1,350 companies and almost 300,000 employees participated in the competition for quality and workplace attractiveness. This year's Great Place To Work® benchmark studies in 17 European countries formed the basis for the competition at the European level; those companies already placed in the national level competitions qualified to take part.
In 2009 SMA is not only once again amongst Europe's best employers, however, but has also been distinguished with the Great Place to Work® Fairness Award for fair salaries. Although not subject to binding labor agreements, SMA orients itself to the current labor agreements of the metal and electrical industry and continuously adjusts its salaries to the salaries of this market. In addition, there are variable, performance-oriented salary bonuses and special payments. And also the temporary employees who are required as a result of fluctuations in demand on the photovoltaic market are paid the same hourly rate as personnel directly employed by SMA.
In order to guarantee fair salaries, we introduced salary coaching for SMA executives and a point of contact for all employees in the event of problems with salaries; at the same time, the publication of salary tables on the Intranet improves transparency.
Furthermore, all employees are paid a bonus based on the company's success each year which not only provides additional financial incentive but also rewards the responsibility of each employee for his or her work.
"That we have again been voted as one of Europe's best employers makes clear that the values of our cooperative corporate culture - such as fairness, respect, reliability, trust and team work - are really put into practice at SMA", explains Jürgen Dolle, Head of SMA Human Resource Management. "We are especially happy that we were additionally awarded with the special prize for fair salaries, since a fair and transparent payment system is a major part of our corporate culture. After all, we would like to involve our employees not only with their minds and their hearts but also with their wallets".
SMA was also distinguished as being one of the best employers in Europe in the 2008 competition.
About the Great Place to Work® Institute
The Great Place to Work® Institute is an independent and international research and consulting institute which currently supports companies in 36 countries in the development of trusting and successful workplaces. Alongside its individual research and consulting activities, the institute regularly identifies outstanding employers within the framework of annual benchmark surveys and presents these to the public. The Great Place to Work® Institute Europe is responsible for creating the annual lists of the best employers at the European level.
About SMA Solar Technology AG
SMA generated sales of more than EUR 680 million in 2008 and is thus worldwide market leader for photovoltaic inverters, a key component of all photovoltaic solar power plants. The SMA Group is based in Niestetal, near Kassel, and is represented by foreign subsidiaries in ten different countries on four continents. The Group employs a staff of over 3,000 (incl. temporary staff). SMA produces a broad range of inverters, offering the right inverter for every type of photovoltaic module in use and for all sizes of photovoltaic plants. The product range covers both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected to the grid and inverters for off-grid systems. The company has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Prime Standard (S92) since June 27, 2008; since September 22, 2008 the company's shares have been listed on the TecDAX. In the past, SMA received a number of awards for its excellence as an employer.
Niestetal
Press Contact:
SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenalle 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Volker Wasgindt
Head of Media and Association Relations
Phone +49 561 9522-11 21
Fax +49 561 9522-11 03
Volker.Wasgindt@SMA.de
Disclaimer:
This press release serves only as information and is not an invitation to purchase, hold or sell shares.
This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the executive board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.sma.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
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