How Galaxus employees rate their bosses
Workers in Switzerland report being happier with their line managers than any other country in Europe. But how does Galaxus compare? We’ve revealed our staff survey results, including our weak points.
«Switzerland has Europe’s most popular bosses». I wrote that headline early this summer, based on a representative survey Galaxus commissioned in five European countries.
Now, I want to dive a little deeper into the issue. What do people think of managers at Galaxus, my employer? Do my colleagues like their bosses as much as the average worker in Switzerland? Or should we shoot the third Horrible Bosses film here? In a bid to find out, I hit up our People & Culture department.
Like a boss
Galaxus’s team leaders receive very high ratings in our annual staff survey. Leadership quality is measured on a scale from one to 100, based on various questions about the respondent’s line manager. In the most recent survey, the figure rose by two percentage points from the previous year to 88 out of 100. This puts us above the so-called global high performance norm, a benchmark based on comparable companies worldwide. «This score demonstrates that our team leaders are doing a lot right and enjoy a high level of trust within their teams,» says Marilyn Dietrich, People and Organisational Developer at Galaxus.
Our team leaders receive the highest ratings in these four areas:
- I have enough leeway to do my job well.
- My team leader appreciates the good work I do.
- My team leader is open to listening to my concerns and worries.
- My team leader ensures that the team’s priorities are clear.
According to Marilyn, this is no surprise: «It’s down to our corporate culture, our leadership principles and the leadership skills we teach.» Recruitment quality plays a part in this too, but more on that later.
Poor communication and decisions – what else?
We Galaxus employees often boast that our employer is different from many other companies. However, when it comes to the criticisms levelled at our managers, the same stumbling blocks seen at many other employers crop up.
Our team leaders score lowest on communication, decision-making and employees’ professional development. This is consistent with the results of the representative survey we commissioned; across Switzerland, unclear decisions and poor communication are the most frequently cited criticisms of managers.
Wherever we see room for improvement, we take action ranging from targeted employee surveys to workshops to company-wide annual goals. «This year, our focus was on decision-making. Over 100 team leaders gathered for a company conference day to discuss our decision-making mindset and how we can improve decision-making processes,» says Marilyn. However, she acknowledges that measures like this don’t translate into tangible results overnight. Instead, she says, the goal is to create long-term, positive change. It’s no coincidence that many companies are facing similar challenges.
Management experience carries less weight
Let’s move onto manager recruitment. When I asked Marilyn about this, she said something that really stuck with me: «It’s extremely important to us that candidates are a good fit for our company culture. We put more emphasis on their mindset, their understanding of leadership and their potential than on leadership experience alone.» During my research, I also noticed that Galaxus employees virtually never use the word «boss». When I asked why this was the case, people often said that the word sounded too hierarchical and out-of-place at this company. People say «team leader» here.
Because we’ve grown so rapidly, we now also hold casting days to find potential team leaders for our logistics department. At these sessions, our recruiters use assessments to evaluate candidates on both cultural fit and their analytical and leadership skills. They’re told on the very same day whether their application has been successful or not. In my view, it’s easier to learn technical skills than it is to make up for a lack of social skills.
After this deep dive, I don’t see any potential for Horrible Bosses 3 to be filmed here. But there are a couple of things we still need to improve upon.
Not too keen on your boss? Fancy taking on a leadership role yourself? Take a look at our current vacancies. We’re looking for new colleagues in a wide variety of fields at various experience levels.
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