Be a great employer, and reap the benefits

Be a great employer, and reap the benefits

Companies regarded as good places to work consistently outperform their competitors. Michael Burchell, partner and director at the Great Place to Work Institute, explains why.

September 23, 2010 9:09 by shafeer

How is your company perceived by your employees and by prospective employees in the labour market? Is it seen as a great workplace and, if it is, how many people actually know about it? The value of your employer brand rests in being both worthy and being recognised. It can be a key enabler of business success, but how many companies understand that being an employer of choice should be part of their business strategy to begin with?

As companies across the Gulf region emerge from the recent recession and rethink how to succeed in the new market environment, the best companies will focus on their workplace as a key element of that strategy. Not only does focusing on the workplace make good business sense, it may very well be the largest wellspring of untapped competitive advantage.

The Great Place to Work® Institute has been researching what makes workplaces great for over 20 years. We survey and evaluate companies in more than 40 countries looking at who they are, what they do to foster a great workplace and why it matters. One of our consistent findings, irrespective of geography or culture, is that companies with great workplaces tend to do better financially.

Why is this?

First, employees in great workplaces are more engaged with their work and in the organisation. This translates to a higher level of cooperation and stronger commitment to their company’s mission. Let’s take for example the companies that made it onto Europe’s 100 Best List. Of the total number of employees surveyed, 88 percent reported high levels of cooperation in order to get work done. This stands in stark contrast to the industry average where studies indicate that upwards of 60 percent of employees are actively disengaged with their job. So what happens when you have almost 9 out of every 10 employees ready to give their best to your organisation? Significant financial returns: The European 100 Best Companies recorded on average 15.4 percent growth in revenue; more than double the results of a comparative peer group study.

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