How To Improve Your Bottom Line Through a Happy Workforce

Sidekicker is (humbly believed to be) a great place to work. We have a passionate young team, lots of fun, and a healthy amount of hustle. But there’s always room for improvement.

The Great Places to Work’s 50 Best Places to Work list is just one resource we turn to on our mission to be the biggest and best employer in the country.

The list is a mix of large (over a hundred) and small (under a hundred) companies who encouraged their employees to fill out a 58-statement strong survey, in order to be considered. The team at Great Places to Work then investigated each company’s policies and procedures to get to the bottom of what makes them great.

After reviewing the 2016 list-makers and group-googling photos of their offices, we’ve learned a few things.

Why focus on being a great place to work?

There’s no denying it. Having a great culture and a thriving workforce isn’t easy. It takes time, attention, and commitment. But at the end of the day, it’s worth it.

Besides the bragging rights of having happy and loyal employees, Great Places to Work found that engagement often resulted in more revenue, less staff turnover, and a higher quality of talent to choose from when expanding your team.

“Becoming a great workplace is a sound business strategy. Having a culture of trust benefits the organisation at every level; employees are more innovative, creative, loyal, demonstrate respect, and genuinely care about each other and the company.” – Zrinka Lovrencic, Managing Director of Great Places to Work

What do the best workplaces all have in common?

The average annual revenue growth for the companies on the list was 39.6%. They must be doing something right.

Regardless of size, all companies scored highly on the same 5 dimensions: credibility, respect,  fairness, pride, and camaraderie. These companies also demonstrated a true interest in the opinions of their staff and encouraged them to influence the business’ direction.

Perks like snack rooms and resting pods are a great help, but you won’t read about this in the reasoning behind why they were chosen. In most instances, the steps they’re taking to be the best don’t cost a thing.

Instead, the companies instilled a strong sense of purpose, mission, culture and values which was reflected in the survey responses of their employees.

Who is winning in the major leagues?

Salesforce, an American IT/software company with local offices in Sydney and Melbourne, tops the list with a department solely dedicated to “Employee Success”.  Their culture is centred around feeling as if you’re part of a family, in which every member feels a responsibility towards each other.

MECCA Brands, an Australian-owned cosmetics company, come in at number three. They have a strong focus on growing their employees and promoting within. Each new hire is not hired for their role, but where they could be in the company in years to come. Fitting in with culture and brand is more important to MECCA than skill-set or expertise.

You are never too small to be great

Local grown company 4mation Technologies keeps their team engaged by giving them a voice. Every quarter each team prepares a plan on how they can contribute to the overall business plan. Every member of the team is involved and encouraged to give feedback. Weekly one-on-ones and lunches with the CEO help the team stay on track with their goals.

IT consulting company, Insentra, knows how important the right team is to a great culture. That’s why they encourage candidates to interview anyone on the floor about working in the business, chosen at random. Employees are encouraged to be brutally honest about what’s great and things that need work. This practice reinforces their HIT (Honesty, Integrity, Trust) company values.

At Sidekicker, we have an incredibly close-knit culture complemented by a mostly flat structure. No person or topic is off-limits. The c-suite are not immune to a good ribbing from the sales team.  Honesty and openness, while always maintaining a level of professionalism, is how we keep it that way.

What makes your company a great place to work?