Is
your Organisation a friendly place to work?
Camaraderie continues to be
the highest scoring dimension in this year’s
survey too with 12 per cent more employees agreeing
that people celebrate special events in their
organization. Almost all employees in Great
workplaces agree that theirs is a friendly place
to work, with an overwhelming number saying
that employees are made to feel welcome when
they join the Company.
At Eli Lilly employees do not
wait for big achievements to celebrate. Any
small reason to celebrate will result in a high
tea and snacks and a short gathering of the
employees. Occasions like Birthdays are opportunities
for more than the usual cake cutting and balloon
bursting routine. Employees play team games
and enjoy to the fullest. But of course no employee
can get away that easily without a treat. In
some work places, employees are encouraged to
take the day off and spend time with their family
in which case the birthday is celebrated the
next day. Festivals across all religions are
celebrated with much fervor. Families are invited
for these celebrations, which gives the employees
a chance to be with their families and get to
know their colleagues’ families at the
same time. Besides that, offices are decorated,
sweets distributed & games played.
Akhand Path to Dandiya, Kite
Flying to Practical Pranks…the ways to
build camaraderie is limited only by one’s
imagination and practices of Companies in this
year’s list shows that imagination is
not something they lack. All you have to do
is take a look at Intel’s annual April
Fool’s publication to know that little
is sacred at Intel. Each year they publish
a no-holds-barred version of Intel events, taking
liberal swipes at cherished practices, corporate
icons, and various faux pas as seen by their
critical employee editors. Proving that “Intel
Inside” is great fun.
At Eli Lilly, colorful Smiley
cards are given by employees to each other on
exhibiting teamwork/Commitment/support or sharing
of Great Ideas. The person receiving the highest
number of Smileys at the end of the year is
crowned as “Smiley King/Queen” with
the gift vouchers.
Being a great place to work
is a moving target. The average scores based
on employee perceptions for all dimensions have
increased. The biggest increase in employee
perceptions has been in the dimensions of Pride
and Respect (11 per cent each) followed by Credibility
and Camaraderie (7 per cent each)
By far the biggest challenge being faced by
Organisations seeking to be great workplaces
is in the dimension of Fairness. This is one
Dimension where some scores have actually dipped
with 19 % less employees in the sample from
the Top 25 companies agreeing with the statement
that everyone has an opportunity to get special
recognition. Similarly, compared to the 2003
list 16% lesser number of employees feel that
they receive a fair share of profits made by
the organization. It is possible that employees
perceive that the gains in bottom line of companies
have not found its way proportionately into
employees’ pockets.
This, however, is not just the
case in India with US Top 100 scores in Fairness
being identical with India Top 25.
The biggest paradox that we
found in our research is that in the best of
the best companies, only 61% of the employees
plan to work for these companies until they
retire. This is confirmation of the fact that
times are changing and no matter what you do,
you can never be sure that all your talent will
be with you in the long term. This is one of
the main reasons why companies are striving
harder to become Great Work Places.
ANY
ORGANIZATION, ANY SIZE CAN BECOME A GREAT PLACE
TO WORK
Looking at the 25 companies
on our list, it would be fairly easy to deduce
that any organization, no matter what size or
industry can become a Great Place to Work.
The average employee strength of the top 25
companies this year is 3,300 employees.
On one hand, we have extremely large organizations
like Infosys and NTPC with employees in excess
of 23,000 each, with Classic Stripes and FedEx
on the other with less than 225. This
high variance, within the list itself, illustrates
the point that a company does not have to “big”
or “small”, in order to be great.
Similarly, the industry to which it belongs,
or geographic location is no bar either.
22 years of research has proven that the only
element to bridge the gap between a good workplace
and a great place is the prevalence of essential
elements of Trust, Pride and Camaraderie.
Trust can be fostered by improving
perceptions of management’s credibility,
creating a environment where employees feel
respected and are more enthusiastic about their
work because they are seen as people (and not
just a “resource”) and by creating
a fair work environment that reduces the distractions
of inequity, politics and prejudice and allows
people to make their greatest contributions.
Pride in one’s job is developed from the
sense that an individual’s, his/her team’s
as well as his/her company’s contributions
are special. Similarly, employees experience
Camaraderie in the workplace through levels
of intimacy, hospitality and a sense of community.
Having said that, these demographical
factors do play a critical role in determining
the effectiveness of the initiatives or interventions
intended to build Trust, Pride and Camaraderie.
It might be much harder for a company to foster
trust if it has its employees spread over a
number of geographic locations, where management
has limited physical access. However,
only a company which can tackle these issues
innovatively and effectively in order to be
successfully combat this battle of trust, would
truly and rightfully earn the honor of being
a Great Place to Work.
