Creating a great place to work.
So what
if your company isnít on FORTUNE magazineís ì100
Best Companies To Work For In Americaî 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?
ìAny company or business can be a great
place to work,î according to The Great Place To
WorkÆ Institute, Inc.óa San Francisco-based research
and management consulting organization.
The
GPTWIís approach is based on the major findings of
20 years of researchóthat 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 workóa place
where employees "trust the people they work for,
have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people
they work with"óis 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 Trust ... and 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.
Credibility
means managers regularly communicate with employees
about the company's direction and plansóand 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.
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.
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.
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 ìblurring
of the lines.î
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
workóand in the people they work withóin 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 WorkÆ Institute,
Inc.óa San Francisco-based research and management
consultancy.
Executive Search International