Creating a great place to work can be challenging. There are so many factors that go into creating satisfied, productive employees, from the actual work that needs to be done to the benefits package and other perks that come from working for a company — not to mention, the actual leaders of the company and their management styles.
However, there are some companies that have crea ted excellent and desirable places to work. The one thing they have in common? Great human resources management, and a commitment to making their employees happy to be at work. Read on to learn more about three major companies that are well-known for their HR, and what they are doing that can influence your own HR practices.
Google receives millions of resume each year, and with good reason: Not only is the tech giant known for being an innovative and exciting place to work, it also has one of the most buzzed-about workplace cultures in the world. In fact, Workforce magazine rated Google No. 1 on its 2017 Workforce 100 list for HR excellence, recognizing the company’s leadership in the core areas of HR.
So, what makes Google so great when it comes to human resources? National HR experts note that it comes down to a few key aspects of the company’s culture:
- Google focuses on building a happy, healthy workforce. One of the hallmarks of working at Google is work/life balance: Leadership makes it a priority for employees to be happy and healthy both at work and at home. This means everything from providing plenty of time off from work and healthy meals in the office, to hiring managers that focus on training and development of employees — as well as plenty of recognition for high achievers.
- Google managers must meet specific criteria. Managers themselves must complete specific training and coaching requirements, but overall, Google managers must have certain traits and skills themselves in order to be in their positions. These skills range from empowering your team and expressing a clear vision and mission, to having the technical skills necessary to do the job.
- Google uses data. It should come as no surprise that Google uses data for everything — including HR decisions. Nothing happens at Google without data to support it. Managers act on information, not gut feelings or outdated ideas or policies.
In short, employees at Google are assigned to work that they are happy and engaged with, receive plenty of reward and recognition for their work, have opportunities to continuously grow and develop, and most of all, are treated as a person — not just a cog in the wheel.
Holding the No. 2 spot on the Workforce 100 list is Facebook, another tech company that’s gained a lot of attention for its HR policies and strategy.
One of the pillars of Facebook’s HR strategy, according to VP of people Lori Goler, is a culture of continuous, honest, and frequent feedback that permeates every aspect of the company. Whether you are running a meeting or working on a big project, she notes, asking for feedback on what is working and what isn’t creates a culture of continuous learning and improvement. This also allows Facebook employees to take chances and be more innovative, which keeps engagement high.
However, Facebook does more than just create an environment of innovation. The company takes a unique approach to keeping morale and engagement high, by not using the term “work/life balance,” which HR leaders believe places a priority on one over the other. Rather, they focus on “work/life flexibility,” which makes employees’ lives easier and gives them more ownership over their work, so they can pursue interests and passions when and where they want to.
Some of these innovations include plenty of food available in the office, “chill out” lounges for relaxing and recharging, and plenty of opportunities to keep families involved, with dedicated family events, the option to bring spouses and children along on work trips, unlimited sick days, and plenty of maternal/paternal leave and “baby bonuses” for new parents. Combined with the company’s unique recruiting and hiring policies and procedures (no college degrees required, contest-based job openings, and encouraging employees to refer others for jobs) and it’s no wonder that Facebook is rated No. 1 for employee satisfaction by Glassdoor.
The Walt Disney Company
Coming in at No. 6 on the Workforce 100, the Walt Disney Company takes happiness seriously. After all, when you’re known as the “happiest place on Earth,” you can’t have grumpy, dissatisfied employees, can you?
The foundation of Disney’s HR management is to treat employees (“cast members”) like customers, focusing on their happiness. In turn, those happy employees will treat customers the same way, going above and beyond to deliver excellent service, even in the most challenging of circumstances. What this translates to in real terms is rewarding and recognizing excellent performance, making executives accessible (and executives themselves doing whatever it takes to create a great experience), offering plenty of services and perks to employees, including free park tickets and the ability to take care of errands at work, such as registering to vote, and finding innovative ways of solving problems. For example, performers complained that acquiring and returning costumes at the start and end of each shift was taking too long, so leaders went to work developing a computerized system for managing the clothing that eliminated wait times.
If there is a common thread among these leaders in national HR excellence, it’s that they put employees first, and focus on employee satisfaction and morale. Happy employees are productive employees. Even if your company cannot go to the lengths of these multinational corporations, you can still work on policies that will keep your employees engaged and happy to be at work.