How does your company stack up?

Do you work for a great company? Do you look forward to going to work, seeing your co-workers and actually enjoy the work that you do on a daily basis? Let’s examine some of the characteristics that can qualify a company as a good company.{{more}}

Good Pay Structure 

Everyone likes to be fairly compensated for their time and talent. A good employer pays market rate, or even above, to remain competitive and attract the best employees. All employers should know that workers despise being underpaid and overworked. They also like to be paid on time every time and the cheques should never bounce.

Supportive Environment

A mechanic in a repair shop couldn’t stop telling a customer about how wonderful his boss was. The customer was quite surprised, but listened attentively. The qualities the mechanic most admired were the following:

Whenever there’s a problem with the equipment, personnel or the nature of the work, the boss/owner would not hesitate to address it. If the equipment needed fixing or needed to be replaced, it was done immediately. If it’s a personnel issue, he would address it right away, and if it’s a problem with the work itself that the employees could not figure out or they needed help, due to excessive work, he did not think twice about rolling up his sleeves and assisting the men on the floor. Do you have a boss like that? This mechanic saw his boss demonstrate how much he valued his workers. Do you see that in your workplace?

Reward Programme

Every company must have a reward programme that is designed to motivate and help the workers to achieve more. Reward programmes cannot work by themselves; they have to be a part of an overall strategy to encourage employees. Rewards can be as simple as giving certificates to employees for a job well done or food celebrations for the entire team, department or organization. They can also be monetary or a few days off. Whatever avenue your company chooses, it must be part of a comprehensive strategy and be done consistently and fairly. There is no room for favouritism or oversights.

Vacation Plan

How does your company’s vacation plan stack up to those of its competitors? Are you getting less vacation time? Do you have to wait longer before you can go on vacation? Do you even have time off?

Benefits Plan

Some companies offer a medical benefits plan; many do not. If you do have a medical programme with your organization, you are probably among the lucky ones. Take advantage of it when possible.

Family/Child Care

Does your company have time available to you so you can care for a sick child or aging parent? Employees have a lot to juggle and companies must stay abreast of the changing needs of their workers. It’s not unusual for companies to offer employees a few days annually to take care of such personal matters without making the process of asking for the time difficult.

Karen Hinds is “The Workplace Success Expert.”