The year of the pandemic has put society and the economy on the ropes. It has meant accelerated learning in many personal and professional aspects, pushing changes that otherwise would have come somewhat more gradually, as is the case of teleworking or the need to establish better measures to promote personal and professional reconciliation.

In this path, the role of the management teams of each company has been vital, to help their workers and collaborators to manage this uncertainty. It was clear before, but 2020 has put an indisputable truth on the table: companies are their people, and the Human Resources teams of each company have been vital in accompanying them on this path.

“I can't remember a more complicated year for the human resources department of any company. The future because it is uncertain is not worse. We are skittish and tend to think that the unknown is dangerous. We do not know whether to have such large offices or only representative ones. We do not know what hybrid labor relations mean, but remember that we also doubted hybrid engines, "said Andrés Rodríguez, president and editor of Forbes Spain during the Forbes Best Company to Work For 2021 award ceremony this Tuesday in Madrid.

"We don't know what hybrid labor relations mean, but remember that we also doubted hybrid engines", he added, highlighting the importance of the human being's ability to adapt, but also his key role in the future of a company.

“This is an award to tell those of you who have in your head that without human beings there are no companies and without companies there is no progress, that we are with you. And that we will be the smallest or largest offices », she has concluded.

Read Andrés Rodríguez's full speech at the event:

Dear Vice President, good afternoon everyone.

How to Format a Memory Card with a Nikon D700: Formatting your memory cards for your Nikon D700 DSLR camera is a... http://bit.ly/ffwsiB

— Gemma Roberts Sat Apr 09 02:34:01 +0000 2011

These are exciting times. And work, having a good job, choosing each one his own, is, without a doubt, one of the sources of satisfaction in this life. Of a working life that lengthens, with our life expectancy, and that is no longer for a single employer.

There may be many prizes. May we be lenient in acknowledging what we do well and a bit picky in admitting what we do wrong. It is the human condition. But I already tell you that Forbes rewards little, because serving me that paso doble that spoke of the Spanish kiss "is that when Forbes rewards, it really rewards." What a year this. My deepest condolences if any of your family members or workers have died this year from covid.

I can't remember a more complicated year for the human resources department of any company.

On the table the future. I tell you one thing. The future because it is uncertain is not worse. We are skittish and tend to think that the unknown is dangerous. We do not know whether to have such large offices or only representative ones. We don't know what hybrid labor relations mean, but remember that we were also skeptical of hybrid engines. We don't know what to do with the clocks to sign. We don't even know if it's okay to ask for a Glovo, we know that its business model is disruptive but we don't know whether to side with the rider or the algorithm. What we do know is that it is very useful when teleworking.

Oh mother, the word of the year! I hope that the Fundeu chooses her this year. We have suffered a lot this year, but we have also laughed, with children who slipped behind the zoom cameras, with naughty pets, with people who wore ties but wore their pajamas underneath and forgot when they got up to close the door, with companies who sold fake bookshelves for those who wanted to appear as intellectuals. We have gone from colleagues warming up the seat to having to convince people to come back to the office. To put stickers on the stairs with routes, to personalize masks with our logos - do you remember when the color of the tie was the hallmark of a large company?

This is an award based on the information that your workers have given us, through the field work of Sigma 2. As you know, Forbes does not put any entry barrier for companies to participate, they are measured. Every year, and this is only its second edition, more and more companies want to participate because transparency is synonymous with management.

This is an award to tell those of you who have in your head that without human beings there are no companies and without companies there is no progress, that we are with you. And that we will be in the smallest or largest offices. Turn the clocks to sign or not, let's travel more or less. Because this magazine is published by a company, Spainmedia, and without its people there would be no brand, no content, no magazine, not even this publisher would be here. Welcome everybody.