The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management recently announced finalists for the 2023 “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” awards. Of local interest, STOBER Drives, Maysville Community & Technical College, Columbia Gas, and Assured Partners each made the cut.
But what makes an organization a “good” place to work? Conversely, what makes an organization a “bad” place to work? What discernible differences are there? What about your current job or the company from which you retired…was that a “good” place to work or a “bad” place to work?
I find workplace psychology intriguing, so I asked some of the recipients, and those involved in the awarding process, what they thought.
“While there isn’t a clear line of differences, I would say that those organizations who are deemed ‘good’ by employees are those that facilitate a healthy culture of trust, transparency, and clarity in mission and purpose. Over the past few years, we would also place empathy and flexibility among the most sought-after traits within a work environment.” said Katie Raney, Director of KYSHRM and executive in charge of overseeing the Best Places to Work in Kentucky program.
Okay, we have our first expert clues. Employees desire (1) a culture of trust and transparency, (2) clarity of mission and purpose, (3) empathetic leadership, and (4) schedule flexibility.
Peter Feil, Vice President & General Manager of STOBER Drives added, “A people-first culture puts the well-being and needs of employees and their families first. Business success and longevity are achieved through an investment in people.”
Our list grows. A good place to work is one where (5) the needs of the individual are more important than the needs of the company and (6) business success is achieved through human capital investment.
A college intern at one of the awarded companies responded, “No one treats me like I am at the bottom of the organization. My opinion matters and the opportunity to grow here is limitless. All of the employees are encouraged to better themselves. I really like the autonomy…work has to get done but I can choose in what order I do it and how it gets done. The directive is set forth and I am expected to meet it. There is no micromanagement.”
Again, we learn a few more things. Good places to work (7) listen to the needs and wants of their staff, (8) not only provide, but encourage, professional development opportunities, and (9) set high expectations for members of the organization, while not oppressively defining and detailing work processes.
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Workforce Center’s Executive Director, Lakisha Miller added, “A good place to work is one that provides economic stability, mobility, and creates a culture of respect and equity, while giving their employees a sense of belonging and purpose.”
Here, we pick up two more ideas. Top organizations (10) pay competitive wages and (11) give their people opportunities to advance in their career.
MCTC was named a Best Places to Work finalist for the first time in 2023. Amanda Conley, Dean of Administrative Services commented on the award by adding, “A best place to work has a strong and clear mission that employees can directly impact and a transformational culture where employees are empowered to reach their greatest potential. Great places show a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and encourage innovation, collaboration, shared goals, and shared governance. A best place to work shows a commitment to exceed employee needs by providing excellent benefit options and flexible working schedules.”
A pattern is developing: focus on mission/purpose, individual empowerment and investment, commitment to inclusiveness, transparency, sharing, flexibility, growth.
Interestingly, not once in a discussion of great business practices has profitability been mentioned. None of the executives I spoke with mentioned costs, assets, balance sheets, cash flows, or margins. The best companies don’t focus on profit. Rather, profit is viewed as a byproduct of creating a great culture and investing in people.
The old axiom applies: take care of your people and your people will take care of you.
Is the purpose of business to make money? If you answered ‘yes’ to that question, I feel confident in assuming your company did not make the Best Places to Work in Kentucky list. Revenue and profit are business necessities; without them a company won’t be around long. But there is a chasm of difference between necessity and priority. Businesses should provide value, satisfy a need, or offer a solution to a problem, and in doing those things also make money…not the other way around.
Profit is not a purpose. The best places to work are not financially-focused, they are employee-focused.
Daniel Katz, author of The Social Psychology of the Workplace and The Study of Organizations wrote, “It is a commonplace executive observation that businesses exist to make money, and the observation is usually allowed to go unchallenged. It is, however, a very limited statement about the purposes of business.”
Are you part of a work culture of transparency and trust, with clarity of mission and purpose, empathetic leadership, and schedule flexibility? Do you feel as if your needs and growth are treated as equally important as the goals of the business? Are you given opportunities for learning and growth on a clearly-defined career pathway? Do you feel heard and appreciated, or are you micromanaged and viewed as replaceable? Are you paid competitively, included in the decision-making hierarchy, and treated fairly?
Maybe you have never stopped to consider these things. Work does not have to be a cold, do-this-for-that transactional relationship with out-of-touch leadership. There is a better way. The companies recently awarded as Best Places to Work prove it.
If you have to spend much time considering whether or not your organization meets the criteria of being a “good” place to work, then maybe it’s time to ask a different question: why am I still here?
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Jeremy Faulkner is the Director of Business Services for the Tenco Workforce Board and Kentucky Career Center
