Work Experience Abroad Blog

The question whether a company is a good or a bad employer is not easy to answer, as many different aspects play an important role while coming to a conclusion. Furthermore it should be taken into consideration that a ranking will be based on general results. There is certainly no evaluation considering individual situations.

Since 2003, the “Great Place To Work” Institute deals with this topic. Every year, rankings of the best companies are published. These rankings exist for international work opportunities as well as for European ones. The benchmarking system is based on 2/3 of employees’ personal opinions which they express in surveys, polls or questionnaires.
Its focus is set on the following significant relations: among employees, between employment and management, between employees and their working fields and the company/organization. Values such as reliability, fairness, respect, quality, attractiveness and team spirit play an important role. This leads to the general conclusion of a company’s working environment and conditions.

50 best large workplaces in Europe. (Ranking by “Great Place To Work” Institute ):

1. Microsoft (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland)
2. Impuls Finanzmanagement (Germany)
3. Google (Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland)
4. Cisco (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK)
5. Fater (Italy)
6. 3M (Germany/ESPE)
7. SMA Solar Technology (Germany)
8. Accenture (Finland, Ireland, Sweden)
9. SAS Institute (Belgium, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden)
10. E.ON Führungsgesellschaften (Germany)

This European ranking could be interesting for those who take into consideration to either work abroad or to take part in work abroad programs which are often offered by those large multinational companies. In the second case, employees might stay in the same company while changing the country.
To conclude, the quality of a company depends on the point of view and consequently also on individual situations, expectations, objectives and opinions. But as long as we do not know further detailed methods of the Institute’s evaluation system, this ranking can be seen as a reference – also in terms of searching for a job abroad.

Additionally, the Institute awarded some special prices for different categories. One example is SMA Solar Technology AG, a leader in photovoltaic. This German company is not only on place 6 of the European ranking, but additionally received an award for “Lifetime Learning” regarding opportunities for professional development. A positive remark was given for the company’s focus on less qualified and older employees. Furthermore the company received a Fairness Award for fair salaries.

Another special award went to Microsoft. Additionally to his first position in the European ranking, the software giant was awarded as “Best employer for women”.

The Danish company SimCorp develops integrated investment management software systems and reached place 16 among the smaller enterprises. It received the special award, Team Spirit – We have fun“. 95% of SimCorps employees declare to have fun at work.

These interesting categories lead to the idea to think of further companies that can highly be recommended as a great place to work, because of special advantages.

Thyssen Krupp, the huge German steel enterprise has often been criticized because of its Nazi history. But nowadays the company employs people from all over the world. In Germany, for example, a large part of its workforce is Turkish. When realizing that there are difficulties concerning communication based on language problems among the employees as well as social misunderstandings based on cultural differences, the company hired about 70 cultural mediators to cope with these situations. This is a successful example of putting effort into human resources concerns in order to improve the cooperation of people with different cultural origins.

The German famous flight agency Lufthansa gives another example of a nice working place. Salaries play an important role, but also the trainings, seminars and treatment of the staff. Lufthansa Airline is an attractive company for pilots in first case. They can follow a great career depending on the years they work with the company. Their salaries rise and they have an attractive pension. Additionally they benefit from many extras such excellent treatment and conditions. Members of the Lufthansa Team can benefit from discounts from car or mobile companies or car rental services. Furthermore, they have very good flight conditions. Not only for themselves, but also for friends and family members there are discounts. The company takes care of their employees’ welfare, health, wishes and objectives.

Concluding this article, we should throw light on Google. Why does this search engine company reach place 3? And why would we agree with this result?
Maybe because the company offers washing, shuttle or child care services. Or because employees are allowed to bring their pets to work – not to forget the offered massages or medical services. This might be reasons why many of us dream to work in under such conditions.