What makes a company a great place to work? Many of the things that are on the list in today’s modern workplace go far beyond money.
There are tons of companies out there looking to fill their positions with great employees, so how can you make your company a great place to work and attract the best talent? With millennials and Gen Z taking over and entering the workforce, the attributes that make a company a great place to work are changing. It is no longer enough to offer a great pay to attract the best talents today, a company must offer much more.
It isn’t the highest salary that wins the best place to work game anymore and companies are beginning to understand this. Today’s workforce appreciates companies that take the time to truly understand what makes their employees happy and offer it to them. Whether it’s paid time off, recognizing good work, offering flexible scheduling or emphasizing the importance of physical and mental health, to be considered a great place to work, companies today have to focus more on the happiness of their employees than ever before.
So, with all the available great places to work, how can your company stand out and ensure that you’re not only attracting the best talent, but also retaining that talent? Your company may be small and your budget may not allow for extravagant incentives like the ones multi-billion dollar companies offer, but you can easily make your company a great place to work by simply listening to your employees and understanding what makes them happy.
10 Things that Ensure Your Company Is a Great Place to Work
Here is a list of the top ten things you can offer your employees to ensure that your company is a great place to work.
#1 Education Reimbursement
College is expensive and most students leave with thousands of dollars in student loans. Your company wants employees that are well educated, but with the high cost of college, if your company isn’t offering a high rate of pay you could be losing out on many skilled candidates. Offering education reimbursement is a great way to attract highly educated employees and employees with a willingness to continue learning. By investing in the education of your employees, you foster an idea of loyalty and care for that employee’s future. If your company is small but quickly growing, investing in your employee’s education is a great way to hire within the company for new positions that arise as your company scales.
#2 Opportunities to Learn
Formal education isn’t the only way employees learn. When you provide your employees with ongoing opportunities and incentives to learn, you not only develop their skills specific to the needs of your company but you also help them grow as your company grows. You can easily make your company a great place to work by establishing new job-specific hard skills and soft skills that serve them as, not only individuals but as managers and leaders of your company as well.
It’s also a great use of time to familiarize your new employees with the company by giving them a crash course in how the company operates and a behind-the-scenes look of each department. Many companies often ignore this crucial part of the onboarding process, but when you allow your new hires to become adequately acclimated with your company and learn the basics, they’ll experience fewer newcomer mistakes which will save your company lots of unnecessary heartaches.
(SlideShare via Duke University)
#3 Stock Options & 401Ks
When employees are offered a stake in the company, they’re more willing to work even harder to guarantee the long-term success of the company and make it more profitable. Offering stock options to employees is an easy way to create more dedicated employees and it’s a cost-effective benefits program as well. When employees feel like they’re a part of the outcome of their work, they’re more willing to think outside the box and foster ideas that will help the company grow and become more successful.
Another way to make your company a great place to work is to offer a 401K plan to help employees set themselves up for retirement. Employees today think more about their future and like to plan ahead. Give them the option of retiring comfortably by offering them a 401K plan and matching them on their contributions to it.
#4 Physical & Mental Health
Employees today care a lot about their physical health. Physical health is closely tied to mental health and when an employee sits at a desk for over 40 hours a week, this can take a toll on both their mental and physical health. For your company to be successful and continue that success, it’s essential that your employees are happy and healthy. Many companies that make the list of great places to work offer their employees an on-site gym or discounted gym memberships.
If your company cannot afford an on-site gym you could even create a company sports team for your employees. This will not only give your employees the much-needed exercise they desire but it also presents a great opportunity for your employees to bond which creates better collaboration and communication. Promoting a healthy lifestyle will keep your employees mentally and physically healthy and happy.
#5 Paid Time Off
The success of your company greatly depends on how hard your employees work. If your employees are burnt out, your company will surely suffer. An excellent way to make your company a great place to work is to offer your employees paid time off. Whether you offer them a week off once a year or just a few days, it’s essential to the success of your company to give your employees the much-needed rest they deserve. Some companies even offer extended paid leave once an employee has been with the company for many years. This gives employees to rest and lets them rejuvenate themselves. It also works as an incentive to be with the company for a longer period.
