Philadelphia. It’s a great city, but if you live in the suburbs, you know what a pain it can be getting there. But when I received the email from Glassdoor about their Best Places to Work Roadshow, I knew I had to make the trek into Philadelphia.
What makes a company a Best Place to Work?
PeopleShare, the staffing company I work for, is no stranger to being a great place to work. We’ve been on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s list for almost a decade running. But that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and do nothing when it comes to our company culture.
Creating a productive and supporting environment and building a strong culture in order to make your company a place people actually want to be a part of isn’t something that just happens. Culture is an area that companies need to focus on and nurture in order to make sure it’s on the right track. Which is why I jumped at the chance to attend Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work Roadshow. Who better to learn from than other companies who have been recognized as amazing places to work as well?
The event
Aside from the breakfast being delicious (thank you Jobvite!), the event itself was well organized, and the speakers were engaging.
Glassdoor’s introduction to the event included some great takeaways in itself. If a company strives to be considered as a Glassdoor Best Place to Work, it needs a mission that employees can believe in, an investment in culture, a commitment to putting people first while embracing transparency in the process, and the reminder that being a Best Place to Work isn’t all about pay. Wise words indeed.
Up next was Steph Douglass from OpenTable, who started off her presentation strong – by showing videos! “Come join us at OpenTable” not only gave us an overview about the company, but it featured actual employees as well, which gave us a sense of what it would be really like to work there. It also reinforced one of Steph’s key points – to be true to who you are and what you stand for as a company in all you do. It was easy to see why OpenTable was included on the list of Best Places to Work of 2016. (And after her presentation, I wanted a waffle – if you watch their video, you’ll understand.)
Tiffany McGowen from Paycom, another company that earned a spot on Glassdoor’s 2016 Best Places to Work list, said it best when she stated, “Culture isn’t dictated. It is something we empower our people to participate in and enjoy.” She stressed the importance of leadership “walking the walk” and the use of one-on-ones to connect with employees. Her passion for building a winning and engaged culture was palatable, and her examples of how Paycom succeeded in this area were inspiring.
When the event was over, I returned to my office, excited to share my notes and thoughts on what I had heard with Crissy Kovacs, our Director of Human Resources.
The next step
As the Director of Marketing and Brand Management, I am looking forward to working with Crissy in parlaying the information I learned from the Glassdoor event into new initiatives so we can make our culture at PeopleShare even stronger as we continue to expand our footprint in the staffing industry.
When you are a growing company it is tempting to sweep the need to support your culture under the rug in the belief that resources are better utilized elsewhere, but as Steph and Tiffany can attest, this is the exact opposite of what you should do if you want your company to be successful. And, lucky for us here at PeopleShare, it is something our founders understand as well.
Becoming a Glassdoor Best Place to Work isn’t about the recognition, but rather the employees’ appreciation of your efforts to support them and show them that you do truly value them and all they do for your company. After all, if your company doesn’t support them, how can you expect them to support your company?
Attending the event allowed me to learn more about Glassdoor and how we can make better use of their platform, and how other companies are utilizing the site in monitoring and understanding the impact of their efforts to be a Best Place to Work. I came away from the event inspired, and am eager to put the new ideas I gained to use.
