organisation with more than
50 employees can apply to appear
on the list of the 100 Best Workplaces
in Europe. All companies
are evaluated with the same basic
methodology: an extensive employee
survey known as the “Trust
Index © ” accounts for 2/3 of the final
score, while an independent
evaluation of management practices
known as a “Culture Audit © ” accounts
for the last 1/3.
Two Rankings:
Large and Small Companies
Companies are divided by size into
two categories, resulting in lists
of the 50 Best Large Workplaces
and the 50 Best Small and Medium
Workplaces in Europe. These
lists are compiled from the highest
scoring companies across 17 European
nations; companies repre-
Methodology for the List Process
Great Place To Work ® Institute
By Palle Ellemann Knudsen
sented on more than one list (i.e.
multi-national companies) have
their scores averaged for consideration
for the European list.
The methodology
The methodology for evaluating
workplaces derives from the Great
Place to Work ® Model © . According
to this model, the definition of a
great workplace is an organisation
where employees trust the people
they work for, have pride in what
they do, and enjoy the people they
work with. Trust is broken down
into three components – credibility,
respect, and fairness – which
are considered in addition to employees’
sense of pride in their
work and organisation, and the
camaraderie that they share with
those they work with. •
a
About the Great Place To Work®
Institute’s Trust Index © Survey and
Culture Audit ©
The majority of the information in this
publication came from two sources, both
of which are required of companies to be
considered by the Great Place to Work ®
Institute to appear on the list of the 100
Best Workplaces in Europe.
The Trust Index © is a standardised survey
tool developed by the Great Place to
Work ® Institute Inc. The survey includes
57 statements related to the five dimensions
of the Great Place to Work® Model©.
Employees respond anonymously to
each statement on a scale of 1-5: “almost
always untrue”, “often untrue”, “sometimes
untrue, “sometimes true”, “often
true” and “almost always true”. Random,
but representative samples of all employees
– including managers – are invited to
complete the survey. In smaller organisations,
all employees receive a survey.
The Culture Audit © is a detailed overview
of a company’s value system, management
practices, and policies, and is
usually completed by the HR manager
and other senior leaders.
The Culture Audit© includes both statistical
data and open-ended questions
and is evaluated based on a standardised
methodology developed by Great Place
to Work ® Institute. z
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The Great Place to Work ® Model ©
Pride
• In contributions to one’s job
• In work produced by one’s team or
work group
• In the organization’s products and
standing in the community

The potential of corporate
social responsibility
As employers, taxpayers and providers
of goods and services, companies
a key role in addressing the
economic, social and environmental
challenges that our societies face.
The idea that companies can contribute
to societal wellbeing (even
beyond their legal obligations) is
not new, but in recent years more
and more companies have started
to explore the potential of corporate
social responsibility (CSR) as a
driver of both business success and
societal progress. Moreover, in the
current economic context, rebuilding
trust in business and shaping a
more sustainable global economy
is an urgent challenge for companies
in all sectors.
A way of doing business
Over the years, the concept of CSR
has come a long way: it is no longer
seen as an add-on to the core business,
but a way of doing business.
In short, corporate responsibility is
about placing social and environmental
considerations at the very
heart of the company’s strategy
and operations. While CSR is still
often seen primarily as an element
of reputation and risk management,
forward-looking companies
are today increasingly leveraging
sustainability as a source of innovation
and new business opportunities.
Great Place to Work Italy
Milan
www.greatplacetowork.it
T 0039 0229060629
list of 350 candidates, we wrote
to all of them for information
about themselves and their employee
policies. We received a
wide range of responses.
Sifting through this material and
listening to what people told us,
we narrowed our candidate roster
to 135 companies. But we
quickly realized that the material
was thin and rather lifeless, and
that the only way to get in-depth
information and lend substance
to hearsay was to look for our-
A Collective Effort
CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility
By Laura Maanavilja*
A real example
What does this mean in practice?
To take an example, in Europe,
demographic change is a pressing
issue for both the public and the
private sector. Over the next decades,
many European regions will
face major challenges associated
with an ageing and stagnating or in
some cases declining population.