Vacation Boundaries (Creative Little Soul)
#6 Maternal & Paternal Leave
Did you know that people today are waiting to have children and the amount of children being born in first world countries has been steadily declining for years? This is because more and more people are choosing to focus on their careers instead of starting a family, even if that’s always been their dream. Don’t make your employees have to choose between a family or a career and offer them parental leave whether they’re having a child or adopting one. We all know that new children in our lives require a lot of time and care which is why many European countries even offer their male employees parental leave to help their partner with the new child. Offering paid parental leave is a great way to not only create a loyal and happy employee but also create a bond with your employee that shows them how much you care about the wellbeing of their entire family.
#7 Office Pets
While more and more young people are opting to create a family later in life, most of them have a beloved pet that they see as their family. Pets not only make employees happy and feel loved but they also increase productivity and create an invitation for employees to get to know each other better. Many companies that are considered great places to work allow their employees to bring their pets to the office and they’ve experienced great success with this practice. Employees spend most of their life at work which pulls them away from the things that make and keep them happy; their pets. Allowing your employees to bring their pets to the office will allow them to stay close to the things that matter most to them and even be more productive.
#8 Individualized & Safe Work Environment
Many companies are beginning to realize that employees who work from home are not less productive than employees who work in the office and, in many cases, it’s the opposite. Sometimes employees need a break from the office environment and a comfortable place to recharge their batteries. Allowing employees to work from home, even if it’s only every once in a while, is a great way to keep them happy and productive. It’s also easy to make your company a great place to work by allowing your employees to make their child’s basketball game or take off early when they’re planning their wedding. It’s important that your employees know that you don’t only care about making money and you care about their happiness and their family’s happiness as well.
Livemint
For employees who constantly come into the office, it’s essential to ensure that their working environment is safe and up to working standards. Not only should the working conditions be safe but they should be comfortable and appealing as well. Offer a wide range of workplaces in your office including spaces that allow for privacy, spaces that allow for collaboration, and even places that allow for your employees to just hanging out and create a better sense of camaraderie within your company.
#9 Charity Contribution
Millennials and Generation Z care more about their environment and communities than employees from past generations. These new contributors to the workforce want to work for a company that leaves more than they take and to feel like they’re doing their part to create a better world for the next generations to come after them. One way you can ensure that your company is a great place to work is to offer many charity contribution opportunities.
Whether it’s getting your employees to train and run marathons together or team up to help clear animal shelters, offing charity contribution opportunities will not only create a sense of trust and collaboration with your employees but they’ll also feel like they’re doing more with their life than just working. If your company can’t afford to donate to charity, having your employees contribute themselves is the next best thing. By promoting a culture of charity, your company is sure to create a legacy that employees want to be a part of.
Via Jill Christensen
#10 Appreciate Good Work
Everyone likes to be recognized for their good work but many employees note that receiving praise for their good work is hard to achieve. If you want your employees to continue to produce good work, it’s essential to make sure that the efforts that an employee puts in for your organization never goes unappreciated. Letting employees know how much you appreciate their good work encourages them to continue to produce excellent work and endears them to your company.
Managers aren’t the only employees who notice how well their team members are doing. So an easy way to make your company one of the great places to work in the world is to allow your employees to commend each other. Create and promote a way for employees to recognize the great work their co-workers produce. This not only encourages those employees who are recognized but also encourages other employees to produce even better work to receive recognition as well.
While these are not the only ways a company can ensure that they offer a great place to work, they are some of the most common and easiest ways to attract and retain the top talented employees of today. If you’re trying to make your organization a company that’s a great place to work, don’t limit yourself to the traditions of others and create your own traditions. Something as simple as dancing to a fun song once a day with your entire staff can go a long way and make your employees happy to be a part of a fun company.
While everything on this list isn’t right for every company, your company can easily become a great place to work by listening to your employees and even brainstorming with them to create a fun tradition that makes them excited to come into the office every day. When you instill a culture of collaboration and participation, it doesn’t matter what traditions you implement to make your company culture fun and productive, as long as it fits the attitudes and needs of your employees.
