I Love This Place!
There are two questions Im often asked: What makes a great company? And, What makes a company a great place to work?
After 23 years, my answers still the same. Great people. Im talking about the ones at the bottom, in the middle, and those at the top. In all departments. Everyone.
But its up to the leaderthe entrepreneur, owner of the business, president or CEOto make his or her company a great place to work. Creating an organization that gets rave reviews from their employees. Where everyone has a great time at work.
And heres what else you get: A place that attracts and retains the best talent. With higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, increased productivity and profitability. Just great stuff.
Creating a great place to work.
So what if your company isnt on FORTUNE magazines 100 Best Companies To Work For In America list? The annual ranking of companies that rate high with employees, like: American Express (37), CDW (34), Genentech (1), Intuit (43). And the 96 others.
Not to worry. If you work hard enough, you just might make the list. Maybe next year?
Any company or business can be a great place to work, according to The Great Place To Work Institute, Inc.a San Francisco-based research and management consulting organization.
The GPTWIs approach is based on the major findings of 20 years of researchthat trust between managers and employees is the primary defining characteristic of the very best workplaces.
At the heart of their definition of a great place to worka place where employees \"trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with\"is the idea that a great workplace is measured by the quality of the three, interconnected relationships that exist there:
● The relationship between employees and management.
● The relationship between employees and their jobs/company.
● The relationship between employees and other employees.
It all starts with Trustand goes from there.
Trust is the essential ingredient for the primary workplace relationship between the employee and the employer. According to the GPTWI model, trust is composed of three dimensions: Credibility, Respect, and Fairness.
Credibility.\r Credibility means managers regularly communicate with employees about the company\'s direction and plansand solicit their ideas. It involves coordinating people and resources efficiently and effectively, so that employees know how their work relates to the company\'s goals. It\'s the integrity management brings to the business. To be credible, words must be followed by action.
Respect.\r Respect involves providing employees with the equipment, resources, and training they need to do their job. It means appreciating good work and extra effort. It includes reaching out to employees and making them partners in the company\'s activities, fostering a spirit of collaboration across departments and creating a work environment that\'s safe and healthy. Respect means that work/life balance is a practice, not a slogan.
Fairness.\r At an organization that\'s fair, economic success is shared equitably through compensation and benefit programs. Everybody receives equitable opportunity for recognition. Decisions on hiring and promotions are made impartially, and the workplace seeks to free itself of discrimination, with clear processes for appealing and adjudicating disputes. To be fair, you must be just.
Pride and Camaraderie.\r The final two dimensions of the Institute\'s model relate to workplace relationships between employees and their jobs/company (Pride), and between the employee and other employees (Camaraderie).
The wonderful blurring of the lines.
As companies become great, the division between management and labor fades. The workplace becomes a community. Employees take pride in their job, their team, and their company. They feel that they can be themselves at work. They celebrate the successes of their peers and cooperate with others throughout the organization.
People take pleasure in their workand in the people they work within a deep and lasting way. They want to stay around for their careers.
In a great workplace, how people are treated adds significantly to the competitive advantages that come to the organization. GPTWI research covering the nation\'s best employers for FORTUNE magazine\'s \"100 Best Companies to Work for in America\" annual article confirms that these great workplaces benefit from the following:
● Receive more qualified job applications for open positions.
● Experience a lower level of turnover.
● Experience reductions in health care costs.
● Enjoy higher levels of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
● Foster greater innovation, creativity and risk taking.
● Benefit from higher productivity and profitability.
This article is based on information attributed to The Great Place To Work Institute, Inc.a San Francisco-based research and management consultancy.
Les Gore is founder and managing partner of Executive Search International, a Boston-based, nationally recognized search firm and a 23-year vetern of the \"recruiting wars.\"
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