www.peopleandmanagement.com
However, as we delve a level deeper and probe
further, we realise that while there is something
innovatively different about each company and its
culture, there is a common thread that connects
them all. There are certain underlying principles
at work that somehow bring to life a particular
policy or practice in a great workplace while it
fails elsewhere. These principles do not change at
great workplaces across industries, geographies,
and cultures. This common thread is the nature
of relationship between the company and its
employees.
Over 30 years of research by the Great Place
to Work® Institute, San Francisco, reveals that
it is the nature of this relationship that makes a
company a great place to work. The relationship
characterised between an employee and an
employer can further be broken down into three
fundamental questions: do I trust the people I work
for, do I take pride in what I do, and do I enjoy the
people I work with. To answer these questions, we
can defi ne the relationship between an employee
and his management — Trust; the relationship
between an employee and his job — Pride; and the
relationship between an employee and his peers
— Camaraderie. A great place to work, therefore,
is one where employees trust the people they work
for, take pride in what they do, and enjoy the people
they work with.
Management
In many ways trust is fundamental to a great
workplace, much as love is fundamental to a great
marriage. We would not consider a good marriage
to be synonymous with two people having a house,
a car, a child, a dog, or a club membership. In
the same way, a great place to work is more than
great policies, procedures, and opportunities that
an organisation offers. Just as love characterises
the attitudes of both parties of a good marriage,
trust characterises the attitudes of both sides
of a good employment relationship. Many of
the organisations in our list have unlimited sick
leave, no attendance recording system, and self-
supervision as a norm. This calls for signifi cant
level of trust on employees.
How are the Best Workplaces Different?
Numerous studies have shown a link between
employee engagement and productivity. Many
others have shown an impact of workplace culture
on employee engagement. Investing in improving
workplace culture, hence, goes towards improving
employee and organisational productivity. However,
what elements of workplace culture should one
invest in? We are aware of traditional sources of
motivation for employees, however, do they still
stand valid? How has workplace culture changed
over the years? Through the largest study of
workplace cultures since the last 10 years covering
over 9 lakh employees from over 2500 unique
organisations in India, Great Place to Work®
Institute takes stock of the key developments that
have shaped up our workplaces over the last decade.
Which are the areas where workplaces have
improved the most in the last one decade? We
identifi ed four areas:
Trust the
people you
work for...
1. From employees to profi t partners
Employee
...have pride in
what you do...
Job
...and enjoy the
people you work with
Other Employees
Chinese telecom giant Huawei employs 180,000
employees serving in 170 countries. It enjoyed a
net revenue growth of 32 percent in 2016. The most
amazing thing about Huawei, though, is the fact
that it is a private company wholly owned by its
employees. Its founder, Mr. Ren Zhengfei himself
holds only 1.4 percent of company’s total share
capital and over 81,000 employees are involved
in its Employee Shareholding Scheme. The most
noteworthy development of the last decade, though,
is that stock options have moved beyond being a
privileged benefi t, reserved exclusively for the top
Vol. 9 Issue 6 • Sep-Oct 2018, Noida / Pre-Event Edition |
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