You too can build a great workplace culture

Share

You may not realize it yet, but you are the hero of this story. You are the leader who asks: Why not us? Why can't we be on this list; or even number 1? Why can't we have a more vibrant business, more innovative products or better human relationships?

All of the organizations on the 2014 list were assessed using an employee survey, called the Trust Index, developed by the global research firm Great Place to Work. This is part of the world's largest annual workplace study, which culminates in a series of national lists in almost 50 countries, including the study's flagship list of 100 Best Companies published annually in Fortune magazine.

Globally, this survey represents the voices of 11 million employees, including approximately 300,000 from Canada alone. It's what makes this study so credible: the primary determinant used in selecting winners is an employee survey. There's only one way to get on this list – and that's if your employees put you there.

So what can we learn by studying these winning organizations?

First, any organization can be great – so stop making excuses. You can do this. Organizational behaviour experts Dr. M. Burchell & Dr. J. Robin's new book No Excuses details the justifications companies frequently make for being 'good enough' as well as the cognitive errors associated with this thinking and the solutions for moving forward.

Some of the most common errors include setting an external locus of control (i.e., allowing yourself to believe great workplaces were born that way or got there because of luck); making overgeneralizations (i.e., excusing yourself because only companies with a free cafeteria can be great); anchoring yourself to being good (…enough); and hyperbolic discounting, the human tendency to prefer a short-term payoff to a long-term one, even if the long-term payoff is better.

Do any of these sound familiar? If so, you're not alone. Many of the Best Workplaces in this feature faced similar issues. But they found solutions, and so can you. The second lesson we can take from these organizations is that becoming a great workplace doesn't happen by accident – and it won't happen overnight. But while the journey of a thousand miles can seem overwhelming, it always begins with a single step; or in this case, a single interaction.

Because at its core, a great workplace culture is all about relationships. It requires a shift in perspective where everyday tasks, often seen as obligations, become opportunities to build trust between managers and employees.

A great workplace culture can be measured by the cumulative impact of those day-to-day interactions. And the secret that winning companies have discovered is that it's less about what you do, and more about how you do it.

The third lesson we can draw from this list is that good people practices make good business sense. A study of the comparative annualized stock market returns for publicly traded companies on our Fortune list shows these enterprises have consistently performed nearly twice as well as their peers.

Trust is the best investment your organization can make, leading to better recruitment, lower turnover, greater innovation, higher productivity, more loyal customers and higher profits. While the drive to become a great workplace typically begins with leaders who want to improve the financial performance and quality of their enterprise, the by-product is that we build a better world along the way.

And here's the good news. While the concept of trust may seem intangible, the management practices required to nurture trust are actually quite straightforward and can be learned and embedded into your culture.

One foot in front of the other, one interaction at a time, you can build a great workplace culture. Many of the best-performing companies have followed this insight and seen tremendous results.

Accelerate your journey to building a great workplace by registering today for the 2015 list of Best Workplaces. Join us and create a better future.