Scopri i Top Employers 2025: le organizzazioni che rappresentano l’eccellenza
Scopri i Top Employers 2025: le organizzazioni che rappresentano l’eccellenza
Il mondo del lavoro è in continua evoluzione, ma una cosa rimane costante: le migliori organizzazioni sono quelle che mettono le proprie persone al centro. Siamo entusiasti di annunciare i Top Employers 2025 e di presentarvi le organizzazioni che nel 2025 stanno definendo gli standard dell’eccellenza delle pratiche HR.
Siamo orgogliosi di annunciare che oltre 2.400 Top Employers sono stati certificati nel 2025 in 125 Paesi e regioni, con un impatto positivo sulla vita di oltre 13 milioni di persone. Questo riconoscimento sottolinea l’impegno di queste organizzazioni nel promuovere strategie e pratiche HR di altissimo livello in tutto il mondo.
In qualità di autorità globale nel riconoscere l’eccellenza nelle pratiche HR, Top Employers Institute certifica le organizzazioni sulla base dei risultati della loro HR Best Practices Survey. La Survey analizza 6 macro aree HR che coprono 20 tematiche, tra le quali People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity and Inclusion e Wellbeing,
Il percorso per diventare un Top Employer non è semplice. Richiede un impegno costante verso il miglioramento continuo e un approccio olistico alle pratiche HR. Il Programma di Certificazione prevede un processo rigoroso in cui l’impegno delle organizzazioni che puntano ogni giorno all’eccellenza HR si riflette nel conseguimento della CertificazioneTop Employers.
Nel celebrare i nostri Top Employers 2025, il nostro CEO David Plink ha condiviso alcune parole che approfondiscono ciò che rappresentano le organizzazioni certificate di quest’anno: “Coerenza in un mondo in cui il cambiamento è l’unica costante? In un’epoca di continui progressi tecnologici, mutamenti economici ed evoluzione sociale, è fonte di grande ispirazione vedere persone e organizzazioni dare il meglio di sé.
Quest’anno, il Programma di Certificazione Top Employers celebra la dedizione dei nostri Top Employers di tutto il mondo, che continuano a distinguersi con strategie e pratiche HR di livello globale. Promuovono la crescita e il benessere dei collaboratori, migliorando al contempo il mondo del lavoro. È con orgoglio che riconosciamo e celebriamo questi leader straordinari e i loro team per il traguardo raggiunto: i Top Employers 2025!”
Esistono diverse modalità e opzioni di riconoscimento per i potenziali Top Employers, garantendo un percorso verso la certificazione per organizzazioni di diverse dimensioni, strutture e presenze geografiche. Questi percorsi si distinguono attraverso diversi Marchi di Certificazione globalmente riconosciuti che i Top Employers possono ottenere: il Country/region Seal, il Regional Seal, il Global Seal e l’Enterprise Seal.
I Top Employers Global sono organizzazioni che partecipano in un numero minimo di Paesi (da 20 a 25, a seconda delle certificazioni regionali) e regioni (certificate in tre o quattro regioni), inclusa la sede centrale globale. Diventare un Top Employer Global rappresenta l’impegno di un’organizzazione verso pratiche HR eccellenti ed allineate a livello globale.
Queste sono le organizzazioni che sono state Certificate a livello globale come leader per le loro straordinarie strategie e pratiche HR:
Scopri come il Programma di Certificazione Top Employers può supportare la crescita della tua organizzazione con insight basati sui dati e farla emergere come employer of choice.
Pronti per iniziare il Programma Top Employers? Scopri di più sui vantaggi della Certificazione. Contattaci ora.
Best Practice | Accenture Accentuates the Employee Experience
The programme “Change @ Work, Poland edition” started in 2019 as the first One Accenture initiative to promote a sense of belonging within the organisation. The programme aims to improve employee satisfaction by helping them feel more valued and connected to the organisation.
Using a dedicated AI tool, Accenture Poland engaged approximately 250 employees in real time to shape their culture of belonging. Based on extensive research, they have determined four main areas that most influence employees’ sense of belonging. Under this programme, Accenture Poland is running 15 amazing projects to shape a better world for more than 9 000 employees.
This is just a snapshot of Accenture’s innovative best practice. You can find the entire practice in our HR Best Practices database, which is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges and learnings experienced by certified Top Employers. Access it now via the Top Employers Programme if you are certified or learn more about it here!
Why the practice was needed
During difficult and unpredictable times, Accenture Poland believes that leaders must act alongside younger colleagues to co-create the best solutions. Involving employees at all levels of an organisation can also help them feel engaged with the organisation in a meaningful way and could, therefore, help retain talent.
