‘Thank you’ is just two words, but they mean a lot
If you tried to sum up the management culture of Grant Thornton Baltic in three words, you might say that it was one of openness, inclusion and recognition. Cooperation partner and consultant Jérôme Adam, who has seen the company evolve over the last 25 years, says that despite the company’s growth, its family atmosphere remains. “People respect and value each other and treat everyone equally, regardless of position or length of service,” he says. “Everyone counts and contributes, so the success of Grant Thornton Baltic is the success of the whole team, not just a dozen partners.”
People who make that success possible are noticed and thanked for it. For example, the best employees have been selected every year since 2013. While the company may be one that works with numbers, the criteria for determining the best are not profit and turnover figures, but something that cannot be weighed with scales or measured with a ruler. The award categories have changed slightly over the years, but in general, each department selects its best employee, and the best cooperation project and best innovation have been selected from the company as a whole. Also, everyone can nominate colleagues in a variety of categories, such as dancer of the year, athlete of the year, star of the year and developer of the year – the only limit is people’s imagination as to what awards the next year could bring.
Every year, the most outstanding colleagues are selected. In 2017, a total of 12 colleagues were honoured. Pictured (from left): Henri Parisalu, Krista Mölder, Terje Liiv, Eneli Perolainen, Marge Litvinova and Allan Kubu.
The recipients are rewarded at the Christmas party every January. Kai Paalberg remembers her first Christmas party, which just happened to be her first day on the job. “I started the day Grant Thornton Baltic had its Christmas party, at which the employees of the year were recognised,” she recalls. “Although I didn’t know anyone at the event, I found myself in good company at the table I was sitting at. It was touching to hear the best employees being introduced by their co-workers and giving their acceptance speeches. It was odd that, in the company of people I didn’t know at the time, all of it brought a tear to my eye.”
Helping people in need is a matter of course
Christmas is usually the time of year that people in need are noticed more and given more attention and donations than usual. The team at Grant Thornton Baltic want to contribute to establishing a mindset that you can do good things during the rest of the year as well.
A few projects or initiatives are selected every year to help those in need. For example, the victims of the war in Ukraine were supported in 2022, while in 2021 blood was donated and food was collected for the food bank. Struggling families have also been assisted via the charity organisation Aarete Laegas. For this purpose, the people from the Tallinn and Tartu offices collected a lot of clothes, footwear, toys and household items.
In addition to the annually selected charity projects, Grant Thornton Baltic has for many years supported the Children’s Foundation of the University of Tartu Hospital, the Estonian Society of Friends of the Zoo and the Hille Tänavsuu Cancer Treatment Foundation ‘The Gift of Life’. Another long-standing tradition in our firm was that each employee could donate the bonus they received from the company as a birthday present to one of three charities. Good deeds warm the hearts of the people doing them and those benefitting from them!
Clothes, toys and other necessities for families in need were collected in 2019 and delivered with the help of the charity organisation Aarete Laegas.
