Employee Experience in Turkey
The Global Employee Experience Report allows you to access workplace culture, employee engagement, employee happiness, and employee wellbeing in Turkey. These four main indexes compose the overall Employee Experience Score that sets the ground rules for the future of work.
Bases of Employee Engagement
Employee engagement and satisfaction have increased their importance in Turkey recently. In this context, various action plans began to appear on the agendas of employers. Necessary changes are made in line with the opinions of the employees through employee satisfaction surveys or suggestion systems. For example, as a result of the feedback received in a survey conducted by a company, "field worker" instead of "blue-collar"; the term "white collar" was replaced by the term "office worker".
In addition, the activities carried out within the scope of corporate wellbeing started increasing. Yoga and dance courses in many companies continued online during remote working. Employers celebrated company successes, New Year's Eve week, or special days by coming together online to keep employee engagement high.
Internal Communication and Employee Feedback Structure
Well-established companies and state institutions in Turkey have a vertical hierarchical structure. Decisions are usually made by top management. Recently, however, this structure has begun to change. The opinions of the employees are taken into consideration at the meetings or outside through suggestion tools. Employee experience tools are used to increase internal communication and create a feedback culture. A culture of appreciation and recognition is becoming increasingly important. Special achievements, anniversaries, special promotions are celebrated and appreciated within the company. Digital HR tools started to be commonly used for talent management and e-learning. 360-degree feedback results and performance management are closely monitored by HR teams for an effective human resource strategy.
Pillars of Workplace Culture
Make an Appointment
Making an appointment in advance is essential, as the Turkish are quite formal in their business agenda. Punctuality is expected, although don’t necessarily expect your Turkish counterparts to be on time. If you are going to be unavoidably late, ring ahead with a reasonable explanation.
Longer Working Hours
Turkish teams tend to work longer hours and expect other teams to commit enough effort.
Gift Appropriately
Gifts are not considered standard practice in Turkish business, although they can be given on social occasions. The usual gifts would include pastries, sweets or small flowers.
Work & Private Life Overlaps
Don’t take it personally if you are asked many questions about your life in the first meeting. It is a way of doing business in Turkey. Work and private life often overlap and it is expected to share some basics in a normal business conversation.
Observe Body Language and Avoid Sensitive Topics
Don’t sit in a position where the sole of your shoe faces another person as this is disrespectful. Try to avoid talking about politics, historical events, or security issues affecting the country.
Learning & Development of Future Talents
Although the young population is high, higher education attainment is still developing in Turkey. 33% of Turkey’s young adults (25-34 year-olds) had attained higher education by 2018, 11 percentage points below the OECD average of 44%.
Bachelor’s degrees are the most common higher education level attained in Turkey: 21% of young adults held a bachelor’s degree in 2018 in Turkey and 9% had a short cycle in learning and development. Very few pursue further talent programs with only 3% attaining a master’s degree and less than 1% attaining a doctorate.
Performance & Productivity GDP per Hour Worked: 109.5
Part-time Employment Rate: 34%
Average Wages: 475 USD
Employee Turnover Rate: 36%
Minimum Wages: 345 USD
Unemployment Rate: Total 25.2% - Male 22.4% - Female 30.3%
Population: 82,482,383 (2021)