Best ITC employer in Germany

At the end of February 2020, it was time again for a special event: the announcement of Germany’s 100 best employers by Great Place To Work. Last year, we already ranked among the top employers – 9th place overall and 4th in the IT sector.

Before the awards, an employee survey was conducted, covering areas like credibility, respect, team spirit, pride, and fairness. We received the results early in the year and were deeply impressed: in all categories, we scored well above the average of the 860 participating companies. Maintaining our strong company culture is very important to us – and this positive feedback touched us deeply. It showed that as an agency, we truly live our values together.

In addition to the survey results, the Culture Audit is also part of the evaluation. This is essentially a catalog of all the practices and initiatives that shape our culture. This year, in addition to comprehensive text and image material, we also created a short film showcasing our workplace culture. We were excited (and a little nervous) to see how we would rank this time around.

As in the previous year, the award ceremony and networking forum took place at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel in Berlin. The forum gave all recognized companies a platform to exchange ideas on topics like leadership culture, New Work, and more.

We shared our own approaches and explored what others are doing – especially in areas like health promotion:

• “Do you have height-adjustable desks?”
• “Do you offer weekly back training or regular massages?”
• “Do you have measures in place to prevent stress?”
• “And how many vacation days do you offer?”

All ideas were gathered and discussed in terms of their effectiveness.

It turned out that not every intervention offered was equally well received by employees or had positive effects. I noticed that measures were often classified as ineffective if they were only used by 10-15% of employees. This didn't really make sense to me. Is it really a fail if you help 15% of employees with regular back training? And if so, at what point can a measure be considered "successful"? Shouldn't we think differently? 5-7 colleagues take part in our back training every Monday. Mostly those who are more prone to back problems or even have current complaints.

The exercises are always tailored to the pain you are experiencing. In most cases, we can directly alleviate the pain through targeted fascia exercises. In addition to preventing a breakdown, we also achieve an increase in well-being. Participants also realize that they can take effective action against pain themselves. The exercises are so easy to carry out that they can also be used at home at any time. We don't achieve a great deal in the short term, our actions have a long-term positive effect on the participants.

This example, which I presented on site, was intended to show that a measure is successful in our eyes even if only a single employee really benefits from it in the long term. Not every measure is suitable for every employee, we humans are so different. But every measure deserves a chance if it has a positive effect. And for this reason, it is an absolute win for us if we do something good for even just one employee with a measure.

After 150 minutes, I had given and collected a lot of feedback and new suggestions. Now it was time to dress for the gala and look forward to the beautiful evening event.

This year, the large companies were honored first. As we belong to the smallest category (50 - 100 employees) with our 75 employees, we were able to relax and watch the awards. Then it was time. Our category was called out. We excitedly began to follow the placings. We had briefly discussed in advance what kind of ranking we could expect this year.

Our survey results were really good, our culture audit also felt a lot better than last year. We had also implemented a lot of really good things. However, the other participating companies had certainly also improved further and so we were expecting a similar ranking to last year.

The seats were called out one by one, our name had not yet been called. The closer we got to ninth place, the more excited we became. Then ninth place was awarded and we still hadn't been called. We were delighted, so we really had improved.

The next places were awarded and our name was still not called. When 5th place was called, we began to wonder whether we were really in the right category. Or had we perhaps been forgotten? When our name was called in 3rd place, we almost couldn't believe it. 3rd place - we were actually one of the third best employers across all sectors! We received the heavy trophy and felt a great surge of gratitude, happiness and pride. What a result!

Even a week later, we were still filled with joy and gratitude. This award is the result of a shared effort. We all shape sitegeist’s culture, and we all work daily to help it thrive. The award – and the recognition – belong to every one of us.

Let’s continue to lead by example and show the world that a healthy, fair, and inspiring workplace is possible – if we build it together.

The second award ceremony followed just under a month later - the award for the best employers in the ICT sector. This time - due to the coronavirus - as an online award ceremony. Nicely presented and well moderated, there was some atmosphere and above all excitement while we waited at home in our living rooms for the results. Our category, companies with "51 - 100 employees", was up pretty quickly. We could hardly believe it, we actually won! We are delighted, what a wonderful award!