At HEMA, employees are the beating heart of the organisation. Every day, they bring energy to the shop floor, connect with customers, and create the warm, approachable atmosphere for which the retailer is known. Driven by this belief, HEMA chose not only to focus on business results, but also to understand how employees experience their work and the organisation's culture on a daily basis.
This search for insight first led HEMA to Great Place To Work in 2005. The organisation was looking for an objective way to assess its workplace culture. Not to confirm that everything was running smoothly, but to identify opportunities for further growth. Great Place To Work's focus on trust, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie closely aligned with the values HEMA considers important as an employer. That first participation immediately earned the organisation a place on Belgium's Best Workplaces list.
2024: Reconnecting with the Employee Voice
After its initial experience, HEMA decided to participate in Great Place To Work again in 2024. With a Trust Index score of 74%, the organisation once more secured a place on Belgium's Best Workplaces list.
The year was primarily about listening and learning. As a retailer with a highly diverse workforce, including store employees, managers, students, part-time colleagues, head office staff and long-serving employees, HEMA wanted to gain a deeper understanding of how different groups experience the organisation.
"Great Place To Work helps us move beyond assumptions and focus on genuine employee feedback. The greatest value is not found in the scores themselves, but in the stories behind those scores. Those stories help shape how we continue building a HEMA where people enjoy working, growing and collaborating."
- Lauriane Verschoren, Human Resources Manager, HEMA BELUX
The results confirmed a clear strength: the strong sense of connection between colleagues. In their open feedback, employees frequently highlighted feeling at home within their teams, experiencing strong collegiality, and knowing they could rely on colleagues when support was needed. Team spirit and a family-like atmosphere repeatedly emerged as defining characteristics of HEMA's culture.
At the same time, the survey uncovered valuable insights. While new employees generally rated their onboarding experience positively, more experienced colleagues sometimes expected additional development opportunities later in their careers. This prompted HEMA to reflect on how it could continue supporting employees' growth well beyond their first years with the organisation.
The results were received with pride internally, but they also became the starting point for several targeted improvement initiatives.
2025: Turning Insights into Action
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In 2025, HEMA once again achieved a Trust Index score of 74%. While 2024 had focused on listening and understanding, the emphasis now shifted towards translating feedback into tangible action.
The results highlighted development, training, onboarding and leadership as important themes for employees. In response, HEMA invested significantly in learning and development. A new Learning & Development Specialist role was created, dedicated training stores were established, and new learning plans were developed to better support employees in their professional growth.
The onboarding experience also received additional attention. A new welcome guide was introduced, alongside a new onboarding platform designed to support new colleagues from their very first day.
Leadership development became another key focus. A leadership programme was rolled out for all store managers, while training sessions were organised on topics including dealing with aggression in the workplace.
HEMA also continued investing in sustainable career development. Fourteen colleagues were given the opportunity to pursue a Graduate Programme in Retail Management at VIVES, while no fewer than 62 employees received internal promotions in 2025. This reflects HEMA's ambition not only to attract talent, but also to create opportunities for employees to grow within the organisation.
Inclusion remained an important priority as well. At the time, HEMA employed colleagues representing 33 different nationalities. Through dual learning programmes, the organisation also continued investing in young talent and strengthening its role as a learning organisation.
Over the course of the year, Great Place To Work became increasingly embedded in the organisation. What began as a survey evolved into a structural HR management tool. Topics such as employee development, engagement and leadership were explicitly incorporated into the HR strategy and corresponding KPIs.
2026: Embedding Feedback into the Organisation
In 2026, HEMA once again earned a place on Belgium's Best Workplaces list. The organisation achieved a Trust Index score of 73%.
At this stage of the journey, the focus shifted towards embedding employee feedback into processes, policies and decision-making.
HEMA introduced a new group insurance plan with enhanced coverage and launched an internal vacancies platform to provide employees with greater transparency around career opportunities. Exit interviews were also introduced to gain deeper insights into the experiences of departing employees.
In addition, a new performance management system was implemented, and business results were shared more regularly with employees. A dedicated HR newsletter further strengthened transparency around initiatives and organisational developments.
Sustainable employability also became a stronger focus. HEMA continued to develop its 45+ workforce plan and offered language training for colleagues who were still developing their Dutch language skills. The introduction of Safety Week further reinforced the organisation's commitment to creating a safe working environment for all employees.
At the same time, successful initiatives introduced in previous years continued to expand. Onboarding days at head office and the HEMA Academy became established elements of the employee experience.
A Culture of Listening
Looking back on its Great Place To Work journey today, HEMA sees a clear evolution. The strongest constant throughout every survey remains the sense of collegiality and connection between employees. Year after year, colleagues indicate that they feel at home within their teams and that collaboration is one of the organisation's greatest strengths.
Development, learning, recognition and leadership also continue to be recurring themes. The key difference today lies in how feedback is used. While the initial focus was on understanding the results, the emphasis has since shifted towards consistently translating insights into meaningful action.
Onboarding programmes, learning plans, leadership development initiatives, the HEMA Academy, ongoing follow-up of Great Place To Work results, and the integration of culture objectives into HR and store KPIs are all tangible examples of this approach.
The greatest impact of the journey is therefore not one specific project or initiative. It is the way listening to employees has become an integral part of how the organisation operates.
With that approach, HEMA's ambition remains unchanged: to create a workplace where people feel valued, have opportunities to grow, and are proud to be part of HEMA. Great Place To Work helps the organisation move beyond assumptions and focus on genuine employee feedback. It provides direction for strategic decisions and supports the continued development of a HEMA where people enjoy working, growing and collaborating.
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