The European connection

As a continent, we pride ourselves upon sharing many great values. Steeped in history, Europe, the birthplace of Western culture, is a hub of multinational businesses. However, keeping a unified company culture when faced with different customs and laws can be a challenge and needs careful consideration when forming unified company policies. Multinational companies operate branches or business units in different countries and while working within a European setting may in essence be smaller than that of a global setting, it doesn’t necessarily make it any easier.

Amy Wilson, VP, HCM Product Strategy, Workday, discusses some of the differences: “Across Europe, particularly in Germany and France, there is more federal regulation dictating HR practices than one would find in the UK. In a sense, this makes things more straightforward and consistent, but on the other hand the rules can be highly complex and subject to interpretation. These regulations provide protection for employees and, as a result, employees may feel a higher sense of job security. Likewise, required staff representation may provide employees with a stronger sense of control over their work conditions. Overall, employees in countries such as Germany and France may focus more on following and enforcing regulations rather than changing HR business practices as a result.”