The annual list of Turkey's Best Employers™ 2023, compiled by Great Place To Work®, which is recognized globally as an authority on corporate culture and employee experience, has been announced. The list highlights companies that make a difference in the area of employee experience.
Askon Demir was ranked 13th in the category of 250-499 employees, earning the title of Turkey's Best Employer™ in the Great Place To Work® 2023 list.
"Happiness Drives Success, and Success Drives Happiness…"
With nearly a century of deep-rooted culture and history, Askon Demir has become a leader in its industry. With almost 500 employees across five locations in Turkey and one in the U.S., Askon Demir continues its journey of value-added production and product development, prioritizing its responsibilities to society and the environment.
Askon Demir’s Chairman and CEO, Okan Konyalıoğlu, emphasized that the key to success lies in qualified and committed human resources. He explained that the transition from traditional personnel management to strategic human resources management has created a more skilled and happy workforce, leading to sustainable success.
“We focus on strengthening the reasons why potential employees choose us and continuously ask ourselves why people leave,” Konyalıoğlu stated. He acknowledged that the shift from a red ocean to a blue ocean comes at a cost, but that investment in human resources pays off and helps build a lasting culture. Askon Demir, through its investment in human resources, now exports to 27 countries across five continents and has developed its own brands—“Artepera,” “Wall Art Istanbul,” and “Oobje”—for e-export to 67 countries across six continents.
Konyalıoğlu explained that the company treats exports as a national mission and has redefined its stakeholder approach to encompass not just customers and shareholders, but also employees, suppliers, the community, and the environment. The company’s strategic action plans are shaped with this broader perspective.
Askon Demir, named the happiest workplace in the iron and steel sector in 2022 by the Happy Place to Work platform, has now joined the ranks of award-winning companies on the “Great Place to Work” list this year. Konyalıoğlu attributed this success to Askon Demir’s human-focused investments, such as Askon Academy, support for language learning, social responsibility projects, social development clubs, employee benefits, respect for individuals and ideas, encouragement of entrepreneurial spirit, and its innovative hybrid working environment. These efforts have significantly boosted employee satisfaction and fostered a deeper sense of belonging, retention, and productivity.
Konyalıoğlu emphasized that strategic transformation is a long-term cultural journey and should not be measured merely by the number of products sold, but by the total value created. He also highlighted the importance of aligning business sustainability and profitability with the welfare of society. He noted that companies that incorporate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their strategic action plans will continue to thrive, while those that fail to do so may struggle to maintain their international presence beyond 2030. Askon Demir has integrated 12 of the 17 SDGs into its strategic action plans and is a signatory of both the UN Global Compact and the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.
