Workplace

Is Your Company's Workplace Working for You?

Blog Post26 Jul, 2019

The perception of what current and potential future employees believe it's like to work for a company is one of the 7 drivers of reputation

Our studies show that the companies that are perceived to have a strong workplace provide:

  • Fair compensation

  • Care about employees well-being

  • Equal opportunities to advance their careers

When we measure workplace perception among the informed general public, it is often the dimension with the highest number of fence-sitters (people who do not know or have a neutral perception about a company’s workplace). This poses both a risk and an opportunity for companies.

The risk: Any workplace controversy that makes it into mainstream media will convince these fence-sitters that the given company is not a good place to work and will shift them over the fence to a negative perception. 

The opportunity: A company can position itself as an employer of choice that attracts passionate and diverse employees. The company can engage in an open and transparent dialogue with the public and potential employees, especially by having their current employees serve as advocates, thus swaying fence-sitters over the other side of the fence to a positive perception.

Workplace as an essential part of Corporate Responsibility

The workplace driver is one part of a larger Corporate Responsibility (CR) index that includes:

  • Citizenship

  • Governance

  • Workplace

In other words, companies that are committed to establishing and enhancing their overall reputation, look to CR initiatives and often target one or a combination of these three drivers to win.

The bottom line: corporate responsibility drives 40% of corporate reputation. Companies working hard to serve a greater societal purpose see greater benefits to their bottom lines.

Why should your company focus on Workplace reputation?

Workplace is an especially critical driver in today's environment due to the tight global labor market. Like it or not, we live in an employee-driven market where workplace ratings must excel in order to find, attract, and maintain top talent. However, even among the most reputable companies in the world, perceptions of workplace remain only average. The good news? This leaves room for significant opportunity in the space.

We know that a person's willingness to work for a company is directly impacted by a company's culture. Therefore some companies are finding success by demonstrating and communicating concern for employee health and well-being.

Cisco: A workplace winner 

Cisco Systems has one of the highest scores in the workplace dimension and, therefore, is perceived by the general public as an excellent place to work.

Q: How can other companies learn from Cisco?

A: Work perks. Cisco Systems has many professional and personal development opportunities available to its employees, including:

  • Tuition reimbursement programs

  • Cisco employees are able to gain unique professional experiences by swapping their roles within the organization for a short period of time

  • Up to five days of paid time off to volunteer for a cause that matters to them

It is policies like these that increase a company’s Workplace score and improve perceptions among the general public. That's right, it's not only about providing these types of employee well-being-focused perks but about communicating these perks to the general public, both of which Cisco does very well.

What to remember

People want to support companies they feel good about and admire and this feeling of admiration starts with how a company treats its employees.

To build admiration and a solid reputation that will attract top talent, companies must deliver on excellent compensation programs, fair treatment of all employees, and personal/professional growth opportunities. These strategies can help a company attract and retain talent while improving overall reputation.

 

Tom Gumbley Associate The RepTrak Company [email protected]


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