A SWISS TELECOM COMPANY WHERE PEOPLE FEEL AT HOME

It’s no secret that a pleasant working environment boosts employee motivation and satisfaction. Still, crafting just the right setting is often easier said than done. Swisscom, a Swiss telecommunications company with a dedicated DevOps division in World Trade Center Rotterdam, approached it by appointing two community managers. Laura Salm and Anouk Verharen are wholly devoted to creating a positive atmosphere within a large team of employees. Because, with an international community spanning many different nationalities, they want to make sure everyone feels ‘at home’.

“I myself am Swiss”, Laura says with a touch of patriotic pride from the company’s WTC Rotterdam office. So far, she’s also the only employee working in the Rotterdam department with roots in the company’s home turf. But there are plenty of other nationalities: fifty in all among the more than three hundred people who work at the Rotterdam office. “The company’s international character and our ideal location make us a magnet for this talent”, Anouk observes, “which is exactly what makes it so important to work hard to build a community. There are people who basically uproot their whole lives to come work for us and move here. That was also the impetus for our positions, to make sure everyone will genuinely feel at home here.”

Authentic Values

The two community managers tackle that by organizing events, setting up internship programmes and offering a listening ear. They also take charge of making the office a nice and comfortable place to work, Anouk explains. “For a lot of our employees, this office is so much more than that. It’s also a place to socialize. Often, it’s the first place where they get to know other people.” According to Anouk, that’s also why Swisscom and its team feel so at home in WTC Rotterdam. “This location, in the centre of all the action in Rotterdam, is amazing. Add to that the building’s great facilities and the stunning view way out across the city – all that’s left is to build a strong community.” As well as introducing some Swiss culture, the two mainly work to foster authentic Swisscom values. That is, “trustworthiness, commitment and curiosity”, Laura sums up. “We build on that by encouraging people to carve out a space for their own culture within the company. For example, we make a point of marking almost every holiday – from Sinterklaas to Divali to the end of Ramadan – and that absolutely makes a difference to how welcomed people feel.”

Sense Of Belonging

Laura and Anouk’s most popular event has to be their Culture Lunches, which spotlight a different culture each month. “Almost everyone gathers to taste the food and learn from each other”, Anouk says with a sense of pride. “It just goes to show how food connects us all.” And, adds Laura, “we are also discovering that this approach, where community building is wholly separate to HR, works really well. We’ve found a recipe to help employees feel at home, and it’s wonderful that Swisscom took that extra step to make it possible and give our team a sense of belonging.”

Swisscom And Sustainability

Headquartered in Ittigen, Swisscom is Switzerland’s leading telecom company and one of its leading IT companies. They offer mobile telecommunications, fixed network, internet and digital TV solutions for businesses and residential customers. As a technology leader and innovation pioneer, Swisscom have focused on sustainability for years now, and these considerations have been part of their corporate decision-making since the company’s inception. Their Rotterdam office was recently awarded a BREEAM Certificate and holds a green lease with WTC Rotterdam. Swisscom is also working hard to become a hundred percent climate neutral and, together with their customers, are saving an additional one million tonnes of CO2 every year.