Volkswagen Group and Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) are well known for producing a great range of award-winning vehicles with affordable finance packages. But today they have also been officially recognised as great employers, having been ranked in the winning list of large companies in the 2012 Great Place to Work®survey.
The survey is organised by The Great Place to Work® Institute UK, part of the world’s largest consultancy specialising in workplace assessment and enhancement. Every year Great Place to Work® surveys 5,500 organisations around the world representing around 10 million employees. The definition of a great place to work is a place where the employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.
The results of the survey are based largely on the findings of questionnaires completed by the employees of the Volkswagen Group and VWFS in the UK. The questions cover areas including Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride and Camaraderie. Out of the 25 winners featured in the final report, Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) and Volkswagen Group were ranked 11th and 21strespectively.
The results make the Volkswagen Group and VWFS the highest placed automotive employers in the UK, and this is something of which Fiona Roberts, HR Director for both companies, is particularly proud. She comments: ‘I’m delighted with the results. Both companies are renowned for their great products but it’s easy to forget that behind any successful business is a great workforce. To get the best out of our staff we have to make sure they’re motivated, empowered and overall, happy to come to work. We work hard to make sure we provide the right conditions and environment for them, and the outcome of the survey proves that we’re getting a lot of it right.’
Both companies performed well when it came to Camaraderie and Workplace Culture, scoring over 90 per cent in the survey, while both also witnessed strong results when it came to pride in the organisation. The companies entered Great Place to Work®in order to benchmark themselves against some of the world’s biggest companies including Microsoft, Nike and Ikea, and the standard of entries this year was especially high.
Although she’s pleased with the results, Roberts isn’t about to rest on her laurels. She adds: ‘There’s always work to do and as well as telling us what we’re good at, the survey also tells us what we need to do better. We relish the challenge and my team and I are already looking forward to analysing the results and making both Volkswagen Group and Volkswagen Financial Services even greater places to work.’