How the practice was implemented
Accenture’s Change @ Work, Poland edition consisted of three main steps:
Accenture Poland conducted research using individual in-depth interviews with approximately 50 employees to understand the main factors that determine a feeling of belonging within Accenture.
The analysed dataset included:
The anonymised personal data of respondents was obtained from internal human resource management systems.
Qualitative data – statements of respondents obtained based on the interview discussion guide.
Quantitative data – responses to questions asked using a five-point Likert scale.
Based on the research, the organisation designed four main activities that were most important for employees in terms of belonging.
Using an AI tool, Remesh, Accenture Poland involved approximately 250 employees in shaping final solutions that best met employees’ expectations.
The co-creation method was used, and the initiative was run by employees for employees as a way to understand and focus on their real needs.
Results of the practice
More than 300 employees gave feedback to shape the final solutions.
15 initiatives are being implemented to increase employee satisfaction.
Accenture Poland is moving from talent consumption toward talent creation, with Gen Z pushing for this change.
Meet the New Top Employers
Earlier this year, Top Employers Institute proudly announced that over 2 300 Top Employers had received the Top Employers Certification in 2024. Those Top Employers were recognised across 121 countries and regions.
In June, we are excited to share that 58 new Regional Top Employers and one European Top Employer joined our global community of organisations committed to excellence in people practices. This recognition underscores these organisations’ commitment to fostering outstanding HR strategies and people practices globally.
As the global authority in recognising excellence in people practices, the Top Employers Institute Certification Programme is an extensive process involving an independently audited and fact-based HR Best Practices Survey and validation to ensure truthful answers. The survey covers six domains and 20 subtopics:
In 2023 and 2024, organisations and leaders had much to consider, with many things in flux. David Plink, CEO of Top Employers Institute, observed: “In a world where geopolitical, societal, and macro-economic developments follow each other in rapid succession, the Top Employers 2024 are showing once again that they are a beacon of stability and reliability. Top Employers have shown that despite turbulent times, their focus remains on creating the best workplace possible for their people to thrive.”
When asked what makes a Top Employer, David Plink shared: “In my 16 years with the company, there are two characteristics that I have observed consistently within the members of the Top Employers community. First, certified Top Employers go above and beyond for their people. They are the embodiment of people focus. Secondly, not a single Top Employer got certified without always striving for more. To learn, to become better and to stay curious at all times. People-focused and a growth mindset. It sounds so simple in summary, but it takes a lot to consistently live up to these principles.”
See the full list of the newly Certified Top Employers, below:
3 Trends Changing the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Landscape
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles are more critical than ever. In our World of Work Trend 2024, we discovered a significant shift in the prioritisation of DEI for Top Employers. Despite the challenges of 2023, there was an 18 percentage point increase in the prioritisation of DEI. This means that two in five Top Employers were continuing to prioritise DEI, a trend that underscores the growing importance of DEI in the business landscape.
As HR teams and leaders, you hold a significant role in fostering an environment that embraces these values. Understanding DEI and its benefits can transform your organisation, driving innovation, employee satisfaction, and overall success. Your actions are key to making a difference.
What is DEI?
Diversity refers to the variety of differences among people in an organisation. These differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and education. Diversity is about recognising, respecting, and valuing the unique attributes that each individual brings to the table.
Equity is the principle of fairness in processes and outcomes. While equality implies treating everyone equally, equity involves recognising that people have different needs, experiences, and opportunities and adjusting policies and practices accordingly. It ensures that everyone has access to the same opportunities and is not disadvantaged due to systemic barriers.
Inclusion creates an environment where all individuals feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. It goes beyond simply having diverse representation to ensuring that diverse individuals are actively included in all aspects of organisational life and decision-making.
Put in simpler terms, DEI is a set of closely held values by organisations that aim to support and include different groups of individuals, including people of different races, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identification and more. It’s about creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and included.
Benefits of DEI
Enhanced Innovation and Creativity: A diverse workforce combines many perspectives, experiences, and problem-solving approaches. This diversity of thought fosters creativity and innovation. Studies have shown that diverse teams are likelier to introduce new ideas and solutions than homogenous teams. By embracing DEI, organisations can unlock the full creative potential of their employees.
Improved Employee Performance and Engagement: When employees feel valued and included, their job satisfaction and engagement levels rise. Inclusive workplaces are characterised by higher morale and a sense of belonging, which translate into increased productivity and performance. Employees who believe their organisation is committed to DEI are more likely to be motivated, loyal, and willing to go the extra mile.
Greater Talent Attraction and Retention: In an increasingly competitive job market, organisations prioritising DEI have a significant advantage in attracting top talent. Job seekers today, particularly younger generations, place a high value on diversity and inclusion. A commitment to DEI signals that an organisation is forward-thinking and socially responsible, making it an attractive workplace. Additionally, inclusive workplaces tend to have lower turnover rates, saving costs for recruiting and training new employees.
