Danish corporate websites strong in Governance, weak in Career

By leahschothorst

Comprend’s annual Webranking survey shows that Danish websites are strong in governance and press, but score below the European average …

Comprend’s annual Webranking survey shows that Danish websites are strong in governance and press, but score below the European average in career and investor relations. Overall, Danish sites finished 6^th out of the 13 European countries included in the survey.

Strong performance in Governance & Press

Danish sites were particularly strong in the press and corporate governance sections, scoring in line with, or above the European average.

Transparency in remuneration

In the area of corporate governance, remuneration was a strong section for Danish sites. 60% of all Danish sites presented a remuneration policy, whereby only 35% of Europe 500 companies presented this information. Remuneration policies are an important corporate governance issue. Presenting a remuneration policy can highlight a company’s values and avoid any risks to the company’s reputation.

AGM – give stakeholders the full picture

By and large, Danish corporate sites scored in line with the European average regarding AGM information. However, the country received scores above the Europe 500 average in providing a complete list of minutes, including voting totals (25% verses the Europe 500 average of 14%); and also in providing an archive of minutes dating back at least two years (40% verses the Europe 500 average of 20%). AGM minutes are an important factor in establishing transparency and credibility. Corporations should provide this information to ensure that investors, journalists and other stakeholders can access the necessary information.

Areas for improvement: Career & IR

The down side of Danish corporate websites included low scores across the IR section, as well as scoring below their European counterparts in the career section.

Information, vital for investors and for your business growth

Danish sites received consistently low scores across the IR section, especially in the debt section (20% of Danish sites have data on its total debt), sensitivity analysis (5%), growth drivers (5%) and investments & divestments (15%). Providing accurate and timely information enables the capital market to better understand your company’s operations, while also creating an environment of effective oversight and strong accountability.

New graduates and potential top talent

The Webranking results showed that Danish websites struggle in providing relevant career information, particularly for the recent graduate demographic. Only 40% of Danish sites provide information about trainee or graduate programmes, verses 52% of Europe 500 companies. This is problematic as recruiting top talent is important to the future of any business. By not presenting this stakeholder group with key information, companies are missing out on attracting the business leaders of tomorrow.

Danske Bank: best performer

Danske Bank keeps its position as number one in Denmark with www.danskebank.com – a position the company has had since 2004. Not only did the company win the Danish Webranking results, it also improved its score by 9.4 points – resulting in a total score of 73.3. H Lundbeck came in 2^nd place with a score of 61.4. Nordea finished in 3^rd place with 57.7 points.

Full results of the Danish Webranking are available here.

For more information about Webranking by Comprend please contact: Helena Wennergren, Head of Marketing
+46 709 71 12 10, helena.wennergren@comprend.com