“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says Jonathan Camilleri, Head of HR at KonnektTalexio.
Earlier this month, KonnektTalexio awarded 14 organisations with the “Employee Approved Workplace” certificate, a certification driven through its Team Voice employee engagement survey to award organisations whose employees rate their workplace experience highly enough to meet rigorous benchmarks.
The 14 companies awarded with KonnektTalexio’s “Employee Approved Workplace” certificate include Food Chain Limited, St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, Vivian, Melita Ltd., Enemed, Hili Ventures, Iniala Group, Atlas Insurance, Jatco Insurance Brokers PCC Ltd, Malta Gaming Authority, Smart Technologies Limited, BELS Malta Language Schools, Alf. Mizzi & Sons Marketing Group and Nissan International Insurance.
According to Jonathan Camilleri, the certification not only addresses a gap in how organisations measure workplace culture but also aims to elevate employee experience by grounding it in measurable insight rather than perception.
“The certification is earned exclusively through our Team Voice survey, but conducting the survey alone does not guarantee certification,” he said. “Each year we set rigorous benchmarks that organisations must meet.
“Employee experience has become a buzzword. However, a great workplace culture is not about perks but from how employees feel about leadership, their trust in management, how they connect with the company’s mission and whether they feel safe and engaged enough to perform at their best.
“The only people qualified to decide whether a company is a great place to work are the employees themselves. Therefore, at its very core, the survey evaluates one deceptively simple question: would employees recommend their employer to others?” adds Mr Camilleri.
He explains how the certification attempts to shift discussions about culture from instinct to evidence.
“When dealing with people, leaders often rely on intuition to gauge engagement. Team Voice helps move the conversation toward a scientific use of data, allowing companies to identify trends, patterns, and gaps rather than relying on anecdotes.”
The survey is applied across different sectors and varying company sizes. Around half of them employ more than 150 people, another 30% are medium-sized with 60–150 employees whilst the smaller proportion employ less than 50.
“Our survey showed that employee engagement in Malta mirrors global trends where smaller companies with fewer than 60 people often achieve world-class engagement levels. But as organisations grow, engagement scores tend to decline.
“This pattern highlights a common challenge: scaling without losing the trust and connection characteristic of smaller teams.”
According to Camilleri, compensation is not the main driver of engagement.
“Our data consistently shows that salary satisfaction is not the primary factor. Leadership effectiveness, psychological safety, trust and transparency have a far greater impact on whether employees become genuine advocates.”
Hybrid work has also influenced expectations. While overall satisfaction stands at around 75%, deeper engagement depends on leadership fostering openness and trust.
Vivian, one of the latest companies to earn Talexio’s 2025 Employee Approved Workplace certification happened at a time when the company is currently conducting its own Employee Value Proposition with early results already confirming that the company’s internal efforts to cultivate a positive and supportive environment for employees is reaping desired results.
“Nonetheless, Talexio’s certification is a very meaningful recognition,” adds Sarah Wismayer, Director at Vivian.
“A great workplace culture is not about perks”
“It reflects our team’s commitment to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to perform at their best not only through our policies but through a culture where people’s voices are heard and acted upon,” added Wismayer.
Differences across sectors and demographics
Technology companies and organisations with modern HR structures generally score higher on engagement than those with traditional setups but in terms of demographics, patterns are more nuanced.
“We usually see one generation that stands out as less engaged but this varies depending on the company’s workforce.”
Tenure shows a clearer trend. Employees in their first year – the ‘honeymoon phase’, often display the highest engagement which dips before rising again among employees with more than a decade at the organisation, reflecting strong alignment over time and sometimes “survivorship bias.”
Gender differences are minor, though women report slightly higher engagement.
Asked on how organisations are acting on the survey insights, Mr Camilleri noted how many companies are sharing the results internally to show they are listening.
“Some hold focus groups to understand why scores are high or low, while others use statistical analysis to pinpoint issues across departments or demographics. Management teams are now also being evaluated on how well they support their people,” he added.
“For example, one company found engagement was highest among employees receiving frequent, high-quality feedback which led to a complete overhaul of its performance management system. Others used insights to build clearer career paths or embed engagement metrics into leadership scorecards.”
According to Camilleri, how companies approach culture will be a game changer.
“Most companies are struggling to find the right talent which means that retention has becomes a major priority. Companies need to move beyond traditional HR and understand how employees actually experience their workplace.
“Unless they start measuring engagement and using data-driven tools, companies risk losing their best people to workplaces that genuinely put employees first.”
