Best Workplaces Competition is an initiative which aims at motivating companies to focus on human resources issues, to reward those that have practically proved their respect and their interest to the individual, and, finally, to encourage the rest of the companies to adopt better Human Resources Management practices.

The competition is organized by the Great Place to Work Europe Institute. In each one of the 15 European states that participate in Best Workplaces in Europe a national competition is organized in order to develop and publish a list with the best national workplaces in each country.

In Greece the competition was introduced by ALBA in 2003. From 2005 onwards the competition is organized by the Great Place to Work Institute Hellas with ALBA undertaking the role of the scientific coordinator and evaluator. In 2003 & 2004 the list with the Best Workplaces in Greece included 10 companies while from 2005 onwards the list is compiled from 20 companies. Each year on average 50 - 60 of the best and very well known Greek enterprises participate in the competition representing the entire spectrum of Greek economy's sectors. The list is annually announced in Greek media. Each year's twenty best companies receive their prizes in a highly prestigious ceremony. These awards ceremonies were honored in the past with presences like the Minister of Employment and Social Security, the Minister of Development, the President of the Federation of Greek Industries, the President of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, the President of the Hellenic Management Association, etc.

However, the recognition of the best Greek companies is not limited at the national level only. The winning companies of the Greek competition automatically participate in the European competition in order to form the list of the 100 Best European Workplaces. The first company of the Greek list is annually included among the top 10 European Best Workplaces, while 4 to 6 out of the 20 best Greek companies are included in the list of the top 100 Best European Workplaces.

All Greek companies can participate in the competition, regardless their legal status - private or public- with the only condition being that they should employ more than 50 persons. Each participating company is evaluated by its Cultural Audit (1/3 of the total company's score) and the Trust Index (2/3 of the total score): The Cultural Audit, answered by the HR manager, is a questionnaire that provides information for the human resources management strategies and policies. Moreover, supplementary material (e.g. video, employee handbooks, company newsletters, etc.) is welcomed in order to enhance understanding of the company's workplace, culture and practices. The Trust Index is a brief opinion survey in which employees from the participation companies respond regarding their workplace experience. In cases where companies employ less than 250 persons, all of them are called to answer the questionnaire, while in companies with more than 250 employees a group of 250 is randomly selected to participate.

Each participating company, regardless of its position in the list, receives a confidential summary showing how its employees responded to the questions on the employee survey (Trust Index). What is more, all the participating companies receive a customized benchmark report and compare their results with other participants in Greece and Europe.

For more information please visit the Great Place to Work Hellas web site: http://www.greatplacetowork.gr

Or Ms. Zoe Kourounakou at: zkouroun@alba.edu.gr