Better Decision Making: Diverse teams bring diverse perspectives and experiences, leading to more well-rounded and informed decision-making. When considering various viewpoints, organisations can identify potential pitfalls and opportunities that may have been overlooked.
Increased Employee Innovation: An inclusive environment encourages employees to share their ideas and take risks without fear of being marginalised or dismissed. This culture of open communication and respect can lead to a higher rate of innovation and continuous improvement within the organisation.
Trends in DEI
The consideration of diversity will become intersectional and will expand far beyond single demographic segmentations
DEI initially focused on a handful of single demographic segments, such as interventions related to gender or race. While these groupings will remain focus areas, 2024 will see a shift towards a more nuanced approach to DEI. The aspects of employee identities acknowledged and welcomed in the workplace will expand.
Top employers increased their offerings and policies to better support employee needs related to disability, parents and carers, social class, educational background, LGBTQ+, and ageing in 2023. Neurodiversity was measured for the first time in our HR Best Practices Survey. While only 22% currently have specific practices or policies regarding Neurodiversity, 72% expect the importance of Neurodiversity in people’s practices to increase by 2026.
Analytics and metrics will increase in sophistication
One reason why many organisations have focused on race and gender in DEI initiatives is that it is relatively easy to measure. Not all demographics are straightforward to capture. However, we have learned from progress in gender representation that data is critical to improvement.
This information is typically gathered by encouraging respondents to voluntarily and anonymously self-identify regarding belonging to underrepresented groups. Each demographic comes with distinct challenges. For example, in specific geographies, asking employees to share LGBTQ+ identities could result in legal and physical danger.
For others, inconsistency in definitions could muddy the waters. Social class includes considering a person’s social and economic future, shaped by where they start. The parent’s educational and occupational history is sometimes used as a proxy but can also be deceptive. Resolving these obstacles will depend on an organisation’s unique context, with priority always given to employee safety, respect, and the right to define their identities rather than data clarity.
The impact of artificial intelligence on DEI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is poised to impact DEI initiatives within organisations profoundly. AI technologies offer numerous opportunities to enhance DEI efforts, from improving recruitment processes to ensuring fairer workplace practices. However, the integration of AI also presents challenges that must be navigated carefully to avoid reinforcing existing biases and inequalities.
AI can play a crucial role in fostering an inclusive workplace culture. AI-powered analytics can monitor and analyse employee interactions and engagement, identifying patterns that may indicate issues of exclusion or discrimination. By providing real-time insights, AI can help HR leaders address potential problems proactively and develop targeted interventions to promote inclusivity. Furthermore, AI-driven training programs can educate employees about unconscious biases and inclusive behaviours, fostering a more equitable and respectful work environment.
The deployment of AI in DEI initiatives is not without risks. If AI systems are trained on biased data or if their development lacks diverse perspectives, they can perpetuate and even exacerbate existing biases. For example, an AI tool trained on historical hiring data from a homogenous workforce may inadvertently favour candidates who resemble past hires, thus reinforcing a lack of diversity. To prevent this, organisations must implement rigorous checks and balances, including diverse teams of developers and ongoing audits of AI systems to ensure fairness and accountability.
Final Thoughts
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are not just buzzwords or trends but essential components of a thriving, modern organisation. Organisations can drive meaningful change by embedding DEI into the core of their organisational culture. By doing so, they can unlock many benefits, from enhanced innovation and employee engagement to improved decision-making. Embracing DEI is not just the right thing to do—it’s the smart thing to do for the future success of your organisation.
Q&A with Gabi Sanchez from Verisure UK
We caught up with Gabi Sanchez, Managing Director at certified Top Employer Verisure UK who reveals how they retain talent in a competitive market, the fantastic wellbeing initiatives in place, and how the organisation utilises AI to enhance DEI within its recruitment processes and to boost efficiency and productivity across the board.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your organisation
My name is Gabi Sanchez, I am the Managing Director of Verisure UK. We are the leading European provider of professionally monitored security systems. We are proud to protect over 5 million customers in 17 countries in Europe and Latin America. Our mission is to bring peace of mind to families and small business owners by providing them with the best security solutions and services.
What makes Verisure UK a Top Employer?
We recognise the importance of continuous career development and wellbeing. Our initiatives are constantly evolving to allow our colleagues to grow both professionally and personally. We are delighted to offer a range of training and development courses, weekly check-ins, and annual career discussions to empower colleagues to reach their full potential.
We believe that personal wellbeing is critical to the overall growth of our colleagues, we offer a comprehensive employee benefits package to improve our colleague’s well-being, including private medical insurance, pension, flexible working, health and wellbeing programmes, away days, financial advisors, a day off for birthdays and many more.
