SMA Solar Technology AG is among the best employers in Germany once again

In 2013, the Great Place to Work® Institute again honoured SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) in the nationwide "Germany's Best Employer" competition. SMA took 4th place in the category of large companies with over 5,000 employees. In previous years, SMA successfully participated in the competition and even achieved first place in 2011 and 2012.

"The award underscores that, even during the current challenging times at SMA, values like credibility, respect, fairness and team spirit are still of great importance. We are very proud of this,” explains SMA Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Pascal Urbon. "In addition, the results of the employee survey show us where actions have to be taken to improve our corporate culture so that we can better meet future challenges together."

The German Great Place to Work® Institute names the best employers in Germany every year. In addition to an evaluation of the work carried out by human resources departments within the companies, a so-called culture audit is carried out. This is a comprehensive, anonymous employee survey that judges the quality of cooperative work, the leadership, the options for further professional development, and remuneration and workplace satisfaction, among other criteria. Two-thirds of the evaluation and therefore success in the competition are based on the results of the employee survey.

“The award stands for credible management that works with employees fairly and respectfully, for a high degree of identification with their own activity and the company as a whole as well as for a strong team spirit,” emphasised Frank Hauser, head of the Great Place to Work® Institute Germany, during the award ceremony on April 24, in Berlin. 

This year, a total of over 500 companies applied for a position on the current Best Employer list of the Great Place to Work® Institute Germany and submitted to an independent assessment of their corporate culture. For the assessment, around 100 000 randomly selected employees were anonymously surveyed; alone at SMA there were 2,300 employees.