4 Traits of a Great Workplace

One of the main business challenges today is how do you create an environment where people are intrinsically motivated to succeed.

As described by Robert Levering, co-founder of Great Place to Work, "A great place to work is one in which you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with.” To achieve this, one must understand the role played by the workplace on the performance of employees, and thus in the company. The workplace influences both employees' and the company’s results. 

Hay Group identified that after implementing pro-employee measures, Fortune magazine's “America’s Most Admired Companies” increased stock appreciation by 50 percent over their peers. Moreover, This same study determined that highly engaged employees are 50% more likely to exceed expectations than the least-engaged workers. And as noted by university professors Rob Goffee & Gareth Jones "companies with highly engaged people outperform firms with the most disengaged folks—by 54% in employee retention, by 89% in customer satisfaction, and by fourfold in revenue growth."

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The following steps will help you create the best workplace in the world. One where employees trust you are proud of what they do, and enjoy the people they work with. And consequently, allows your organization to achieve its objectives, to have employees who give their best every day in an environment of collaboration and trust.

1. Embrace diversity and let people be themselves

In order to build successful multidisciplinary teams, companies must promote diversity and individuality. The diversity companies need goes beyond race, gender, or social class; it is more about finding people from different backgrounds able to widen the perspective of a team. The best synergies are generated by people who complement each other skills. To achieve this, companies must promote individuality, so that not only employees can discover their own creative ways to meet the expectations and goals of the organization, but also feel free to demonstrate their unique strengths, perspectives, and thoughts on the processes. At last, giving employees more freedom to be who they really are, allows them to gain a greater sense of responsibility, confidence, and self-awareness.

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2. Build relationships of trust

Trust is based upon reciprocity. So in order to obtain the trust of employees, companies must start by trusting them. Managers need to step back and stop telling everyone what to do, and instead be more willing to listen and learn from their employees. When an employee is told what to do and how to do it, his/her creativity and capacity to innovate are limited, Moreover, this behavior implies that the manager does not trust his employees' decision-making ability. Companies should empower their employees to take action, to express their feelings and ideas, and this is only possible when leaders listen. As it allows them to communicate effectively with their employees. Likewise, companies should implement open communication channels that eliminate barriers that limit the flow of information. Employees need to know what's going on and to be informed on time and effectively, as they require an understanding of which environment, they are working in. Finally, it is not enough for companies to list their values ​​and beliefs if it is not visible in their actions and treatment of customers and employees.

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3. Care about creating value for their employees

It is not all about the shareholders. Businesses today need to stop looking for better ways to extract more value from their employees and focus on how to make their employees more valuable each day. Investing in employees' development, not only increases the productivity of the company but also decreases turnover. Staff is happier as they feel that the company cares about their professional evolution. According to the American Psychological Association if employees feel valued by the company their company, only one in five would plan to look for a job during the next year. Companies that care about their employees not only trust, listen and respect them, but they also acknowledge their achievements, give on-time feedback, and are flexible in order to provide their employees' work-life balance.

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4. Share a purpose

Companies must understand that increasing shareholder value is not sufficient motivation for people to give their best at work. Employees need to understand that they are part of something meaningful, they must understand how their day-to-day work, fits into the objectives of the company. Ultimately, profit should be an outcome of the company's journey toward more significant goals. For example, at companies like Amazon, people not only work for e-commerce organizations but also to build the "earth s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online." It is essential that people not only understand the major objectives of the company but that their daily tasks allow them to feel they are contributing. Employers need to reevaluate individual roles so that the organization helps people do more of what they want to do and eliminates meaningless tasks that could easily be performed by a machine or computer.

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