How companies in Switzerland become best places to work

A warm welcome - the Google reception in Zurich Keystone

A new ranking shows the best firms to work for in Switzerland – with Google topping the large companies for a third time in a row. Important to employees in all categories: a respectful and motivational work culture.

In all, 29 companies were awarded Best Workplaces in Switzerland in the Great Place to Work® Award Ceremony in Zurich on Thursday evening. The results were based on a survey of 15,000 employees across the country.

Heading the large companies category (250+ employees) was Google SwitzerlandExternal link. Among the medium companies (50-249 employees) it was Mundipharma MedicalExternal link Company which focuses on biotech and pharmaceuticals. Rackspace InternationalExternal link, an IT firm specializing in storage and data management, topped the list for firms with 20-49 employees.

“The best employers in Switzerland are distinguished by a respectful and motivational workplace culture,” said Great Place to Work in a statement. “If 84% of employees rate their employer positively and then are also willing to make every effort for this company, then this is a key condition for the success of a company.”

It noted however that Swiss employees expectations of their employers were very high.

Relationship

“The good relationship with our employees is as important for the overall picture as our products and client relations,” said Athanasios Zikopoulos, General Manager at Mundipharma Medical Company, in the statement.

“So we are considered as a particularly good employer on the jobs market, which is not only good for our reputation, but also positively affects retention and recruitment.”

Among the large companies lower-paying firms like Ikea and McDonalds were in the top five. This is not a surprise for Michael Hermann, CEO of Great Place to Work Switzerland. He told the 20 Minutes freesheetExternal link that working conditions and perspectives were considered more important than pay.

No indications are made which companies did not do well in the survey.

Gender Gap

The Gender Gap is however present in all companies, even the best-scoring ones, Great Place to Work Switzerland said. Both men and women tended to rate their companies in a similar way overall. But pay was a key factor. Although the survey cannot say whether there is a gender pay gap, the results showed that there was a perceived one among workers.

More men (71%) than women (52%) said that they felt pay was fair. In addition, fewer women (75%) than men (85%) felt that they were able to take time off when needed.

Hermann said that the difference over pay came from the difficult in combining both work and family. “In Switzerland, women in particular often have to choose between children and a career.”  Other countries are further ahead, especially in Scandinavia, where the perceived difference over fairness in pay was a lot smaller, he said.