Compared to other continents, Europe
already has the oldest population:
19 of the world’s 20 “oldest”
countries are in Europe. In terms
of CSR, companies have to take
into account the characteristics of
an ageing workforce, for example
in areas such as enabling lifelong
learning and promoting health and
wellbeing in the workplace. On the
other hand, demographic change
can also trigger business innovation
in products and services that
help address changing consumer
needs and expectations.
Governance and CSR
However, in today’s complex world,
business action on its own has only
limited impact. Bringing about real
societal change requires active cooperation
between companies and
other players. Indeed, various stakeholder
groups – such as public authorities,
civil society organisations
or investor coalitions – are playing
an increasingly visible role in the
CSR debate. For example, European
governments both at the national
and the EU level are increasingly
looking at CSR as an innovative
➘ Page 25
means to contribute to achieving
policy goals in a broad range of areas.
Recently, the European Commission
stressed the importance of
CSR in building smart, green and inclusive
growth in Europe as part of
its new EU 2020 strategy. To build
inclusive workplaces and fair markets,
we all have a role to play. As
employees, consumers and citizens,
it is our responsibility to define the
values we want our society to live
by and work together towards a
more sustainable future. •
a What next?
• From add-on to built-in CSR: Integrating
social and environmental considerations
into strategy and operations
instead of developing CSR initiatives unrelated
to the core business
• From reactive to proactive stakeholder
engagement: Involving stakeholders
throughout the process instead of reactively
responding to stakeholder concerns
• From value protection to value
creation: Exploring CSR as a driver of innovation
and competitive advantage instead
of focusing only on risk and reputation
management z
* Laura Maanavilja, Communications
Manager, CSR Europe. CSR Europe is the leading
European business network for corporate
social responsibility.
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The Great Place to Work ® Model ©
Camaraderie
• Ability to be oneself
• Socially friendly and welcoming
atmosphere
• Sense of “family” or “team”

selves at every company on our
list. We crisscrossed the country
for the better part of the year, visiting
114 companies in 27 different
states… In between plastic
trays of airline food, we settled
down to lengthy conversations
with employees, from the factory
floor to the executive suite.
We typically interviewed at least
half a dozen people at each company,
and sometimes we talked
with several dozen.
It was heartening to discover
➘ Page 26
Italian universities have always given
a considerable importance to the
basic cultural education of people.
In times of increasing appeal to
specialization, learning to reflect,
rather than achieving know-how,
is a binding need.
We have discussed this with Riccardo
Mercurio.
Knowledge of Management
Tools Supported
by Understanding
of Economic
and Corporate Dynamics.
We involve students during opportunities
of interactive work with the
entrepreneurial world and institutions
(for instance, the Challenging
Educational Program which asks
student groups to solve specific
problems suggested by organizations
such as Ansaldo, Arin, Napoli
Teatro Festival, Giuseppe Bottiglieri
Armatori).
The Strength of
Flexibility.
The most common models and
tools in corporate practice are historically
of an Anglo-Saxon origin
and reflect a ‘hard’ rationality in the
decision-making process which often
disregards ‘soft’ aspects of interpretation
regarding people’s behavioral
dynamics. The traditional
“southern” flexibility, less inclined
to the excessive structuring of managerial
practices, can represent an
asset in moments of high environmental
instability.
Great Place to Work Norway
Oslo
www.greatplacetowork.no
T 0047 92212747
Mediterranean Attractiveness
Focus on Universities in Southern Italy
by Riccardo Mercurio*
Where Rationality
and Creativity Meet
Facing the processes of change requires
a great deal of creativity, unpredictability,
taste for innovation,
surprise, and emotion, in addition
to a technical knowledge of corporate
subjects. Postgraduates from
Southern Italy offer a very good
balance between social abilities
and rationality.
a Actual Cases of Successful
“Southern Graduates”.
Many Economics graduates have gone
through significant career paths in the
entrepreneurial world. The cases with
high visibility are top positions achieved
in the area of multinational companies
which operate primarily in the consumer
goods business (Procter&Gamble, Henkel,
Nestlé, Bulgari) and show a particular
attitude to working in competitive
industries.z
Studying in Europe, Working
in the Rest of the World.
