Great Place To Work Netherlands

About Great Place To Work

Great Place To Work helps organizations enhance employee experience and retain talent through certification programs, coaching, and engagement surveys. The company is part of UKG, an American HR software provider with approximately 15,000 employees. However, all offices operate independently and are locally managed, as is the case with the Netherlands office.

Key figures:

• 10 million employees surveyed worldwide
• 18,000 companies supported in 170 countries
• 50 offices across the globe

Purpose: Help every organization become a great place to work for all.
Website: https://www.greatplacetowork.nl/ 

Context

Seven years ago, the Dutch office of Great Place To Work (GPTW) was acquired by new owners passionate about self-management. René Brouwers was hired as CEO of a self-organized team. However, neither he nor the team was familiar with this model, having been accustomed to traditional hierarchical structures.

Promoting trust and autonomy within organizations is central to GPTW's mission. The company wanted to embody these principles internally, but self-management quickly revealed its challenges. Employees lacked clarity about their roles, responsibilities, and how to achieve their goals.

After two years, part of the team requested a return to a more traditional structure with centralized decision-making. René Brouwers stepped down and was reappointed as CEO under a hierarchical model, bringing back structure and clear direction.

Three years later, GPTW decided to reintroduce self-management, but this time gradually and with better preparation. They chose Holacracy, a model that balances autonomy and clarity, and selected Talkspirit to support this transition.

Challenges

• Team unfamiliarity: Employees were used to a hierarchical structure and unfamiliar with self-management principles or role-based approaches.
• Consensus culture: The organization was accustomed to consensus-based decision-making rather than consent-based processes.
• Lack of structure: Responsibilities were unclear, leading to tension and slow decision-making.
• Undefined goals and KPIs: Without clear objectives, performance evaluation was challenging.

Why Talkspirit

Great Place To Work Netherlands chose Talkspirit to support their transition to self-management for several reasons:

• Clear role documentation: The platform provides transparency by clearly defining roles and responsibilities.
• Compatibility with self-management: Talkspirit is designed to align with self-management principles.
• User-friendly experience: Its intuitive interface makes adoption easier.
• Comprehensive features: A wide range of governance and collaboration tools supports the organization’s needs.

Implementation Process

• External support: GPTW partnered with Energized.org, a consulting firm specializing in self-management, to guide the transition.
• Team training: Some team members received training to support the broader organization and share best practices.
• Gradual introduction: Self-management was first implemented in the marketing department. Within eight months, the team was operational, and within a year, the entire organization adopted the new working methods.
• Structured adoption:  Talkspirit was used to formalize roles, structure meetings, and ensure clear and effective governance.

Key Features Used

• Dynamic org chart:Provides clarity on the purpose and responsibilities of each role.
• Custom fields : Offers transparency on each employee’s seniority, experience level, and expected performance.
• Meetings:Structures meetings, centralizes minutes, and facilitates decision-making.
• Projects:Helps track tasks and projects efficiently.
• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) : Aligns teams around shared goals and the projects supporting them.

Benefits

• Clarity and transparency:  Roles and responsibilities are well-defined, supported by evaluation processes based on profiles and customized experience levels. 
• Greater autonomy: Employees make decisions independently within their roles, boosting autonomy and responsibility across teams. This led to a Trust index score of 89/100.
• Meeting efficiency: Centralized and structured meeting minutes improve information accessibility and decision-making processes.

Read more about Talkspirit's implementation at Great Place to Work Netherlands in this article.