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Whirlpool

In A Whirl Of Their Own


Name: Whirlpool
Area of Business: Electric appliances
Website: www.whirlpool.ie
Time is a precious commodity these days and one that most of us do not have enough of. With this in mind, Whirlpool SSC Ltd launched its Quality of Life initiatives this year, aimed at freeing up some of its employees’ personal time. The firm now provides a range of onsite services such as dry cleaning, car valeting and more.

“It’s about making our employees’ lives a little bit easier. By providing time-saving services employees are encouraged to take full advantage of their personal time,” explains Aideen Keane, director of finance strategy, Whirlpool.

According to Debbie Low, HR manager, Whirlpool has a work hard, play hard ethos. This is borne from a working environment where employees are open to the idea of fostering strong camaraderie, teamwork and having fun, she says.

“We are lucky to have a very active and committed sports and social club committee who organise a wide range of social events at monthly intervals,” says Low.

The Whirlpool Charity Olympics is the pinnacle of the SSC calendar. All employees go off site for the afternoon and join in their favourite childhood activities such as three-legged and egg and spoon races.

Whirlpool also supports several charities, including Crumlin Children’s Hospital, St Vincent de Paul and its main charity, Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit housing organisation. Employees get involved with building homes, and Whirlpool pays a contribution and provides three kitchen appliances towards every home built.

“The most engaged employees identify, agree with, and take ownership of the goals of the organisation. It makes sense therefore that they want to be associated with an organisation like ours that has a high moral conscience,” says Marina Colleran, HR generalist.

“A job at Whirlpool is more than just a job; it is a career, a way of life, a statement that you are part of something good,” she adds.

Last year, Whirlpool launched an Employee Engagement Forum (EEF), which is employee-led and comprises voluntary participants from each group and each grade. They review the results of the employee engagement survey and work towards helping the management team understand employees’ attitudes in these areas. A number of EEF suggestions were implemented last year, including an improved company pension scheme, additional holidays for longer-serving employees and the quality of life initiatives.

This employee engagement has further built great trust between management and staff.
“A strong and trusting relationship between employee and employer forms the foundations of a successful organisation. Everything works better in a trusting environment: innovation, collaboration between co-workers, management, even business results. Management accept that trust is based on past experience and that trust is something that needs to be earned and maintained, and therefore lead by example,” says Séamus McCormack, head of European Shared Services.