These companies can call themselves Best Workplace™ 2023

‘Best workplaces’ are characterised by a high degree of trust, combined with meaningful values and impactful leadership. In turn, this results in innovative strength and financial growth. Now more than ever, the Institute is looking for Best Workplaces ‘For all’. These are organisations that are working to create an inclusive and diverse workplace in which everyone can be themselves. The Great Place to Work® Institute looks at organisations through two lenses: an employee survey – known as the Trust Index – examines how employees regard the credibility, respect, honesty of their managers and the level of pride and collegiality in the company; while a Culture Audit evaluates the organisation's employer policy.

Best Workplaces™ 2023 Belgium

Dirk Buyens, professor Human Resources at Vlerick Business School: “The ‘War for Talent’ continues to be a hot topic. It is difficult for companies to find and retain the talent pool they need. Being aware of the individual needs of our employees is becoming more critical. What we see is that the Best Workplaces dare to attract new talent by taking these individual differences into account. This year, Best Workplaces are clearly committed to treating their employees fairly and respectfully. Employees value having their voices heard and being involved in the organisational decision-making, regardless of their position. In doing so, favouritism is punished in the scores and fair treatment is applauded. Finally, it is very clear that getting recognised as a Best Workplace and getting listed as such does have a positive impact on the credibility of a company’s employer branding activities in this tight labour market of scarce talent.”

A small selection of inspiring practices:

1. Focus on mental well-being: Best Workplaces worked hard on raising awareness around mental health and on the implementation of well-being programmes. We see that Best Workplaces have partnerships to improve well-being. They also create internal opportunities for employees to learn about mental well-being, for example, by becoming their own or their colleagues’ mental coach. Additionally, Best Workplaces invest in more flexible working hours, making it easier for employees to balance their work and personal life.  
2. Focus on collaboration and equity: Best Workplaces prioritise a fair and respectful treatment of their employees. This includes that they invest in the quality of interactions and cooperation between employees and management. More specifically, we see that management genuinely seeks and responds to the suggestions and ideas of their employees and involves their employees in decisions that affect their job or work environment. On top of that, employees that work in a Best Workplace feel treated as full members of the company and get the opportunity to receive special recognition.
3. Focus on value-driven strategy: Best Workplaces have clear principles that guide the day-to-day way people work together. They make sure that their values and behaviours are well defined, known by everyone in the business, and used as support in the execution of their strategy. We see that management within Best Workplaces fully embodies the best characteristics of the company, delivers on its promises and that their actions match their words.

Special Awards for 3 outstanding company case studies

Ormit Talent – Special Award for ‘Inclusive leadership’

Ormit Talent actively works on implementing practices that can help leaders become more inclusive and enhance the performance of their teams. Inclusive leadership values the uniqueness of individuals and their vulnerability. Their elaborate training programme focuses on the development of different leadership qualities in five themes, in line with the Ormit development model: manage processes; think and act outside-in; know what matters; connect people and personal leadership. At Ormit Talent, value creation is about developing leaders who want to contribute to making the world a better place, who are honest and trustworthy, and who want to give their all. Integrity, quality, empathy, social awareness, ethics, the individual interest vs. the common interest, … All of these themes are integrated into their programmes.

Other nominees: Axxes, Van Tornhaut

Bewire – Special Award for ‘Co-creating spirit’

Co-creation is what happens when all employees are encouraged, empowered, and recognised for trying new and better ways of doing things, regardless of who they are and what they do for the business. Co-creation in work refers to the process of having employees contribute to designing and creating things that affect them. Co-creation helps generate insight, better objectives, better solutions to problems and higher levels of engagement. Bewire encourages its employees to actively participate in innovation through its own innovation programme, called B-labs. Additionally, Bewire organises its B-Inspired event where its employees get the chance to speak in front of the entire company about a topic that inspires them. As a result, we can say that Bewire breathes a co-creating spirit.   

Other nominees: i8c, Bel&Bo

Easi – Special Award for ‘Value-driven strategy’

Our research finds that Best Workplaces ensure that values and behaviours are well-defined, known by everyone in the business, and used to support the execution of their strategy. Values are what leaders use to make decisions that cannot be made using spreadsheets and data analysis alone. They are the bedrock principles that guide executives’ choices in complex, difficult matters like hiring, firing, geographic expansions, and doing more for customers. At Easi, these values are the result of a co-construction between the company’s management and its employees. Additionally, their values play an important role in their internal assessment and recognition processes. Easi fully invests in its values and uses those values as a base for its strategy.

Other nominees: Continuum, EY