What makes a great place to work?
May 29, 2008
I’ve just read that Google has been announced as the UK’s best place to work, by the Great Place to Work Institute. This is the list that’s published in the Financial Times annually, with Beaverbrooks the Jewellers and Asda being winners in previous years. The list is created by surveying employees against the Trust Index (copyright), although I’m not quite sure how companies are selected initially for the survey to be carried out. The company is also able to submit materials for consideration, so it’s got a little bit of PR about it, however there’s no denying that Google has become well known for being a place many people would love to work; with its innovation-encouraging ethos and relaxed but hardworking culture, being a ‘Googler’ is something to aspire to.
So what really makes a company good to work for? Google was praised by the Institute for the strength of its brand within the organisation: with the shared identity of the Googlers being a key feature of this. The company’s commitment to employee development was also commended, as was its contribution to environmental matters and employee well being by giving all employees a bike last year. Whilst it’s probably the more ‘cool’ features that Google is famous for as an employer, such as the lava lamps, pool tables and ‘bring your pet to work’, the real strength lies in the opportunities to shine that are afforded to employees.
The Great Place to Work Institute defines it as ‘a place where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with’, and is indicated in the inter-relationships between staff and management, and between employees. I think this is a great motto to follow, as it’s simple to understand, and completely true, but wide enough to be non-prescriptive, so organisations can find what works for them in terms of the actual practices that are used to give employees the great work experience they desire. I think the worst thing you can do as a company is look at organisations like Google and try to copy everything they do in the hope of creating a similar effect. Making a company great is about understanding what makes what you do (or sell) brilliant, and transplanting this into the management of the people, so that everyone shares the vision and knows why they’re there, and why it’s great to be there.
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