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The key to attracting and retaining talent? Being a ‘Great Place to Work’ says Jess Pritchard, Head of the Corporate Sector at Moneypenny on winning GPTW certification
A positive workplace culture can be a major differentiator when it comes to retaining employees and keeping them happy, productive and engaged. And, at a time when recruitment is a major challenge across the vast majority of sectors, it’s vital to get it right.
Great company culture is no longer a ‘nice to have’– it’s a prerequisite for job seekers in what is essentially a job seeker’s market. People like to know what they can expect from an employer. They want to know a company’s values, how their contribution matters and what is the shared purpose of the team. It is a business’ culture and values that help to spell this out and importantly, make employees’ everyday lives more positive and rewarding.
This is especially true since the pandemic when mission statements on office walls suddenly couldn’t be seen and stood for nothing. Instead, employers were forced to rethink their culture, re-articulate their values, scratch beneath the surface and find more dynamic ways to create positive employee experiences, both in and out of the office.
Of course, it’s not just about creating a positive culture, an organisation needs to be able to articulate it clearly too. What are the aligned values, beliefs, behaviours and experiences that make up a company’s DNA? Communicating these values regularly and keeping them ever-present (through words and actions) makes it easier for employees to really feel and embrace them. It also makes it more likely that potential new recruits will see those values in your people, your brand and your workplace.
A common challenge is communicating culture authentically. After all, every employer is going to say they’re a brilliant one. Nowadays, people can see through well edited corporate videos and workplace perks hold little value if a business doesn’t walk the walk.
EXTERNAL CERTIFICATION
This is where external certification can offer real value – as a neutral, unbiased seal of approval that an organisation has created a culture its employees love.
In August, Moneypenny was officially accredited as a Great Place to Work-Certified organisation. This is a significant achievement based on anonymous surveys of employees’ experience which scores the business across different aspects of workplace culture, such as inclusivity, employee wellbeing and management. Great Place to Work leverages 30 years of research to quantify the current state of a workplace culture and demonstrate how it compares to the best in the world.
The process includes two key elements: The Trust Index Survey and The Culture Brief and Culture Audit. The Survey is based on the Trust Index and considers elements such as justice, integrity, innovation, collaboration and pride.
Over a 12-week period, Moneypenny issued the survey to all employees across the UK and US, who were asked to respond to seven demographic questions and 60 core statements, such as ‘management delivers on its promises’.
The survey also featured two open-ended questions – ‘is there anything unique or unusual that makes this a great place to work?’ and ‘if you could change one thing to make it a better place to work, what would it be?’
Responses to these questions included:
“Right now, I can’t think of anything which would improve Moneypenny – as I have had such a great experience the past two years and I am sure that it will continue for many more years.”
“The company is the perfect balance of professionalism and compassion.”
“I enjoy my job, get paid well, love the people I work with and can have time off when needed. I don’t think there is anything I would change.”
CULTURE MATTERS
The Culture Brief and Culture Audit cover a company’s programmes and practices and feature a range of questionnaires to be filled in by HR or people directors. The Brief section focuses on facts and figures, whereas the Audit takes a deeper dive with more in-depth questions around what an organisation is doing to create a great workplace for all staff.
Only those businesses that achieve a Trust Index score of 65 per cent or over receive the Great Place to Work certification and become eligible for the Best Workplace Lists, including Best Workplaces in Tech, Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces for Wellbeing.
For Moneypenny, the benefits of becoming certified are far-reaching and extend beyond the recruitment and retention advantage. It demonstrates a commitment to fair pay, prioritisation of an ESG agenda and a company-wide – even cross-continent – shared sense of doing the right thing.
There’s a commercial benefit too, as prospects and clients recognise that we operate at far higher standards than typical outsourced providers. Businesses, their investors and other stakeholders are demanding that companies conduct fair and sustainable business – and they want to make sure that their suppliers are doing the same.
The award adds to what has been an excellent year for Moneypenny so far, following the recent acquisition of Alphapage in Colorado, US and the company’s continued strong growth. We now have over 1,200 staff based in the UK and US and I believe our offering of amazing people superpowered by cutting-edge technology is a winning combination.
