Workplace

O2’s aim this year was to become an employer of choice

We want to provide an environment where employees feel involved, well rewarded, inspired, appreciated and fulfilled.

Our aim is to supply the conditions, business strategy, rewards and work-life balance that make people want to work here, and be proud to do so.

We focus on making O2 a great place...

...to join  
From application through the first few months after joining, the great O2 experience builds so all our employees understand how important their job is from day one.

...to be
Our culture is unique – we value diversity and the richness it brings us, work-life balance is important to us, we think having fun at work is important.

...to work
Understanding how our individual role fits into the overall business; its importance, its challenges and what is expected of them, gives people the freedom to do the right thing for our customers.

...to grow
We offer opportunities for our people to learn and grow in ways that meet the current and future needs of the business and their own career aspirations.

...to be managed well
Our managers care about our employees by spending time with them, coaching them; our brand values of being bold, open, trusted and clear show through in everything they do.

...to be led
Our leaders provide a strong and visible day-to-day presence, living our values and leading the business in its success; they clearly demonstrate their commitment to providing a great employee experience at O2.

...to be rewarded
Recognition for a great job is important to us, from saying thank-you through to competitive reward packages that and are of value to each individual.

During 2005/06 we successfully reached our key targets to:

• Increase employee engagement.
• Raise awareness of health and wellbeing.
• Boost opportunities for disabled people to work for O2.
• Become an employer of choice.

A key theme in 2005/06 was ‘individual choice’. We want to help employees achieve a good work-life balance.

Our efforts in the workplace were rated highly during the year:

O2 UK

• Named among the top 30 great places to work in the UK in a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work® Institute, published by the Financial Times - one of only three companies with over 10,000 employees to have made the top 50.

O2 Germany

• Ranked 9th in Germany’s Best Employers 2006 awards.

O2 Ireland

• O2 Ireland was named overall best company to work for in Ireland in 2006 and best company to work for with more than 1,000 employees.
  

O2 Group

• O2 Germany and O2 Ireland were voted into the Top 10 of Europe’s best workplaces in the Great Place to Work® Institute survey, and named third-best company to work for in Europe for companies with more than 1,000 employees.
• O2’s Pension Plan was voted Pension Scheme of the Year 2005 by an independent panel of experts, who described it as ‘setting standards for the occupational pensions industry’.
• Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Erskine, was named Business Leader of the Year 2005 at the UK National Business Awards.