Plenty of companies display the Great Place to Work badge, but does it reflect their culture or is it just for show? In this episode of Jugando en Serio (in Spanish), Javier Sordo, People director for Europe at a global tech company with more than 1,700 people in Europe, explains what the Great Place to Work certification measures and why it's pointless without consistency.
How the Great Place to Work certification works
Sordo first got certified at a startup, to check whether their culture was that of a good place to work. At his current company it was already standard practice: it helps attract talent and shows clients that their supplier looks after its people.
The process is simple: the whole workforce can answer a survey that is identical worldwide, translated into each language. A minimum number of responses is required, with a different percentage per country, because each country is certified separately. It covers culture, benefits, flexibility, leadership and communication, and the report tells you whether you're certified and how you compare with companies in your sector or country.
It's renewed every year. Reaching minimum scores earns the certification; the top scores make it into the Best Place to Work rankings by company size, revealed at a ceremony.
A badge you can buy?
Many see it as a money grab: you pay and you get it. Sordo counters with an anecdote: at a Best Place to Work gala, a sponsor asked him what position they had reached. He didn't know, since it isn't revealed beforehand, and the sponsor was surprised: «Oh, so you don't pay to be here?».
You pay for the survey and the study, not the position. Culture can be measured internally in many valid ways; the badge's value is comparing yourself with others against the same yardstick. And no preparation is needed: if you're honest, you simply want to hear your employees.
Obviously, we pay for the certification, so that the survey and the study are carried out, but we're all measured by the same standard. The methodology is highly consistent and very clear for everyone: we all play by the same rules.
Culture is sustained by consistency, not posters
The badge isn't the finish line: culture is a long-distance race. His company has very strong founding principles, such as a highly diverse workforce for more than 30 years or the freedom to voice ideas in front of anyone, which surprises newcomers. The key, Sordo says, is consistency and leading by example: slogans on the wall are useless unless practiced, and people who stray need redirecting.
It starts with hiring, through a cultural interview that's called exactly that. In his, he turned over cards with topics ranging from a social or political situation to a tech ethics dilemma. There are no right or wrong answers, but there are red flags: in a diverse environment, a comment about someone's race or sexual orientation matters a lot. For him, it was one of the deciding factors in wanting to join.
Then comes ongoing training for leaders and a mandatory annual course on the code of conduct, with clear reporting channels no matter who is involved.
How to connect culture and business
In a company whose capital is its people, the link to the business is clear, Sordo says: they calculate how much it costs, in time and money, to hire talent in the tech market and how much it costs to lose and replace someone. But retention isn't everything: preserving the culture sometimes requires tough decisions.
It's not just about retaining, but about knowing who you want to retain. Not everyone at any cost, but the people who are really helping you maintain that culture and the good work of the company.
Measure, listen and act
Passing the certification every year is one indicator among others. His team measures culture through internal surveys, by client team and company-wide, and tracks eNPS across periods. What matters is focusing where it's needed and saying so («we've heard this, and this is what we're doing»), even co-creating solutions with employees.
And don't obsess over the ranking: Sordo remembers a boss who was unhappy with fourth place because he wanted to be first. The certification is a snapshot of a moment, comparing yourself with others isn't necessary, and what counts is not bragging that people are at the center without a strategy that makes it true.
