The Culture of Choice

“How likely would you be to recommend your company to a friend or colleague?” This is a question to which every company only wants to hear one answer, “extremely likely”.

What labels a company as an employer of choice amongst its people and potential candidates? After achieving an employee Net Promoter Score of 50, we conducted an internal survey to explore what made our employees extremely likely to recommend us as an employer to a friend or colleague which may highlight the factors that job seekers today hope to find in a potential employer and the choice of workplace culture.

When we asked people whether they were comfortable working within the company’s culture, more than 90% strongly agreed. A comfortable productive culture is flexible, enables people to take decisions and provides sufficient psychological safety to take risks, ask questions, disagree with common opinions and make mistakes. To be a workplace of choice today, companies must empower people to feel they own their jobs and to involve them in key decisions which will make them feel that they own the workplace as well, rather than simply working for it.

It's no surprise that inspiration and passion are significantly related to continuously achieving outstanding work results. What inspires employees to work and achieve more? Well, 82% of our people feel connected to the mission, vision, values and strategic objectives of the organization.

So, when companies are clear about their mission and vision and continuously pursue these through the culture, values and work activities, this allows employees to understand what’s expected of them in terms of behavior and results and ensures they are very much aware of their impact on the organization and the place of their roles within the organization’s strategy. This way, employees are inspired to find their own individual WHY within the organization’s WHY. Employees’ alignment with the organization’s vision is therefore a key ingredient in building a solid foundation between them and the employer.

Working in the 21st century workplace is directly linked to speed and agility. Thus, providing a continuous learning culture is no longer a luxury for companies aiming to take the lead and stay ahead. Reassuringly, 90-95% of our people feel that the company is willing to invest in their continuous learning and development, something that any workplace of choice must be willing to do as well as providing the conditions that support an open mindset.

Managers need to allow their teams to innovate, explore different methodologies and take the initiative. To achieve this amidst the agility of today’s workplace and customers’ demands, managers need to invest more time in coaching, providing constructive feedback and delegation. Whilst this may be challenging, it also guarantees sustainable success.

By giving people the tools and the space to develop, think dynamically and take decisions, companies pave the way for exponential growth and an ever-growing sense of engagement for employees.So, what differentiates a good employer from a great employer? Offering a great place to work does. A culture that fosters empowerment and engagement for employees is also the culture that encourages people to constantly aim for excellence at both individual and organization level, be excited to get to work and be willing to go that extra mile.

‍

‍