The Great Place to Work Institution has ranked Panda Security Sweden 6th on the 2018 version of its annual list of the best workplaces in Sweden.
Great Place to Work is a global authority on workplace culture, and annually makes the world’s largest and most respected study of workplace excellence. Its rigorous, objective methodology sets the standard for defining great workplaces all around the world. Their studies provide an unparalleled insight into workplace culture, and go beyond just rankings and lists to provide practical knowledge and tools to transform workplaces.
Other companies considered “Great Places to Work” include Salesforce, EY, and Adobe.
Panda Security Sweden began the process to be included on the list of Swedish companies in December 2016. In the first half of 2017, the company worked in teams to define the areas where their work culture stands out and goes beyond simple hygiene factors such as salary and policies:
- Recruitment, Welcoming, and Onboarding
- Inspiration
- Informing
- Listening, Problem Solving, and Involving
- Appreciation
- Development
- Caring, Balance, and Support
- Celebration
- Sharing and CSR
The Great Place to Work Institution then carried out an audit in order to assess the company in these areas. The work on providing information was led by Julia Hallström (Finance Manager), with the support of Karin Angerind (Marketing and Sales Process Manager).
The next step was a survey which is sent out to all companies in the running for the award. Its 64 questions must be answered individually by each employee to see how well aligned they are with what is described in the audit. The twenty employees of Panda Sweden completed this survey in September.
One month after completing the audit and the survey, Panda Sweden received the news that they had been awarded the Great Place to Work certification, which automatically qualified the company for inclusion in the Swedish competition.
Some of the factors that made Panda Sweden stand out were its friendly atmosphere and caring environment, its opportunities for individual development, and the employee pride of the work and the company.
One of the team members in Sweden commented that “We have a great atmosphere with nice colleagues and supporting managers. I am proud of our products and our office, and I am happy to recommend it to others.”
When the result was announced, Patrik Kocon, Country Manager for Sweden, Finland, and Denmark congratulated the team in a post on LinkedIn:
“Sometimes it is hard to describe the pride you feel of the team you are part of! This is one of those moments. Thank you all fantastic co-workers for making our office a joy to come to, instead of a must! I am happy this now reaches everyone since we just got awarded the Great Place to Work certification!”
At the Swedish awards ceremony held in March 2018, Panda Security Sweden was ranked 6th out of the 60 companies in the category of companies with less than 50 employees. In the whole country, there are over 1 million companies of this size.
On June 14 2018, at the annual European event in Athens, the results for the Great Place to Work awards for the whole of Europe were announced. Over 2,800 organizations with more than 1.6 million employees were competing. Panda Security Sweden was ranked as the 13th best work place in Europe (in the category of less than 50 employees).