Do You Have a Great Company?

By John A. Haas
Management Strategies Group

In his fascinating book “Good to Great” best-selling author and researcher Jim Collins describes common factors that differentiate “great” from comparison companies. His definition is from the “outside,” using rigorous, primarily financial criteria as screening mechanisms. Surprisngly, only 11 of over 1400 domestic public companies fit the model! I heartily encourage you to read Collins’ book.

An Inside Look

Another way to define greatness is looking at what makes an organization a “great place to work?” In my experience I have seen some companies that are great places to work, some that are working toward achieving greatness and some that appear to be unconcerned with how they are perceived by employees.

It seems clear that in a great company employees are happy, which increases their productivity and this enhances company profitability. Sounds ideal! Does your organization fit that description? How can you tell? The answer: ask your employees.

Here, I will focus on ways I have heard employees in “great” companies describe their employers and their employment context. I thank my thoughtful colleague Jan Kantor for stimulating some of my thinking (www.jankantor.com).

How Employees Describe These Organizations

• High quality product/service offerings
• Customer-focused
• High ethical standards
• Vital, spirited “climate”
• Clear and articulated growth goals
• Visionary, enlightened leadership
• Cross-functional teamwork is encouraged
• Pleasant physical workspace
• Productive horizontal and vertical relationships
• Open communication
• Helpful work tools, technology and systems

What Employees Feel About Their Personal Situations

• Work is challenging, interesting and important
• Valued, respected, trusted
• Fairly compensated
• Rewarded in relation to contributions
• Held accountable for results
• Empowered to act
• Honest mistakes are tolerated; seen as learning experiences
• Contribute to defining performance goals
• Opportunities for professional development
• Work/life balance is valued and accommodated

Moving Toward Great

Sounds pretty good, right? Who wouldn’t like to work in the kind of organization described above? If you decide that these characteristics are worth pursuing, how should you proceed?

Again, the answer is: ask employees for suggestions. From ideas generated, identify the most leverageable, practical priorities that advance the desired corporate culture. Then, form volunteer task teams to work on desired changes, including action plans, resource requirements (time and dollars), accountability, success indicators and a monitoring process. Setting this process in motion in itself represents a giant step toward creating the “great” culture you’re seeking.

Winter 2006 -Volume 16, Number 1

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