Many European universities are
creating branches or even campuses
in Asia (LSE, Insead, and
some Polytechnic Italian universities).
However, in the short term,
the choices regarding universities
will still involve the main European
countries.
a Where to study in Europe
UK. The study environment in Great Britain
is culturally stimulating, international
and also offers highly advanced research
facilities in social sciences. Moreover the
Anglo-Saxon system has the advantage
of historical centrality compared to the
American and Asian systems.
Scandinavia. Universities are public in
the Scandinavian region which boasts
high infrastructure quality as well as good
research funding opportunities.
France. France offers a wide choice of
public universities as well as a number
of private business schools with a system
that is undergoing considerable improvement.
Italy. Italy is still an attractive country for
students, also due to its high diversification
in terms of educational offers. z
How Companies Considered
the Best In Organizational
Environment Can Interact with
“Southern” Universities
Universities in Southern Italy offer
a considerable number of recent
graduates, creative men and
especially women, with excellent
social skills. We are looking for
connections to develop integrated
research projects which involve industries
and academics.
This could bring about a positive
consequence in terms of improving
teaching methods and establishing
more critical contents on managerial
to. •
* Riccardo Mercurio, Professor
of Organization Theory at the University
Federico II of Naples, Italy.
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The EU industry has changed radically
over the last 10-15 years, not
only in the new Member States, but
also in the so-called ‘EU15’. It has
seen high productivity and strong
innovation, a considerable reorientation
of its workforce and capital
investment, the development of
new products for new and emerging
markets, and a major improvement
in its environmental perfor-
Industrial Competitiveness
The European Union – Changes in Industry and the Workforce
By Antonio Tajani*
Regional specialisation and concentration
Persons employed in industry as
a proportion of those employed in the
non-financial business economy,
NUTS 1 , 2005 (%)
less than 20%
20% to 30%
30% to 40%
greater than 40%
mance. It is unquestionable that
manufacturing remains vitally important
for the EU economy. Before
the present economic crisis, it
contributed some 17.1% of GDP
and accounted for some 22 million
jobs (2007). However, the industrial
base in Europe stretches far beyond
the industrial core of manufacturing
and represents a far
greater share of the economy than
NUTS 1 2003 classification. Bulgaria,
pre-accession NUTS. Czech Republic, 2004.
Cyprus, excluding research and development.
Luxembourg, national series based on
enterprises and not local units.
Norway, 2004 and excluding collection,
purification and distribution of water
(Division 41).
Source: Eurostat (SBS), MAp 3.1.
how well-earned are the reputations
of the companies on our
list; people really like to work at
these places. Employee satisfaction
is a factor you can’t measure
by reading company pamphlets.
People are proud to work for
companies that treat them well.
They become linked to these
companies in more than just an
employer/employee relationship.
Despite the discovery, almost
everyone of the “100 Best” has
something distinctive to offer
➘ Page 28
these basic statistics imply. When
the wider productive sector is factored
in (power generation, construction)
along with the associated
business services, the share of
GDP is about 37%. Taking an even
wider perspective, and accounting
for the share of other market services
on which industry depends and
which depend on industry (transport,
communications, financial
services, real estate etc.), the “servoindustrial
economy” accounts for
close to half of GDP (ca. 47%).”
Antonio Tajani has discussed the
following subjects during the opening
speech of the Industrial Competitiveness
Conference which took
place on April 26, 2010:
The Foundations
of Europe’s Economy
The European industrial network is
the real driving force for Europe’s
growth and well-being. Soon Europe
will need a new and ambitious
policy capable of relaunching
European industries and businesses
at best.
Reaffirmation of
the Centrality of Industries
in the European Context
Reaffirming the centrality of industries
in the European context will
require an intervention by means
of reorganization and restructuring
measures which may be useful for
our industrial network in order to
regain competitiveness. Although

Great Place to Work France
Paris
www.greatplacetowork.fr
T 0033 147964667
Europe has taken a big step forward,
there is still no real “European
economy” that is coordinated
and supportive.
The proposal of a new industrial
policy is of vital importance to Europe.
As a matter of fact, the new
proposal has become one of the
fundamental objectives of “2020
Europe” for an intelligent, sustainable,
and truly comprehensive
growth.
a
The new industrial policy
will have to be:
1 Horizontal: capable of informing the
other policies of the European Union and
viceversa.