Additionally, we have created spaces that foster a collaborative and innovative work environment. Our offices are designed to enhance productivity and satisfaction, with amenities such as subsidised canteen, games room and break out spaces in our Newcastle Centre of Excellence.
What is the biggest people challenge your business faces in 2024? And what will you do to meet this challenge?
One of our challenges revolves around talent retention and development in a competitive market. As one of the UK’s leading monitored alarm companies, we recognise the critical role our employees play in delivering exceptional service and driving innovation. As a result, we are continuously investing in tailored training, competitive benefits packages, providing clear career paths, and addressing feedback to retain top talent and remain competitive.
Tell us about a recent HR initiative you have instigated within your organisation that you are most proud of?
We are immensely proud of the initiatives we have implemented. One standout initiative is our Mental Health First Aiders program, a vital support system for colleagues navigating mental health challenges. This program cultivates an environment where individuals feel supported and empowered to seek assistance, resulting in improved mental health and overall wellbeing throughout our workplace. Furthermore, we extend a 24-hour counselling service through Aviva, ensuring that our team members have access to professional support whenever they need it.
How is AI affecting your business?
AI has become a transformative force in our business, impacting our people practices in different ways. One notable aspect is our utilisation of AI tools to enhance diversity and inclusion within our recruitment processes. We employ an AI tool to ensure gender-neutral language in our job ads, mitigating unconscious biases and promoting equal opportunities for all candidates. In addition, we’ve implemented an AI tool called Co-Pilot, which streamlines our work processes and workflows, allowing our teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive administrative tasks. By automating routine processes, we’ve been able to boost efficiency and productivity across the board.
Which wellbeing offerings in your business are proving the most popular with employees? And which are proving the most effective in terms of their impact?
Our flexible working opportunities and private healthcare are two of the most popular and impactful wellbeing offerings among our employees.
Our colleagues are given the flexibility to work remotely from home or abroad or simply adjust their hours to suit their schedule depending on their role. This plays a huge role improving work-life balance and maintaining high satisfaction levels. Additionally, our private healthcare offering has been incredibly popular. It has had a significant positive effect on our employees’ well-being. Our private healthcare option contributes to better overall health and morale within the team, and we continue to receive positive feedback on both fronts.
Have you any new DEI initiatives you can tell us about that help you tap into fresh sources of talent?
We have several DEI initiatives that help us tap into fresh sources of talent both internally and externally. This year, one of the exciting outcomes from our DEI roundtable is the launch of an internal job fair. This allows us to tap into fresh sources of talent within our existing workforce and promote internal mobility. It also provides an opportunity for our colleagues to meet colleagues from different departments and discover different opportunities that they didn’t know is available to them.
What’s next? Tell us about a new initiative/project for 2024 that you’re most excited about?
This year brings a wave of exciting new initiatives and roles. We are on the lookout for talented individuals, who would like to grow with our company. The roles currently available include customer service representatives, sales executives to Alarm Receiving Centre Ambassadors and many more. We offer extensive on the job training and a supportive work environment that empowers individuals to thrive and advance their careers. We’re also launching thrilling new initiatives, such as new television campaigns, so people can expect to see a lot more of our branding throughout the year!
How to Build a Strong Company Culture in a Global Organisation with NTT Data
Every organisation has a culture, whether it was intentionally or passively created. A healthy workplace culture is one of the fundamental elements of a successful company. In today’s global landscape, businesses extend their operations across borders and cultivate diverse workforces. Developing and maintaining a strong culture in this context presents some unique challenges. A positive work environment benefits a company in numerous ways, which is why it is essential to build that culture rather than leave it to chance.
During our insightful conversation filled with personal anecdotes at the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event, Kim Curley, VP of People & Organisation at NTT DATA, shared valuable perspectives and actionable strategies on the art of crafting and nurturing a strong corporate culture. Kim’s role is unique in that she’s responsible for NTT DATA’s internal change management process and for the organisation’s consultancy services in that space, which she called “the personal side of business where all the wonderful messy, human things happen.” Experiencing change from the inside and managing it as a third party for other organisations has given her great insight into how to successfully build a strong culture.
Crafting a Culture
Like many companies, NTT DATA re-evaluated its priorities and values during the massive societal and workplace changes brought on by the pandemic. Kim explained, “We had been through a tremendous amount of change in the past three years and we wanted to assess what aspects of our culture had weakened that we needed to strengthen.” Trust, community, and success were the three values identified through their discussions.
The next step was deciding how to strengthen those values in their workplace culture. Kim shared that the discussion began with a guiding question: “How do we define these values that make us special and make us a place where people want to come work and a place that clients want to hire?” Three strategies emerged as important aspects of crafting their culture.
Involve employees in developing initiatives around the three core values. If culture is not built from the ground up, it will be very difficult to enforce it from the top down.
