Best Place to Work in Denmark

DIEU, Danish International Continuing Education, was today named Best Place to Work in Denmark in competition with 100 other companies. Openness, good humour, respect and care are some of the main characteristics of the company.

This is the first time that the title Best Place to Work in Denmark has been awarded. The survey, based on the Oxford Group "Great Place to Work" survey, was published in a business magazine called Børsens Nyhedsmagasin on 3 December 2001.

A clear winner that makes demands on employees
DIEU was named the clear winner of this sought-after title, beating the 100 other companies in the competition outright. The company scored significantly higher than its rivals in all five areas that form the basis for selection: Pride, camaraderie, credibility, respect and fairness. The survey is based on employees' own anonymous evaluations of their workplace and a culture profile that describes our personnel conditions and culture.

"I believe we won because we let words and actions go hand in hand," says Søren Casparij, CEO. "At DIEU, we all know precisely what everyone expects of us. Customer and colleague satisfaction are measured regularly and followed up. Everyone here knows his or her role as part of the team and this gives us integrity and makes day-to-day work meaningful, regardless of the job in question."

""We expect a lot from our employees but in a caring environment, which is why they like it here. Our ambition is always to be the best at what we do. We work with learning, and this encourages openness and the willingness to improve - it's part of everyday life for us," Søren Casparij explains.

Children at work and play
Employees have also highlighted close friendships when evaluating DIEU as a workplace. Among the personal comments that accompanied the questionnaire, many said that children are welcome at DIEU. The company has furnished a special room with an advanced workstation for parents, and toys, a sofa and videos for children. If a child is feeling poorly or needs a day home from playschool with mummy or daddy, parents can take their children to work with them. This creates good flexibility between work and private life and the children's room is often in use.

The spirit and atmosphere within the company also score high in the survey. Employee comments concerning this point included the following:

"Everyone is busy, but never too busy to lend a helping hand or smile. It's lovely working somewhere where everyone has a positive attitude," said one employee.

Another employee commented: "There is an unbelievable team spirit here that makes everyone keep developing. I often think: Hold on a minute, can I do that too? Support and inspiration from the management and colleagues are unique".

Another said: "People are very rarely off work because they're ill, but if something does happen, the boss is the first one to arrive with flowers".

A winning culture must be carefully coaxed along
It is not the first time DIEU has won a well-respected award for its work and for the company's way of doing things. In 1999, DIEU won The European Quality Award and last year was named Denmark's course provider with the best reputation by the Danish Institute for Market Analysis.

CEO Søren Casparij says: "We haven't been given this on a plate, but seven years ago we chose to give holistic management first priority. For us, good enough is not good enough! It has taken hard work, but has given us a responsive, modern organisation that draws on everyone's resources. All the employees know what is required of them and their roles here. All the functions are equal and necessary so that we can serve our customers with the best conceivable level of quality. This can be achieved only by acknowledging that employee involvement counts."

"Being given the award coincides nicely with the fact that this year we have had the best financial result in DIEUs 26-year history," says Søren Casparij.

More information is available at:
Oxford Group
Great Place to Work