Episode 26
What makes a great place to work with Tony Bond
December 5, 2019
There are three types of relationships at play that influence the overall employee experience at any given company, and the overriding characteristic of those relationships is rooted in trust, respect, and fairness. As Chief Innovation Officer at Great Place to Work, Tony Bond has worked with some of the world's leading companies. In episode 26, he shares success factors, leadership pointers, and trends he's seen that will help talent champions build a winning culture in their own organizations.
You can connect with Tony on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.
Key takeaways from episode 26
We spend most of our waking hours at work, and so why not make work a place where people can flourish and be energized? This is the idea behind Great Place to Work, and through their awards program they encourage companies to improve their work culture, and also help show job seekers where they’ll have the best possible work experience.
What makes a company a great place to work comes down to three types of relationships:
The relationship employees have with their managers, rooted in trust, respect, and fairness
The relationship the employee has with the work, connecting the individual role to the higher purpose
The relationships between people who work together
Outstanding organizations create a culture of fairness, including equity across the organization. Along with this comes an executive-level concern with creating a culture of innovation where everyone’s ideas are heard and can be executed. The glue holding it all together is transparent and ethical management.
Leaders who create a culture of innovation do a simple thing: they sit back and listen, ask questions, and get ideas from the people around them. By carving out time to have meaningful conversations with employees, you can understand what’s top-of-mind for them and make sure they’re supported. Listen to episode 25 with guest Liz Wiseman for more on this topic.
High turnover is a good indicator to look at your culture, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe if turnover is low. There are also people who will stay in the job but essentially shut down when the culture isn’t working, and this can be even worse for the organization than turnover.
Hiring for fit with the mission and values is an important starting point. Periodic pulse surveys can help you evaluate whether you’re on the right track. Collect that data regularly, but don’t allow it to replace spending time with people. Make changes through a shared process, rather than top-down.
According to the data from Great Places to Work, it’s misleading to say that millennials turn over at a high rate. What Tony has seen is that millennials are less likely to stay in a job that isn’t a great place to work. When you can create a positive environment that fills their needs, they’re very likely to stay.
Regardless of your role, make time to continue to learn. It will allow you to navigate change, bring institutional knowledge forward, and keep improving.
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