GEO AWARD WINNERS

Siemens Energy’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and gender equality in its workforce led to the development of a comprehensive program aimed at ensuring fair and equal pay for all employees, regardless of background or gender.

The program focuses on three key elements: large-scale employee surveys, global regression-based gender pay gap analyses, and randomized behavioural manager experiments. These elements work in tandem to identify, assess, and implement evidence-based measures to improve compensation and equity schemes.

One of the standout features of the program is its scientific rigor. Siemens Energy collaborated with the University of Goettingen to ensure that methodologies used met high scientific standards. The company's dedication to transparency and employee involvement is evident throughout the program, with extensive surveys and analyses involving a significant portion of its workforce.

Perhaps most notably, the program's evidence-based decision-making approach has resulted in tangible improvements in gender pay equality. The implementation of gender pay gap information in the merit process has led to increased pay for women, thereby reducing the gender pay gap.

The judges were impressed by the holistic and scientific approach taken by Siemens Energy in addressing the gender pay gap. They commended the program's use of large-scale employee surveys, global analyses, and randomized experiments, which resulted in transparent and logical decision-making. The judges also lauded Siemens Energy for its real-time data analysis and its impactful efforts to reduce the gender pay gap.

With 14,000 employees across 44 countries, Autodesk's ESPP enables its workforce to purchase company shares at a discount through payroll deductions during bi-annual open enrollment periods.

Behind the scenes, a dedicated team of five manages the complex processes involved in the ESPP, utilizing E*TRADE from Morgan to facilitate transactions. Facing the challenge of streamlining their workflow and introducing automation, Autodesk embraced Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to revolutionize their ESPP.

Central to this transformation were two RPA-powered bots, "Robbie" and "Roberta," programmed to automate various tasks such as scraping enrollment files, generating reports, sending reminders, and flagging terminations. The implementation of RPA not only saved countless hours of manual work but also provided real-time insights and enhanced communication channels for ESPP participants.

The impact of this solution on both participants and corporate operations has been remarkable. From a cost-saving perspective, tasks that previously took hours now require mere minutes, allowing the ESPP team to focus on strategic initiatives and participant education. Participants benefit from reduced errors, improved communication, and increased engagement through educational resources and streamlined support systems.

The judges commended Autodesk's innovative use of technology to enhance share plan administration, noting the impressive efficiency gains and tangible benefits for both the ESPP team and employees. The judging panel also praised Autodesk's commitment to innovation and improving the equity experience for its workforce.

Facing the daunting task of streamlining their annual exercise window for vested options, OutSystems embarked on a journey of innovation, collaborating with their IT team to develop an integrated, app-based solution. This solution, powered by OutSystems' proprietary low-code technology, aimed to automate the creation of exercise packets, eliminating manual paperwork and reducing the risk of errors.

The impact of this solution reverberated across the organization, delivering unprecedented efficiency gains for the lean equity team and providing a frictionless experience for employees worldwide. With hours saved during the exercise window, the equity administration team can now focus on critical initiatives such as employee education and plan engagement, while employees enjoy a smoother, more streamlined process.

OutSystems' custom-tailored equity experience not only addresses current pain points but also positions the company for future success, including the potential of a future IPO.

The judges were impressed by the company's ingenuity and dedication to improving the equity experience for all stakeholders, recognizing the significant advancements made in reducing manual tasks and enhancing overall efficiency.

Allianz’s inclusive global reward proposition successfully replaced local share plans across the whole of the Allianz group enabling the majority of Allianz employees globally to own Allianz shares.

The ESPP is designed to be user-friendly, digital, scalable, and fair, rewarding each and every employee for Allianz meeting its group targets. Key features of the plan include using one single share plan provider and one digital platform, harmonizing the subscription period, setting the holding period at three years, and automatically reinvesting dividends into the scheme globally.

The ESPP also includes unique features that make it stand out in the industry, such as the option to offer one tax-exempt Allianz free share to employees globally and the payout of a cash equivalent to remaining employees who work in countries where the ESPP cannot be implemented.

The judges were impressed by the ESPP's inclusivity and fairness, which align with Allianz's corporate purpose of "We secure your future." The plan engages all employees to contribute to Allianz's strategic objective of becoming a loyalty leader with customers in all its markets, fostering a sense of solidarity and belonging among employees globally.

The judges commended the ESPP's creative solutions in reducing workloads, scaling processes, and fostering engagement with participants, making it a deserving winner of this award.