Life at Genencor

To help employees manage their commitments at work and at home, Genencor offers flexible work schedules. Employees use this popular benefit to take care of family responsibilities, participate in personal enrichment or educational opportunities, or to volunteer in community and charity activities.

Making the world a better place to live

For instance, as part of our corporate community service, Genencor employees participate in programs run by Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, United Way, Special Olympics, and Second Harvest food drive.

We also respond to immediate needs in our communities and support our employees in their efforts to make a difference. For example, two of our Palo Alto employees cycled 600 miles - from San Francisco to Los Angeles - in the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride that raised a record $4 million for HIV/AIDS services and research. Our flextime policies allowed these employees to compete and train, and their colleagues helped them raise $4,000 for entry fees.

Peer recognition with personal rewards

In addition to an activities budget, each of our facilities has money set aside to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. This includes a peer-recognition program that allows any employee to give any other employee a small token of appreciation, such as a gift certificate to a clothing store or movie passes.

Celebrating success

At each of our sites around the world, we recognize and celebrate our success together and reward achievement. For instance:

• In Palo Alto, our employees celebrate their week's accomplishments at Friday afternoon "zyme" parties with beer tasting, musical entertainment, and volleyball. 
• Our Rochester, New York site organizes monthly picnics and outings to baseball games and theater productions. 
• In Cedar Rapids, we play soccer in front of the plant at lunchtime. And the entire staff was treated to a dinner for solving a production problem. 
• Our Finnish employees compete in volleyball, bowling, dart and golf tournaments, go on group nature walks, and book weekend trips and vacations at a summer cottage the company rents on the archipelago. 
• Employees at our plant in Buenos Aires receive boxes of candy monthly for their hard work. 
• Our Leiden, Netherlands staff has enjoyed themed “zyme” parties, a cruise in Amsterdam harbor, and holiday brunches. 
• Our multitalented Dutch employees even filmed their own versions of a James Bond movie and awarded company "Oscars" for best film, actor, and actress.