2 Integrated: Europe will need to outdo
the model of “isolated sectors” or the national
industries. The latter will be substituted
by a model based on the complete
networks of value from access to raw materials,
energy, and transportation to client
post-sales client service.
3
Closer to restructuring sectors
4 Innovative and sustainable: companies
will have to increase their technological
base through the development
and integration of technologies and advanced
facilities. Innovative competition
will have to be an objective for all businesses:
small, medium sized, and large
companies.
Great Place to Work Sweden
Stockholm
www.greatplacetowork.se
T 0046 856200480
5 Attentive to stimulating creativity,
Europe’s strength point. European companies
have always distinguished themselves
for their capability of examining
different and new solutions all the time,
in order to satisfy the needs of their clients.
6 Oriented towards the development
of small and medium sized companies
which will be the great protagonists of
the new growth phase.
7 Strategic on the raw materials front:
a lot of importance will be placed on the
access to raw materials: on one hand,
strengthening of economic and political
relations with several Third World countries;
and on the other hand, intensification
of efforts on raw materials which Europe
already has available and will have
to optimize.
8 Globalized: the European business
policy will have to focus itself again on
the main partners in order to guarantee a
higher level of openness to markets. z
Europe 2020
The European Commission has
launched the Europe 2020 Strategy
on March 3 in order to overcome
the crisis and prepare EU economy
for the next decade. Europe 2020
is about what we need to do today
and tomorrow to get the EU economy
back on track.
Europe must learn the lessons from
the global economic and financial
crisis. European economies are intrinsically
linked. No Member State
can address global challenges effectively
by acting in isolation.
Specifically, the Europe 2020 Strategy
sets out a vision for Europe’s
social market economy over the
next decade, and rests on three interlocking
and mutually reinforcing
priority areas: Smart growth,
developing an economy based
on knowledge and innovation;
Sustainable growth, promoting a
low-carbon, resource-efficient and
competitive economy; comprehensive
growth, fostering a high-employment
economy delivering social
and territorial cohesion.
Progress towards these objectives
will be measured against five representative
headline EU-level targets,
which Member States will be
asked to translate into national targets
reflecting starting points:
• 75 % of the population aged 20-
64 should be employed.
• 3% of the EU’s GDP should be
invested in R&D.
• The “20/20/20” climate/energy
targets should be met.
• The share of early school
leavers should be under 10%
and at least 40% of the younger
generation should have a
degree or diploma.
* Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for
Industry and Entrepreneurship
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Great Place to Work Austria
Vienna
www.greatplacetowork.at
T 0043 179859281020
The 2010 Edelman
Trust Barometer
The results show that global trust
in business is up modestly but the
rebound is fueled by a spike in a
handful of Western countries. The
study also indicates that the overall
rise is tenuous, however, with
nearly 70 percent saying business
and financial companies will revert
to “business as usual” after the recession.
Thus, while trust in business has
certainly improved, this increase
belies its fragility. The fragility of
trust is further under-scored by a
large percentage of respondents
Quality products and services
Attentiveness to customer needs
Strong financial performance
Trust In Business
The New Corporate Reputation: Business earns back trust, but can it keep it
By Latraviette Smith*
Fair pricing
A well-known brand
Good employee relations
Socially responsible
Visible CEO
Dialogue with stakeholders
Employee/CEO blogs
who pointed to short-term actions
that companies seemed to have taken
as a result of the financial crisis.
In Western Europe, the U.S., and
BRIC countries, more than 70 percent
say that actions such as firing
non-performing managers, repaying
bailout money, or reducing the
pay gap between senior executives
and rank and file workers would
restore their trust in the company.
But to maintain the upswing and
earn trust that sticks, it will take
more than these actions, all considered
effective in restoring trust,
the survey shows, but rather more
like quick-fixes than systemic solu-
53%
47%
42%
38%
37%
35%
33%
23%
23%
12%
tions. Moving forward, companies
will have to show they can achieve
both profit and purpose. To build
and sustain corporate reputation
entrenched enough to weather future
tumult, companies must adopt
a new style of leadership based on
recognizing and addressing all of
their stakeholders.
