Confirmit
Oslo, Norway
Grade: A
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Summary: Work in Europe at a company where teamwork is valued, a very flat hierarchical structure, solid collaboration tools and above-average worker retention.
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Intro: In our industry, Confirmit is the longest standing and most established business. It offers the stable and secure environment of a well-established company, but retains the agility, fun and attitude of a fast-moving technology company. Employees work closely together, despite being based in several offices around the world, and travel to visit teams in other offices is encouraged. The company offers excellent rates of pay, good opportunities to progress and the ability to really make a difference to the company to customers.
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Impact statements:
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Advancement Opportunities:
Confirmit is a rapidly expanding company and as well as established career paths, employees are often able to evolve their role into something new that suits their skills. We have employees who have been with the business for 15+ years and in many cases, they’ve been able to work in several offices and a number of departments in order to develop their skills and help drive the company forward.
Measuring satisfaction:
Confirmit runs an annual employee satisfaction survey which had a 100% completion rate in 2015. Results are not only scrutinized by the executive team, but an external consultant is brought into a special meeting of the executive team in order to advise on the results of the survey and how the company can take action to increase employee engagement. At a less formal level, all employees are welcome to discuss any concerns, ideas or issues with their manager or a member of the executive team at any time.
Each of our offices around the world is unique and is a result of the teams based in them. Employees are encourages to suggest additions and improvements to the office environments they’re based in.
Creative meeting places:
Employees are encouraged to think creatively in any environment. For example, in early 2016, the Confirmit Marketing team spent a day in brainstorming meetings at the met Museum of Art, NY. The London office has held meetings at the Magic Circle, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. They Sydney office is based in a cricket ground with the Australian team able to spend meetings right next to the cricket pitch! We are also not averse to other sports, with meetings with staff and clients being held on the golf course from time to time!
Perks:
All Confimit offices have very well-stocked kitchens with employees able to help themselves to items through the day. Regional benefits are also available based on employee location – for example UK-based employees benefit from an interest-free travel loan and many team members in Sydney have memberships to a local leisure club.
Fun:
This varies from office to office, but across various locations we have table football sets, massage chairs, putting greens and beanbag games. Confirmit also has regular after-hours events attended by our team members, like happy hours at local pubs and quarter-end celebrations. We also host annual summer and winter parties, which can be held at sporting venues, parks or popular tourist locations.
How corporate vision is communicated:
At the beginning of the year, all employees within each region are brought together for a 1-2 kick off session in which the exec team set out corporate vision for the year ahead. All employees are encouraged to take part in these interactive sessions and have their voices heard. The CEO and supporting Exec team members also run quarterly sessions with updates about the company’s successes to reiterate to overall corporate vision and strategy. The intent is to have a completely open and transparent culture in which questions are welcomed and addressed.
Empowering employees:
All employees are encouraged to raise ideas with their managers and wider teams. Confirmit has an extremely open management structure and all team members are able to speak to any member of the leadership team to make suggestions and recommends at any time. All offices have regular all-team meetings to discuss ideas and how we can do a better job of delivering great solutions to our customers.
Communication is done via company-wide e-mail announcements as well as at quarter-end results calls where all employees are attending via webex. At the external level, employees often feature in blog posts which highlight opinions, achievements and successes. Regular Town Hall meetings in the US and a weekly lunch meeting in London are also used to recognize key employee achievements, and team members who have worked closely with marketing to share client success stories receive surprise gifts to share with the wider team.
Confirmit operates with a very flat hierarchical structure and this deliberately to enable employees to make their own decision. This is particularly true in the case of dealing with customers where customer-facing teams are empowered to make the right decision for the customer, without going through many layers of approval.
Ensuring well-being:
Confirmit offers flexible work schedules to help our team m embers balance the responsibilities they have outside of work. This includes flexible start/end times, the ability to work from home, and generous vacation and time off policies.
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Closing company statements: Candidates must understand Confirmit’s team-oriented culture. No one succeeds alone here. Collaboration and knowledge share is an important component of our daily activities. We take time to help each other, whether it’s a new hire learning the ropes or a team member tackling a challenging project.
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