'Best places to work' have 50% less employee turnover (HR Daily article)
'Best places to work' have 50% less employee turnover
(Article sourced from HR Daily, Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Even among this year's 'best places to work', employees' experience isn't living up to organisations' value propositions, new research shows.
At the organisations named as 2023's best places to work, employees "feel they are heard by their leaders and supported in dealing with the current cost-of-living pressures, flexibility needs, and holistic wellbeing support", says WrkPlus CEO Zrinka Lovrencic.
However, for the first time in 17 years, she says economic pressures and COVID impacts are evident in the data.
"The employee experience of the best organisations is somewhat atypical, with the majority of employees in the study reporting that their employee experience is not living up to the value proposition presented by the organisation," Lovrencic says.
Specifically, remote and hybrid workers have reported a lack of communication, development, and recognition in their work experience.
"The appetite to invest in the employee experience has historically been stronger during favourable economic times, however it is most important and imperative to invest in during harder times," she says.
"To be resilient, the 2023 Best Places to Work truly put their people experience first," she adds. And they reap the benefits: the best organisations have increased their revenue on average by 17.8% over the past year, and headcount by 8%.
The research also shows the best workplaces attract, on average, 52 applications per open role, while their employee turnover is 50% lower than other organisations in their industry.
Investing in employee development
With engagement levels averaging 85%, the best organisations make three key investments in employees, according to the study. These include:
- professional development – 88% of the best workplaces have a development plan in place for each team member, with an average of 60 hours allocated to professional development every year;
- healthy work environments – some 84% of organisations have a mental health plan in place, and 100% offer hybrid working; and
- competitive compensation – 80% have conducted an equal pay audit in the past year, and 88% have conducted a market salary comparison.
This year's top five highest-ranking organisations with 100 or more employees are:
- Coloplast
- Jetts Fitness
- Hipages Group
- Kapitol Group
- Avenue Dental
At medical device provider Coloplast, each team has its own charter, setting out its purpose (with a clear link back to business goals), behaviours, and how it will engage with others across the business.
These charters are reviewed alongside a day of fun activities to help team members get to know each other and the business better, the report says.
The organisation also encourages team members to connect in the office twice a week and introduced a public holiday exchange policy and two days of wellbeing leave, to do "anything that brings them joy".
Ranked in second place, up from seventh last year, gym franchise Jetts Fitness scored more than 90% across the three survey areas of employees' relationship with their work (90%), team (94%) and organisation (92%), and it has an employee NPS of 94%.
Perks such as birthdays off, free gym memberships and discounted fitness products assist with team satisfaction and motivation, while the EAP and Jetts Training Academy offers a range of courses for professional development and support.
"Climbing five places is a true testament to our model, culture and the people that make up our team," says Jetts Fitness CEO Elaine Jobson.
"The feedback provides us with the reassurance that our team members love coming to work and so our purpose is not only to inspire our members, but encourage our team to live better, healthier lives as well. Not only does a good workplace culture have a positive impact on employees, but it filters through to the customers, making their experience more enjoyable too."
Meanwhile this year's top five highest-ranking organisations with fewer than 100 employees are:
- OnDeck
- Stanford Brown Private Wealth
- TechPath
- The Works
- Zembl
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