Who to trust?
Interestingly, when considering the
most credible sources of information
about a company, reports from
industry analysts (50 percent) and
articles in business magazines (46
percent) remain the most credible,
In 2010, financial performance least important to corporate reputation
What shapes your trust in a company?
U.S. 2006
Source:
2010 Edelman Trust
Barometer, (Fig. 9)
its employees. Each company is
unique, but there were certain
themes we heard over and over
again, and the urge to draw a
kind of composite picture of the
ideal company is irresistibile. Beyond
good pay and strong benefits,
such a company would:
• Make people feel that they are
part of a team or, in some cases,
a family.
• Encourage open communication,
informing its people of new
developments and encouraging
How important are these factors to corporate reputation?
U.S. 2010
Transparent and honest practices
Company I can trust
High quality products or services
Communicates frequently
Treats employees well
Good corporate citizen
Prices fairly
Innovator
Top leadership
Financial returns
them to offer suggestions and
complaints.
• Promote from within; let its
own people bid for jobs before
hiring outsiders.
• Stress quality, enabling people
to feel pride in their products or
services they are providing.
• Allow its employees to share in
the profits, through profit-sharing
or stock ownership or both.
• Reduce the distinction of rank
between the top management
and those in entry-level jobs; put
➘ Page 30
83%
83%
79%
75%
72%
64%
58%
48%
47%
45%

Great Place to Work Polonia
Warsaw
www.greatplacetowork.pl
T 0048 22 316699
* Latraviette Smith, Vice President, Corporate
Marketing Edelman
All
stakeholders
are equally
important
52%
but are closely followed by conversations
with employees (42 percent).
In fact, conversations with
employees ranks higher as a source
of information about a company
than mainstream media – including
television, newspapers, and radio
– conversations with friends and
peers, and corporate communications
vehicles – including a company’s
own website, corporate or
product advertising, and corporate
communications such as press releases/reports/emails.
How to gain trust
Taken together, these two findings
suggest that to advance reputation,
companies need to be everywhere,
engaging everyone – customers,
employees, and investors, among
others.
Partnerships rooted in advancing
societal good also are now a
conduit to earning trust. The overwhelming
majority of informed
publics say they would be more
likely to trust a company that partners
with NGOs to solve global
Investors/Shareholders
14%
Government
3%
Employees
7%
Customers
13%
Society at large
11%
Great Place to Work Switzerland
Zürich
www.greatplacetowork.ch
T 0041 438176567
challenges such as climate change,
poverty, or disease, this year’s data
shows.
Step up CEOs
In the past decade, business has
violated stakeholder trust—and
demonstrated how plainly its loss
can corrode reputation. As a result,
business has become more transparent,
and this year, an increasing
number of respondents express
trust in information from a company’s
CEO. Thus, CEOs have an
opportunity to make good on the
public’s seeming willingness to believe
them – however low that credulity
might be relative to the trust
they place in others. While academics/experts
or industry analysts
are the most credible voices for information
about a company, the
credibility of CEOs showed notable
recovery in many markets, jumping
by 11 points in the U.K. (to 34 percent)
and 12 points in the U.S. (to
31 percent).
Trust has emerged as a new line of
business – one to be developed and
A stakeholder,
not a shareholder,
world.
When a CEO makes business
decisions for his or her company,
which stakeholder should be most
important to his or her decision?
Source:
2010 Edelman Trust
Barometer, (Fig. 10)
delivered – and today’s stakeholders
are looking for leaders who will
deliver performance, communicate
frequently and honestly, and factor
in the role of business in society.
Candid communications and a
concern for all stakeholders’ interests,
not just shareholders’, should
be at the top of a chief executive’s
list of considerations when making
a decision about his or her company.
Companies and CEOs who
embrace this new reality will see
their credibility rise accordingly.
Now is the time for business to
prove its commitment to profit and
purpose.
We also discussed trust with Karina
Volkhemer, Human Resources
Director for Edelman Europe, regarding
how the viewpoint of highly
informed consumers can provide
companies with valuable insight
into how to keep or regain trust in
business. Please refer to the summer
2010 issue of the Work Style
magazine.
