This is the first time Volvo has been chosen the best company to work for in Brazil, in what is considered to be the most in-depth work environment study in the country, held yearly for the past 12 years by Editora Abril, one of Latin America’s largest and most influential editorial groups.
“People are our best asset. This prize is the recognition for the extensive staff investment program maintained by Volvo”, declares Tommy Svensson, president of Volvo do Brasil.
The guide evaluated employee satisfaction in three classes of organizations: more than 1,500 employees, from 501 to 1,500 thousand people and up to 500 employees. Volvo has 2,600 staff. Together, the companies participating in the Best Company to Work survey employ a total of 511,600 people.
“This is one more milestone in the history of Volvo do Brasil, a company that has always bet on the quality of human capital”, completes Carlos Morassutti, human resources and corporate affairs manager at Volvo do Brasil. “Passion, energy and respect for people. This is the Volvo’s secret to be the best to work for”, affirms Sônia Gurgel, human resources manager at Volvo do Brasil. Volvo also obtained excellent scores in the area of health.
Staff benefits
The survey also highlights the differentiated attention given by the company to its staff members in their different stages of “life” in the company: from entry and the selection process to hiring, dealing with compensation, training, benefits and work environment, all the way to their exit or retirement.
The survey also indicated that Volvo is the best company to work for in the Brazilian automotive sector. Brazil has 24 automotive vehicle manufacturers – trucks, buses, automobiles, motorcycles, construction equipment and agricultural application machinery.
Strict survey
The selection process for the best company to work for in Brazil used by the Você S/A-Exame guide is extremely strict. After enrolling, comanies go through different stages. Employees and executives must answer a questionnaire, in addition to informing the company work and management policies. In order to ensure exemption and seriousness, participants are chosen by a computer program, and not by the company. After the questionnaires have been answered – in a process via internet and in total secrecy – the survey move on to the next stage, pre-classification.
Every company, without exception, is visited by journalists from the magazine to check, via a type of audit, all the information and data informed in the questionnaires and the presentations made in the preceding stage. Journalists also talk to two groups – management and operations –, also chosen at random, in addition to formally meeting with organization HR representatives and the area’s main executive.
This year, each visit by the 15 journalists who participated in the investigation team took close to four hours, corresponding to a total of 880 audit work hours. They covered 106 Brazilian municipalities distributed across all regions of the country.
Curitiba, September 9, 2008.
More information,
Newton Chagas - Volvo do Brasil
Press Relations – Corporate Communication
Tel.: 55 41 3317 8296 – Fax: 55 41 3317 8403
E-mail: newton.chagas@consultant.volvo.com