Create a social accountability contract. Foster a sense of responsibility among employees to embody and uphold the core values.
Anchor to a career coach model. Resources extend beyond hierarchical, mentor-like relationships to help employees develop across the different roles they hold as consultants and over the arc of their careers.
Changing people’s mindsets is one of organisations’ most significant challenges when implementing new initiatives. “It takes a tremendous amount of energy not only from the people trying to encourage the change but also from the brave souls trying to make the change. That’s always the hardest part, to be a supporter and to step into that new space,” said Kim. This process was an excellent opportunity to lean on the social accountability contract and encourage employees to support one another as they adapted.
Silos
Silos are another familiar challenge companies face, and this challenge becomes even more pronounced when a company operates on a global scale. One of the significant problems posed by silos is their potential to impede the growth of a company-wide culture. To confront this issue head-on, Kim’s team developed a proactive strategy. She described their process, “We look at what our company values mean for each team. What can be done to make these values come to life in our individual geographies, business units, and ways of working?” For example, the community looks very different for a team co-located in the same geographic area with an office space than for a remote team working from different countries. Community is equally essential in both scenarios, though initiatives to cultivate a sense of community will look very different.
Organisational Hurdles
Aligning policies and procedures with company culture is essential to NTT DATA’s success. “When you’re trying to change culture, one of the things that will trip you up the fastest is if the organisational elements of your business do not support the cultural change,” Kim said to elaborate on this point. Changes to a company’s infrastructure have far-reaching effects and can either support or hinder how the culture evolves. Therefore, it is critical to be intentional about company policies and structure them in a way that supports the culture.
Kim compared their approach to caring for a garden to summarise how her team fosters a strong company culture. “You have to constantly nurture it to help it grow and be very aware of what you add to it,” she explained. Ultimately, a positive company culture is a constant work in progress. Although building it requires time and effort, the long-lasting benefits are immense. Low turnover rates, boosted productivity, and high morale are all results that help a company achieve success.
One of the things I enjoyed most about our discussion was hearing about Kim’s personal experience with NTT DATA’s cultural changes and how those changes impacted her daily workflow and her relationships with colleagues. I encourage readers to check out our full conversation for even more insights and a personal perspective on what a strong culture can mean to employees.
Haier Europe: Elevating its People Practices with the Top Employers Programme
About Haier Europe
Haier Europe is a global leader in home appliances and consumer electronics, recognised for 15 consecutive years as the world’s No.1 brand globally in major appliances, selling under the Candy, Hoover and Haier brands. The organisation comprises of 750 colleagues in the UK&I and 100,000 globally.
Haier Europe’s Top Employers Journey
Haier Europe had been on an improvement journey, investing heavily in people systems, processes and benefits and whilst colleagues inside the business would have seen the transformation, they wanted to receive external recognition in order to attract great talent, and give candidates the confidence to know that they had been certified by an external, independent validation process. They therefore joined the Top Employers Certification Programme, and following completion of the HR Best Practices Survey and Validation Process, were certified as a UK Top Employer 2023.
Elevating its People Practices
“We have definitely seen the profile of our employer brand increase, we see our candidate numbers are very strong and our retention figures are improving in key areas, but the most important outcome from joining the Top Employers Programme is that it has really made Haier Europe a better workplace for our colleagues because it has given us the impetus and direction to keep improving.” Matthew Given, Group HR Director UK & Ireland, Haier Europe
Having achieved Top Employer Certification in year one, the Haier Europe team immediately started work on its action plan to further improve its HR, using the Top Employers Results Dashboard. They did this by:
Having a dedicated team of specialists within the HR team working on the Top Employers Certification project.
Aligning the Top Employers HR Best Practices Survey topics and results with the action plans and choosing focus areas which would add most value to the business.
Regularly reviewing with the team each quarter to ensure that improvements were being made within these focus areas.
Impressive results
In year two, following on from the action planning, Haier Europe increased their score on the Top Employers Best Practices Survey by 20% points.
They had prioritised Employee Listening, wellbeing and DEI, with the new colleague listening strategy bringing great insights and making sure that they really understood how colleagues felt about the business and its programmes. They also mapped, explored and improved many more colleague and candidate journeys.
The leadership team has also taken notice of the tremendous progress and are now championing many new initiatives across engagement, wellbeing and DEI.
Remote Working: è già tempo di dire addio?
Il Remote working è destinato a scomparire. O forse no. Leggendo i giornali negli ultimi mesi, sarà capitato di imbattersi in vari titoli che annunciavano la fine del remote (o smart) working così come lo abbiamo conosciuto. Al momento infatti, sembrerebbe che la misura introdotta per fare fronte all’emergenza COVID, non sarà prorogata oltre il 31 marzo 2024, comportando apparentemente non pochi disagi per lavoratori del settore privato e pubblico.
