Date Published: 12th February 2020

WHAT MAKES A COMPANY A GOOD PLACE TO WORK?

Start by asking employees what they think makes a company a good place to work. Most will answer with something like; salary, benefits, atmosphere, or a combination of all three. And all are a good reason to say a company is good to work for. Although these are general responses. If you stop here, you won’t find out what employees want in a company.

Studies found that a one-sided relationship can cause companies and employees to disconnect. Commonly, companies care about maximising productiveness. This resulting in increased workloads, longer hours and tighter deadlines. The studies found that employees were most productive when they felt truly engaged. So, all their physical, emotional and mental needs were met. This requires investment from the companies into its employees. It needs to come from a genuine place, that allows your employees to grow.

SO, WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO?

Companies should start with engagement. According to Engage For Success, employee engagement can be defined as:

“a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organisation to give of their best each day, committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being.”

Create engagement with trust and communication from both the employee and the company. It can be difficult to identify why an employee is not engaged. However, any effort to help to solve why they aren’t engaged can increase happiness in employees.

WHAT MAKES EMPLOYEES MORE ENGAGED?

Employees performing meaningful work that helps professional growth will have higher engagement. Whereas when employees spending significant time performing duties they perceive as mundane will increase the likelihood to become disengaged.

Another element that influences engagement is employee interaction. They need to have a level of trust in co-workers to feel comfortable with the values and direction the company is going. They need to have a feeling of belongingness within the company. Meaning no number of perks or benefits can make a company a good place to work for if these conditions are not met.

Employee engagement is an ongoing relationship. Maintain this with frequent communication that is authentic and deep. Doing this takes a lot of hard work, but in return, you will have a more productive and engaged team.

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