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30
twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010
everyone on the first-name basis;
bar executive dining rooms and
executive perks for high-level
people.
• Devote attention and resources
to creating as pleasant a workplace
environment as possible;
hire good architects.
• Encourage its employees to be
active in community service by
giving money to organizations in
which employees participate.
• Help employees save by matching
the funds they save.
What’s new?
By Robert Levering* and Palle Ellemann
The biggest global economic recession
since the 1930s has produced
dozens of new management books
talking about “the new rules of the
game” and the new world order of
business. In this environment, it is
perhaps instructive to look at what
can be learned from the recently
announced lists of the Best Workplaces
in 17 countries in Europe, as
well the list of the 100 Best Workplaces
in Europe.
Actually we see no signs of a new
world order from these lists. In fact,
many of the same companies we
saw last year and the year before
continue on the lists. In the top 10
of the two lists only one company
out of 20 is new on the European
lists. The results in the Trust
Index® (the employee survey) are
even better compared to last year
and the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe
have – again this year – on
average managed to grow the business
with double digits (15%).
One of the main reasons for why
the Best Workplaces continue being
so successful in creating great
workplaces and great businesses
is exactly consistency. Consistency
and reliability are some of the main
drivers for trust and this is more
true than ever before. When we analyze
the data from almost 300,000
European surveys this year, we see
that the two statements related to
employees’ perception of managers
reliability are the two statements
with the strongest correla-
• Try not to lay off people without
first making an effort to place
them in other jobs either within
the company or elsewhere.
• Care enough about the health
of its employees to provide physical
fitness centers and regular
exercise and medical programs.
• Expand the skills of its people
through training programs and
reimbursement or tuition from
outside courses.
By the time we completed our
research we had gained a better
understanding of the difference
between the traditional employer/employee
relationship, which
is often adversarial, and the kinds
of practices we encountered on
our journey. We feel that the
“100 Best” may be part of the
first wave in a major change that
will affect for the better the way
all of us think of our jobs and
conduct our business. It can be
argued that both conventional
managerial techniques and the
tion to the employees’ perception
of a great place to work. In other
words, that managers “walk the
talk” is the single most important
issue for employees these days.
This is not surprising taking the insecurity
of the market into consideration.
People have been looking
at their managers and leaders to see
if the good intentions in the value
systems written on the website and
the strategy plans presented at the
town hall meetings would hold true
when times get tough. The good
news for leaders is that a crisis situation
is a golden opportunity to
show leadership in action, because
if you as a leader “pass the test” under
such stress and pressure from
stock market and other stakeholders,
then the employee response
tends to be positive. This seems
to be the reason why the scores of
the Best continue to improve during
these times – their leaders have
been tested and proven to follow
through on what they say.
So the news is not that everything
has changed and the Best Workplaces
in Europe have earned their recognition,
because they have been
the first-movers to make changes.
On the contrary, the Best Workplaces
are good at doing exactly
what they said yesterday and the
day before. •
* Robert Levering, Co-Founder of Great Place
to Work ® Institute
innovative practices described in
this book enhance productivity
and create a healthy economy.
But the “100 Best” offer an added
benefit of such high value that
it’s difficult to place on the same
scale: a working life for thousands
of people really worth living
and worth looking forward to
every day. •
The Work Style magazine
contents, spring 2010.
Allan Hall underlines the importance
of keeping things steady,
and knowing how to sail through
rough waters. Some (people)
have had to face ‘hot’ issues that
are difficult to overcome. Think
Tiger Woods, for instance. A
keen analysis from Roger Abrams
gives us analogies with corporate
crises. The movie Up In the Air,
starring George Clooney, provides
Aneil and Karen Mishra with
the opportunity to analyze how
being downsized can be the first
step to a positive change. Barack
Obama has changed the approach
to problem-solving on the
part of governments. Paolo Valentino
outlines the “method” of
this change, which is based on systematic
fact-checking, a strong
consultant network, and the
involvement of a restricted group
of ‘followers’ during the decisionmaking
phase. As per usual, we
have a number of enthralling
stories about people. There’s our
special edition on NYC and interviews
with Erik Buell and Ben
Southall, as well as a fascinating
article on São Paulo (with a guide
attached) edited by Bahar Puraligil.
All of these are examples of
the dynamism of people around
the world. Fabian Uzaraga tells
us about the most beautiful
work environments with the help
of Alain De Botton, author of
The Architecture of Happiness.
Then we have a test on colors
conducted by Usa Today, a wide
selection of books, and a whole
section dedicated to work places.
Don’t forget to check out our ‘To
Be Cool’ pages which have been
redesigned with the help of Demetra,
a young stylist whom we
are sure you will like.

Twsm is a unique international
magazine focused on “work style.”
It is a solid and innovative source;
both a trend follower and a style
guide in the business world, including
sections dedicated to art, design
and fashion. High level content is
offered to readers by contributions
from international institutions and
experts.
Included in the magazine, readers
will find “The Work Cities Guide.”
The insert is an important guide
not only for people who travel for
work, but also for people who live
in the world’s largest financial centers
of the world.
Key Information
Frequency published 3 times a year
Circulation >30.000 copies
Distribution in 38 countries
Est. total readers 100.000 per issue
Primary target Top Managers, HR Directors,
Strategic and Organizational
Consultants, Head Hunters, Universities.
#1 — 2009
Spring/Summer
A worldwide observatory on work style changes
#2 — 2009
Autumn/Winter
The Work Style magazine
by Mirko Nesurini*
Sections
Our magazine has eight sections
which are edited by specific experts:
Research and Ideas (research
and new trends edited
by accademic collaborators), HR
Management (experts in the sector),
Organization (HR directors),
Trends (head hunters), To Be Cool
(fashion specialists), Books,
Environment, and Workplaces (architects).
Advertising
Always interested in the latest
trends, our reader:
• is a curious and open-minded
person, constantly looking for innovative
insights in order to improve
relational and professional
skills;
• considers the corporate culture
as a crucial factor and is sensitive
towards values such as trust between
managers and employees,
reciprocal respect and corporate
pride;
#3 — 2010
Spring
The Work Style magazine
The Work Style magazine
• has high purchasing power and
works in the Human Resources
community, Top Management, Consultancy,
Strategy and Organization
or belongs to outstanding Universities,
covering a high influential position
in the business world.
Worldwide Distribution
As of April 2, 2010 The Work Style
Magazine will also be available at
newsstands Europe-wide and in
the USA.
Subscription
Annual subscription (4 issues shipping
included): Europe 30 euro,
rest of the world 58 euro.
Please visit our website to subscribe
online. Next issue, end of
June 2010. •
* Mirko Nesurini, Chairman of The Work Style
Magazine.
www.theworkstylemagazine.com
Work City Guide
Turin — 1.2009
Work City Guide
São Paulo —
1.2010
31
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Great Place to Work ® Institute
Building a better society by helping companies
transforming their workplaces
Great Place to Work ® Institute, Inc. has
conducted pioneering research on the
characteristics of great workplaces for over 25
years. We believe all companies can become
great places to work, and our mission is to help
them succeed. Our Great Place to Work ® Model ©
is recognized as the standard for assessing great
workplaces.
In 45 countries around the world,
we are proud to:
• Recognize the Best Workplaces for their
achievements through our international Best
Workplaces lists. In Europe we publish 17 national
lists and worldwide we publish lists in more than
45 countries.
• Help companies create and sustain great
workplace cultures through our consulting
services. Our data collection tools (e.g. employee
survey, focus groups, 360-degree professional
development tool); educational workshops
and training programs; action planning system;
and strategic advisory services all support the
transformation process within any organization.
The Institute’s unique access to Best Workplaces’
data allows us to offer unparalleled benchmarking
opportunities, best practice information, and
transformation insight to our Consulting clients.
• Share resources, best practices, and Institute
research through our education services. These
include peer networking groups, workshops,
conferences, and publications, which enable
organisational leaders to learn directly from
each other, as well as benefit from our wealth
of knowledge and lessons learned from the Best
Companies and our clients.
www.greatplacetowork.com
Canada
Usa
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
North America
Europe
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Central America and Caribbean
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Australia
India
Japan
Korea
Latin America
Asia and Oceania