Leggendo i giornali negli ultimi mesi, sarà capitato di imbattersi in vari titoli che annunciavano la fine del remote (o smart) working così come lo abbiamo conosciuto. Al momento infatti, sembrerebbe che la misura introdotta per fare fronte all’emergenza COVID, non sarà prorogata oltre il 31 marzo 2024, comportando apparentemente non pochi disagi per lavoratori del settore privato e pubblico.
Ma facciamo un passo indietro, per comprendere quali saranno gli effetti reali su dipendenti di aziende e pubblica amministrazione. Non da ultimo, proveremo a rispondere ad una domanda che tutti, in questo ultimo anno, ci siamo fatti: è finito il remote working?
Lo smart working agevolato
Non sembra poi passato così tanto tempo da quando, per far fronte ad una situazione d’emergenza globale, si cominciò a ridefinire le modalità di lavoro che fino al 2020 avevano rappresentato la quotidianità per milioni di persone. Il mondo e con esso le aziende, hanno saputo reagire (alcune più velocemente di altre), dando continuità al loro business e garantendo anche stabilità ai propri dipendenti.
Inoltre, ogni Paese introdusse delle norme più o meno inclusive al fine di regolare questa nuova modalità di lavoro. In Italia, sono state poste le fondamenta con il DPCM del 1 marzo 2020 (anche se già con la legge 81/2017 si parlava di smart working), quando si estese a tutto il territorio nazionale la raccomandazione di utilizzare il lavoro agile per tutti i lavoratori subordinati, anche in assenza di accordi individuali.
Il successo, dipeso anche dagli effetti contenitivi sul virus, ha portato i successivi interventi legislativi a consolidare la norma negli anni. Fino a quando, con l’art 18bis della legge 15 dicembre 2023 n.191, lo smart working è stato prorogato di 3 mesi, ossia fino al 31 marzo 2024.
Quindi, cosa cambia?
Settore Privato e Pubblico
Attualmente il lavoro agile è concesso a tutti i lavoratori fragili del settore privato e ai genitori di minori di 14 anni, purché la loro mansione sia compatibile con il telelavoro e entrambi i genitori siano occupati e non usufruiscano di sostegni al reddito o siano disoccupati.
Nel 2024 il lavoro agile nella pubblica amministrazione non sarà più legato all’emergenza pandemica. L’opportunità per i dipendenti pubblici di lavorare da casa dipenderà da accordi individuali in base alla direttiva del Ministero per la Pubblica Amministrazione firmata il 29 dicembre 2023.
A questo punto sembra tutto chiaro a livello di sistema. Tuttavia, come si sono mosse in questi anni le aziende Top Employers? E quale sarà la tendenza per il futuro? Lo smartworking verrà abbandonato?
Top Employers Institute
I dati raccolti grazie alla Survey sulle HR Best Practices 2024 restituiscono un quadro chiaro rispetto all’utilizzo dello smart working. Tra le 149 aziende certificate in Italia, il 46.31% permette ai propri dipendenti di lavorare da remoto tra il 20% e il 50% del tempo disponibile, il 36.24% tra il 50% e l’80% del tempo disponibile e il 10% delle aziende tra l’80% e il 100% del tempo disponibile.
Se confrontati poi con i Top Employers in Europa (1252), possiamo notare come i numeri siano molto allineati:
Certamente, rimangono ancora delle aziende che non fanno uso di smart working per motivi anche legati alla natura del proprio business: tuttavia, tra queste, solo lo 0.67% non possiede una policy sul remote working, mentre il 3.36% non specifica la quantità di tempo autorizzato a lavorare da remoto.
Inoltre, se confrontiamo i dati con l’anno precedente, possiamo vedere come l’utilizzo del remote working sia aumentato: ad esempio, le aziende che utilizzano il remote working tra il 50% e l’80% sono aumentate rispetto al 2023, passando dal 30.28% al 36.24%.
E ciò viene anche confermato da uno studio condotto dall’Osservatorio Smart Working della School of Management del Politecnico di Milano. Alla fine del 2023 infatti, i lavoratori da remoto erano 3,585 milioni, in crescita rispetto al 2022 (3,570 milioni) e con una stima sul 2024 di 3,65 milioni.
Siamo sicuri quindi che il remote working cesserà di esistere?
Remote working ed Engagement dei dipendenti
I dati raccolti fanno ben sperare. Tuttavia, ciò che non emerge a prima vista è la modalità con cui lo strumento del remote working venga utilizzato, né se ci sia un potenziale impatto negativo sulla produttività delle aziende, ma soprattutto sull’engagement dei dipendenti.
Ed è a questo punto che il ruolo di HR e organizzazioni diventa fondamentale.
