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We retain our employees with Danish classes

Can you imagine having colleagues from 33 different countries? That’s what you have if you work at Siteimprove. Gitte Hemmingsen is Vice President of Global HR and talks about what is needed to retain that many international employees: Courses in Danish in close cooperation with Studieskolen is an important part, she says.

“We experience a need for Danish, even though our corporate language is English. Some of our employees have moved to Denmark for good. Others are simply here for an extended period. And we want to do what we can to retain them for as long as possible,” explains Gitte Hemmingsen, HR Director for Europe.

Siteimprove helps businesses all over the world run their websites and other web applications responsibly and safely. Head office in Copenhagen also runs a sales function that services clients all over the world. This is one of the reasons there is a need for many different cultures and nationalities – not least within the sales team.

“If members of our team learn Danish, they might stay in Denmark a bit longer. Perhaps they put down more roots. And in any case, relevant services that have value for employees also strengthen the company,” adds Gitte Hemmingsen.

Surprisingly large interest

”First of all, we were surprised by the overwhelming interest for Danish classes once we announced the offer within our organisation. We had hoped to gather enough participants for one class, but there was actually a large enough interest for us to put together three classes,” says Gitte.

An advantage in the race for recruitment

“We have also been surprised to see how much the Danish classes have meant for our employer brand. Good candidates are always in great demand. However, our recruitment consultants tell me that they notice a marked interest from candidates when they learn that Siteimprove offers Danish classes,” notes Gitte.

Danish classes for companies

Danish classes for companies start with an online test of your team that enables Studieskolen to establish what team members can join the same class based on their level of Danish. Typically, Danish classes take place once a week after regular work hours in a meeting room at the company’s location.

Read more about Studieskolen’s flexible and tailored solutions for companies here.