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The best places to work make employees feel accepted, valued, and appreciated, according to Great Place to Work.
According to workplace culture company Great Place to Work, a great workplace is defined by four qualities: employees trust the people they work for, take genuine pride in their work, enjoy collaborating with their colleagues, and experience a consistent workplace atmosphere, regardless of their role, identity, or position within the organization.
Through its research and data analysis, Great Place to Work has determined that great workplaces focus on eight elements of company culture:
Credibility
According to Great Place to Work research, 83 percent of employees at the 100 Best Companies said management’s actions match its words, vs. 42 percent of employees at the average workplace.
Trustworthy, credible, and personable managers have a positive impact on employee retention, overall workplace satisfaction, and motivation to go the extra mile. When employees say managers are honest and ethical, they are five times more likely to want to work there for a long time, and 11 times more likely to have a positive experience in the workplace.
Respect
The best workplaces consistently demonstrate respect by recognizing employees’ efforts, seeking their input, and caring for them as people who have lives outside of work. Part of this is trusting their employees to work flexible hours and from remote places.
Fairness
Lack of adequate compensation came up frequently in the Convene 2024 Salary Survey comments about what planners like least about their jobs. According to Great Place to Work data, employees say that being paid fairly for their work makes them twice as likely to think they have a great workplace — but when employees are proud of their work, they are 20 times more likely to say the same. Which brings us to …
Pride
There are three levels of workplace pride: Pride in your job and the work, pride in the team, and pride in the organization and its reputation. Workplace pride needs to be reinforced over time and through consistent actions — no matter the circumstances. At the 100 Best Companies, employees say there is a sense of winning together when times are good — and sticking together when they’re not.
Belonging
This goes beyond feeling appreciated for the work employees do — it’s feeling accepted, valued, and appreciated by organizations for who they are. The 100 Best Companies demonstrate that they value their employees by celebrating their accomplishments, ensuring new hires feel welcomed, and embracing the diversity and individualism within their staff. This includes making parental leave practices more inclusive, and empowering employee resource groups to influence business decisions.
Effective leadership
A great leader will inspire, motivate, and drive innovation. A bad leader will demoralize, stifle productivity, and give people a reason to leave the organization. The Great Place to Work leadership effectiveness index measures how much leaders: align their words and actions; avoid favoritism; and demonstrate competency, honesty, and approachability, as well as genuine interest in employees as people.
Values
The best workplaces lead with shared values instead of rules and policies. Shared values, according to Great Place to Work, “can engage and empower, which in turn boosts innovation, creativity, and productivity.”
Innovation
When leaders create a safe place for employees to express their ideas and make suggestions, employees are 31 times more likely to think their workplace fosters innovation.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND FLEXIBILITY
In “Why Workplace Culture Matters,” Harvard Business Review identified similar traits of a positive workplace culture as Great Place to Work — specifically trust/psychological safety and a sense of belonging. HBR also offered a few other ways organizations can improve their workplace culture. Among them: providing professional development opportunities and flexibility, areas Convene covered in the Salary Survey.
Nearly all of the planners — nine out of 10 — who responded to this year’s survey are learning new skills on their own, but fewer (7 out of 10) work for organizations that fund their professional development in the form of conference attendance. Considering that most planners are organizing professional development conferences for their organizations, it would seem that at least one-quarter of respondents in the survey are working for organizations that do not follow through on that professional development mission internally.
However, when it comes to flexibility, planners seem to be in a really good place — nine out of 10 respondents said they work for organizations with a hybrid work policy, even though a larger percentage of them compared to last year have fixed days that they are required to work from the office. Despite enjoying hybrid work environments, many said the amount of work travel that is a requirement of the role is a work/life balance challenge.
WHY MICROMANAGING FAILS
When respondents complained about poor management at their organizations, micromanaging was a frequent gripe. The HBR article highlighted the importance of autonomy at organizations with a good culture. Michael McCarthy, instructor at Harvard DCE Professional & Executive Development and host of the Happy at Work podcast, shared that we should “think about autonomy this way: You have a task that needs to be completed in 48 hours — let’s say climbing to the top of a mountain for illustrative purposes. You tell the employee where they need to be and why. You then let them go to figure out the best way to get to the top of the mountain on their own, being sure to let them know they can come to you for help at any time.”
On the other hand, in a micromanaged and less autonomous workplace, McCarthy said, “the employee would be told to get to the top of the mountain, the path they must take, and the tools they can and can’t use. They also generally aren’t allowed to ask questions or seek help.”
Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene.