The 2008 Best Workplaces Awards Ceremony

Which 20 companies in the Modern Greek marketplace are worth working for? What are their characteristics? What is that they do to inspire and motivate their employees? What do employees have to say about their companies? What should other companies learn from the example of the 20 Best Workplaces in Greece?

The answers to these questions, as well as a wealth of relevant useful information, can be found in the special supplement of 'To Vima' newspaper of Sunday, 23 March 2008.

The list of the 20 Best Workplaces in Greece has been developed by the Great Place to Work Institute Hellas with the scientific supervision of ALBA Graduate Business School.

The 20 companies with the Best Workplace in Greece for 2008 are:

1. Piscines Ideales
   2. Microsoft Hellas
   3. Procter & Gamble Hellas
   4. Genesis Pharma
   5. Cadbury Hellas
   6. AION
   7. Kraft Foods Hellas
   8. Exodus
   9. Bristol-Myers Squibb
   10. Praktiker Hellas
   11. Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI)
   12. Mellon Collection Services
   13. UCB
   14. Tasty Foods
   15. AIG Greece
   16. Aldemar Hotels & SPA
   17. Hewlett-Packard Hellas
   18. Piraeus Direct Services
   19. Eagles Palace Hotel & SPA
   20. Hellenic Fabrics  

The Awards for the 20 Greek Best Workplaces were announced in a high profile event that took place on Monday, April 7 2008 at the 'Athens Megaron'. The event was attended by the presence of Ms Fani Palli Petralia, Minister of Employment & Social Protection, Mr. Christos Folias, Minister of Development and Mr. Dimitris Kontos, General Secretary of Employment, who amongst others, presented some of the top awards.       

During his speech, Mr. Folias stated: "The companies that are being recognized today are an example for all of us. It is very important to have companies, whose employees feel as if the company is theirs. Today's event is characterized by freshness, optimism, creativity, potential... And what we call Corporate Social Responsibility is nothing more than what professionals who work for companies like the ones we are awarding tonight achieve: making their employees feel like an integral part of the creation process."

Ms Petralia, mentioned among other things: "No enterprise can move forward without collectivity. No entrepreneur can succeed if he or she does not have a team that believes in the company's values and has a vision. Today we are rewarding collectivity, companionship, the creation of an environment of security, trust, but as it is evidenced,  we are rewarding much more: When all these values lead to tangible results, as we witness tonight, then we can talk about clear objectives. This is how Greece of the 21st Century must be. We aim in the creation of a new conscience. The great aim of this country is development - but with social sensibility, taking into consideration the strengths of the economy and society."

Among the 20 companies that were recognized this year, 10 were Greek and 10 were multinational from a total of 44 companies. In addition to the managers of the companies that attended the event, several employees attended and received awards. A particularly touching moment of the event was when company employees were called and asked to describe important experiences from their workplace.

The 20 Best Workplaces in Greece are automatically included in the evaluation process for the top 100 list of the Best Workplaces in Europe. The list will be announced by the Financial Times on May 28 and the awards ceremony will take place in London. 

For more information please visit www.greatplacetowork.gr or contact Ms Zoe Kourounakou at 210 8964531, [email protected].