Non bisogna dare per scontato infatti che l’introduzione del remote working porti conseguentemente a dei modelli di azienda “smart”. Molto spesso infatti, l’errata applicazione di questo strumento può rivelarsi un boomerang per tutti, soprattutto per i dipendenti: stress causato dall’iperconnessione e overworking sono i principali danni collaterali.
Le forme di flessibilità lavorative devono essere inserite forzatamente in una visione organizzativa completa, partendo in primis dalla leadership. Essa deve farsi carico di una sfida che vede obiettivi di per sé agli antipodi: garantire il wellbeing e l’engagement dei dipendenti, senza dimenticare il miglioramento continuo degli obiettivi aziendali.
A questo challenge i Top Employers Italia hanno risposto presente. Come? Più della metà delle aziende Top Employers rende responsabili i propri leaders per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi di wellbeing ed engagement; così come il 71% dei Top Employers 2024 coinvolge attivamente i propri dipendenti nella creazione di processi ed attività volte ad accrescere l’engagement aziendale.
E i risultati, concreti, vanno al di là del semplice remote working. Alcune aziende hanno già introdotto la settimana corta, altre organizzazioni progettano e sperimentano nuove forme di flessibilità: ferie illimitate, cancellazione delle timbrature o il distant remote working, che permetterà di lavorare completamente da remoto per alcune settimane o mesi, in alcune circostanze anche dall’estero.
Il Remote working è destinato a scomparire. O forse ha dato inizio ad una nuova era?
Global Work from Home Day 2024
Q&A with Paola Bottaro, People & Business Operations Director at Top Employers Institute It is safe to say that the way we work has changed fundamentally. Today’s workforce has expanded through digital connectivity and remote collaboration. As organisations all over the world adapt to new work models, we celebrate Global Work from Home Day as the vehicle through which employees and employers celebrate the flexibility and productivity obtained through remote work.
What are some of the key benefits of working from home?
When allowing the flexibility to work from home, organisations are creating a positive work environment for all kinds of living situations, life phases, and personal preferences, this takes out of the equation the exclusion that happens when you dictate how people should relate themselves to work.
Inclusivity brings multiple advantages to adopting a work from home model because it benefits both the employee and the employer. Employers see a bigger pool of people who can be successful at the organisation. For professionals, an enhanced opportunity to choose how they work is offered. The added autonomy of working at home, office, or shared workspace increases their wellbeing and helps them perform better.
We see high engagement at Top Employers, even with people working from home, but we know the key is to make sure we maintain this level of engagement. We must continually gather information to develop ways to stay connected as the organisation grows. That is why we focus on the importance of creating a programme that is intentional by design.
To create an intentional programme, we must first know the relationship between employees and their work. What should this look like? In organisations with a human-centric approach, there is the employee, then the team, then the company, and this needs to be well defined. At Top Employers Institute, we continue to develop the process of defining how the employee relates to the team and the company to offer them a journey that is aligned throughout the world. This explains how we look at variables like work location and decide what needs to be in place no matter where you work to keep high levels of engagement.
Intentional connection is the key. By making connectivity a goal, we see how working from home fits into the bigger picture of how professionals work and how this shapes the employee-employer relationship. Connection can’t be left up to chance. It must be worked into an organisation’s goals, and these goals should answer questions like what the relationship between the employees and the employer should look like. How do the employees relate to the work at hand and to the overall goals of the organisation?
Working from home should not equal working in isolation. There should always be opportunities for employees to learn from each other and model behaviours that create the corporate culture, not in a forced way, but because they like it.
Practical examples include:
Creating an environment that promotes the exchange of information.
Fostering efficient processes that support an employee’s best performance.
Encouraging a sense of belonging through shared rituals like traditions or team events that improve the employee experience.
Providing opportunities for employees to contribute to the company’s narrative and identity.
Understanding that this is a work in progress and that growth and change are vital to creating a good programme for the employees.
What are some things to be aware of when working from home?
Employees must have what they need to perform their role. This is not just in physical items like computers and desks but also in processes that allow for connection with colleagues and managers, including periodic connections to evaluate performance and ensure goals are being met.
Keeping a work-life balance can sometimes be harder. One surprising fact is that many people tend to work more when working from home because they’re relaxed and forget the time. Finding the balance when working from home is an important part of why this arrangement must be intentionally planned as it is important to the employee’s wellbeing.
How can an employee advocate for remote work accommodations?
An employee’s work environment needs to match their own beliefs and vision to bring about the best work. It’s a very personal decision, and it won’t look the same for all employees. Our belief at Top Employers Institute is that everyone we hire is a professional and is motivated. The organisation and the employee should work as a team to make sure the employee has what they need to be successful because the motivation is already there. It’s hard to believe that providing employees with what they need to fulfil their duties doesn’t link to better financial results for the company because people are happier, and happier people perform better.
