Great Place to Work Institute Denmark CEO Dr. Kim Møller talks about trust.

ATP CEO Lars Rohde says there are no quick fixes to creating a world class workplace.

Ececutive Forum speakers Lars Rohde, ATP CEO; Jørgen Bardenfleth, Microsoft Denmark General Manager; and Dr. Kim Møller, Great Place to Work Institute CEO.

By: AmCham Denmark (Jun 02, 2010)

It is no secret that there is a shortage of highly skilled workers in the Danish workforce. Looking forward, say to 2020, this shortage is likely to increase. With the war for talent heating up, alarm bells should be ringing in HR departments warning management to wake up and ask themselves, "Are we a great place to work? "

To help managers answer this crucial question, AmCham's 3rd Executive Forum of 2010 brought together 50 executives at Microsoft's offices in Hellerup to listen to presentations by Great Place to Work Institute CEO Dr. Kim Møller, ATP CEO Lars Rohde and Microsoft Denmark General Manager Jørgen Bardenfleth – all three experts in creating and sustaining a great place to work.

According to Dr. Kim Møller, CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute Denmark, the key to happy, productive committed employees is trust. Following the Great Place to Work model, trust between the management and the employee is created through credibility, respect and fairness. Further enhancing the employee's engagement within the organization is pride in their work, team and company as well as camaraderie in the work place.

Does it pay to create a great workplace? Møller's research has shown that companies that place well in the annual Great Place to Work ranking have higher employee satisfaction, less absence due to illness and lower voluntary employee turnover. On the bottom line the rewards are also evident. Great place to work companies have a better return on investment and higher cumulative and annualized returns. For Møller the case for creating a great place to work is clear – it pays off!

Lars Rohde sums up the reasons ATP has been so successful in creating a great place to work – there are no quick fixes! Rohde set out with an ambitious goal for ATP – create a world class place to work. He started by identifying three barriers to his goal: lack of challenges for employees, bad management and poor cooperation with co-workers. Rohde also realized it takes more than "green apples" and higher salaries. What it takes is cultivating your talent (even beyond the comfort zone), showing your employees that you believe in creating a world class workplace, and ensuring a life balance.

The results have shown a synergy between ATP's goal and business results. Efforts have led to a very high customer satisfaction (86% are satisfied/very satisfied), labor market parties have decided to raise their ATP contributions and ATP has received numerous accolades ranging from the Best Public Pension Fund to the Best European Pension Fund. For Rohde creating a great place to work is the recipe for continued competitive power.

Since 2006, Microsoft Denmark has placed in the top 10 of the Great Place to Work annual report – no stranger to being a highly regarded workplace. The key to success according to General Manager Jørgen Bardenfleth is commitment. This starts with setting expectations together with each individual employees and making sure these expectations fit with the overall company strategy. At anytime, an employee should be able to not only tell you what they do, but how it fits with the company's goals. Building this commitment requires frequent dialogue with employees to ensure they have the resources and competences needed to meet their goals and that they are challenged enough to develop and be stimulated.

Furthermore, Bardenfleth stressed that you have to tell people they're doing a good job. "In Denmark, we aren't as good as they are in the U.S. at praising our employees work. But we are getting better," said Bardenfleth.