People

Core values

SoftwareONE’s business success is driven by a highly qualified, motivated and empowered global workforce that embodies its results-focused and customer-oriented culture, as well as its core values Humble, Customer Focus, Employee Satisfaction, Speed, Passion, Integrity, Discipline. 

Our people

Overall, SoftwareONE employed 8,711 FTEs as at 31 December 2021.

The tables below provides an overview of the number of FTEs employed by SoftwareONE, broken down by region and other metrics, in the last five years:

Diversity, equity and inclusion

The company strives to foster an equal and inclusive culture, and a workplace that allow individuals to be the best versions of themselves. In 2021, SoftwareONE held its first Equity & Inclusion survey to establish a baseline and determine where SoftwareONE stands in terms of being an inclusive employer, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and religion. Each region created a plan to take targeted actions and will measure progress.

The company made ‘Choose to Challenge’ the motto on International Women’s Day, focusing not just on gender, but on equality and inclusion in general. SoftwareONE encouraged employees to shine the spotlight on the engaged, brave and smart people in their lives (video).

In terms of gender distribution, SoftwareONE’s employee population comprised 65% males, 34% females and 2% trans or other specific gender denominations as at 31 December 2021. As an equal opportunities employer, SoftwareONE’s workforce consists of people of 82 different nationalities, speaking 32 languages and representing all of the major religious groups.

Employee satisfaction

SoftwareONE knows that happy people perform better. To gauge employee satisfaction, SoftwareONE conducts an annual employee engagement survey designed to measure and improve engagement, satisfaction and performance. The feedback and ideas received from employees through this survey are a fundamental part of SoftwareONE’s culture and are essential to shaping the direction of SoftwareONE. The 2021 employee engagement survey had an 81% response rate, a testament to SoftwareONE’s belief that people want to be heard and provide their feedback. While all the questions in the survey help to understand what is going well and where the company can improve, one specific question was targeted to provide a comprehensive look at employee engagement. 88% of employees provided a favorable response to this question, representing an increase from 2020 (72%) and 2019 (83%), confirming that employees are engaged and happy to be working at SoftwareONE.

Details of the 2021 survey results and a comparison with 2020 and 2019, where available and applicable, can be found in the following graph. The percentage shown is the favorable score, being the percentage of people who answered the question on a five point scale with ‘agree’ or ‘ totally agree’.

Wellbeing initiative

The health and wellbeing of SoftwareONE employees is of the highest importance to the company which, for years, has offered flexible working hours to promote personal well-being and an optimal work-life balance. Depending on the country and local COVID-19 restrictions, employees were able to return to the office for a couple days a week during 2021 in order to bring teams together again. Furthermore, SoftwareONE provided leaders with resources and tools to create a healthy workplace and help identify and assist employees who were experiencing mental health challenges during the pandemic.

President’s Club

SoftwareONE President’s Club is an employee recognition event held in a different location every year to celebrate outstanding employee contributions and give staff the possibility to spend time with members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and the extended leadership team. Due to the pandemic, the event was postponed to 2022.

ONE Experience – community building

The ONE Experience program focuses on finding ways to bring the global SoftwareONE family together through shared experiences and activities. In 2021, the program included a ‘Happy from Home’ campaign, providing employees with advice on how to take regular breaks, create a healthy home office environment and achieve work-life balance.

Focusing on the theme of Intercultural Communication, the company encourages employees to understand and respect each other’s cultures and customs. It shares information on intercultural communication and values and provides resources, guides and videos on a selection of countries. In addition, the ‘Culture Days’ initiative celebrates the incredibly diverse and brilliant cultures that make up SoftwareONE, with one day per quarter dedicated to a specific SoftwareONE country, showcasing the culture, food, history, language and other fun facts. The festivities can include office decorations, local food tastings and activities such as trivia games.

Giving back to society

Striving to be a good corporate citizen reflects SoftwareONE’s core values. The company encourages and supports acts of charity whenever possible and necessary. In 2021, a total of USD18,093 collected through the employee recognition program was donated to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, Doctors Without Borders, Ocean Cleanup, One Tree Planted and Conservation International programs. SoftwareONE donated USD10,000 to the United for Waukesha Community Fund in the wake of the Waukesha Holiday Parade to support the needs of the families impacted.

Furthermore, employees in the Netherlands donated laptops to a library, where they are offered on loan to children, adults and senior citizens. Employees collected money with a step challenge for the Dutch Brain Foundation (Hersenstichting) and a donation was made to a charity that helps disabled people in Sri Lanka. In the UK, various events were organized to collect money for The Marston Cancer Trust. In Spain, employees collected computers and game consoles and donated them to a charity supporting children receiving chemotherapy, as well as supporting a food bank. Australia contributed financially and held a Virtual Fundraiser Morning Tea to raise money for the Carson Street School, a school for children with special needs. In Mexico, employees collected money for children from underprivileged backgrounds.

Some initiatives have been shared in videos:

• SoftwareONE Mexico;
• SoftwareONE Netherlands;
• SoftwareONE Brazil;
• SoftwareONE Australia.

Harmony Day

SoftwareONE encourages employees to invest time in volunteering activities in addition to their day-to-day work by providing paid time off through Harmony Day. SoftwareONE complements each employee’s volunteering activity with a USD75 donation to the charity, cause or non-profit organization where the work is performed. Unfortunately, many volunteering options remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Learning & development

SoftwareONE believes in unlocking the potential of every employee to help them realize their growth and career ambitions. During 2021, SoftwareONE built a leadership framework articulating what an inspiring SoftwareONE leader looks like, including required skills and conduct. Focus was placed on developing coaching as a core transformational skill. The company also partnered with Harvard Business School to demonstrate the impact of skillful conversations.

Providing on-demand learning continues as SoftwareONE focuses more on the topic of sustainable high performance at the individual, team and organizational levels. With a global survey, SoftwareONE identified the asks and needs of its employees. To provide clarity on sales roles requirements and to align learning paths, SoftwareONE developed the NextGen Sales roles in the new career architecture platform. This new platform offers further user insights into career opportunities and organizational insights on talent data.

Talent acquisition

To find the right talent, SoftwareONE continues to raise awareness around the company’s diverse employee base and promotes its culture with branding campaigns, including employee video testimonials. In collaboration with a recruitment software provider, the company rebranded its search page in 2021 to make the job search process as easy as possible for candidates and improve the overall experience. Furthermore, having established strong reporting of talent acquisition data, SoftwareONE is today able to identify trends and learnings to drive better outcomes for attracting the right talent.