When advocating for this type of work arrangement, the organisation must be able to see how this is of mutual advantage. The culture in the organisation must be the type that believes that giving people autonomy will produce better employees, so making a business case for this type of work set-up must show how it will improve productivity.
What advice do you have for companies deciding on their policy for a work from home programme?
For us, the priority is getting the right person for the job rather than the right person, in the right place, in the right time zone, and in the right phase of their lives for the job. The model is simple, but the effect is huge. There are a lot of systems to hold up this style of working but having a productive workforce should be the goal.
Organisations are hiring professionals, and the expectation is that they should know what they need to be successful. This can only happen once the definition of success inside the organisation has been explained. A certain balance in autonomy, sense of belonging, and a clear picture of what is expected of the professional is the key to developing a great work from home programme.
Part of it is, of course, where the employee is physically doing the work. The other part is how they are staying engaged. Are they collaborating? Do they feel connected? Many elements that can be used to create the right work from home environment, and this is where we should focus on the philosophy or point of view and not where a person is physically working.
The role of the organisation is in coordinating the matrix that facilitates the connections to happen between employees. Reinforcing the culture, common language style, ad hoc encounters, and building relationships are some of the tools an organisation can use to facilitate connections between employees.
Organisations that keep a human-centric approach must continually ask if policies are still working for the wellbeing of the employees and for reaching the organisation’s goals. We need to make sure we take care of each other; if one sees the other is not doing well in our definition of success, it’s my responsibility to help you out. Your success is my success. The human-centric approach towards working from home is just one element of a whole approach to a person-centric work culture and it’s what we believe is the right thing to do for a successful company.
During Top Employers Inspire 2023, we got an insider’s view of how Top Employers Institute is becoming a human-centric organisation. Paola Bottaro, People Director at Top Employers Institute, talked to Wouter van Ewijk about how the business has adapted to support its employees better while learning to be mindful, empathetic, and purposeful. You can watch that session here.
Best Practice | Virtusa’s Talent Digital Transformation
Certified Top Employer, Virtusa, committed to an 18-month-long HR digital transformation to dramatically change the digital experience for their employees, covering everything from recruiting and onboarding to learning and development, inclusion, and rewards. The organisation did not simply make small incremental changes; they reimagined all their processes and radically transformed them into a single, fully integrated, hyper-personalised employee platform.
This is just a snapshot of Virtusa’s innovative best practice. You can find the entire practice in our HR Best Practices database, which is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges and learnings experienced by certified Top Employers. Access it now via the Top Employers Programme if you are certified or learn more about it here!
Why the practice was needed:
Although technology is at the core of their business, Virtusa struggled to make technology work correctly for their employees. They had too many disjointed systems that were not creating a seamless employee experience. The systems were not driving engagement or speaking to one another. Eranga Pathirage, VP & Head of HR for the UK, Europe, and the Middle East + the Global Head of HR Tech Transformation, helped the organisation dramatically improve its talent understanding and engagement through a digital HR transformation.
Pathirage recalls that they already had all this valuable data about their 35 000 employees across 25 countries. As a provider of technical services, they respected and knew the power of technology. They saw a solution in centring the relationship between technology and their employees to drive adoption and employee loyalty.
Pathirage recalls that the most challenging part of their HR digital transformation was the beginning, as he and his team wanted to be bold and did not know exactly how to start; they wanted to involve everyone in the business and obtain their buy-ins as well. Pathirage and his team took on the enormous task of reviewing all their processes to truly reimagine a digital solution offering their people an optimal employee experience. As he explained, they were not making incremental changes to some of their HR systems but instead re-hauling the entire process. In thinking through the right solution then, they followed some important grounding principles:
There would be one single source of truth.
Their HR digital solution would be fully integrated within Virtusa’s IT system.
The technology they picked would also give the company the ability to evolve. The technology selected and implemented should allow Virtusa to stay agile and guide the business accordingly.
As a technology services organisation, Virtusa also wanted to put technology first.
With these grounding principles, the organisation set out to pick a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for each element of the employee experience. The solution as a whole was born in the cloud.
The results of this HR digital transformation can already be seen. The company now has an AI chatbot to assist in a personalised candidate experience, providing a consistent company story for prospective employees. SkillPrism, powered by AI, can create an employee profile from multiple data points to fully understand competencies within the business. The company can now also offer a personalised learning journey for their employees and, through Edge, can offer their own internal “LinkedIn,” giving each employee one to three personalised job openings across customers, domains, and countries.
Once this digital solution was offered, Virtusa employees adopted it quickly, with an 85% adoption rate in the first two weeks.
Learn more about the Top Employers Certification here.
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