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Building on greatness; Workplace. It's not fruit baskets and pool tables that make employees happy at the office New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal Saturday, June 30, 2007 Good old-fashioned respect, trust, and communication top the list of things workers want from their workplace. "What I find workers are looking for more than anything is respect and the opportunity to do challenging work," says Rachelle Gagnon, president of the Human Resources Association of New Brunswick. "Personally, I don't think workplaces like Google headquarters are what will motivate people long-term. Workers are not at work because of free juice or pool tables." Google, based in Mountain View, California works notoriously hard to keep its workers happy. It offers an endless supply of free chef-prepared food all day, free commuter buses, and free game rooms. But, Gagnon says having a good workplace is not about "silly perks-" and she should know. As director of human resources at Assumption Life in Moncton, she is pleased that her workers recently filled out an anonymous online survey that led to Assumption being named by Progress Magazine as one of the best places to work in Atlantic Canada. Gagnon says workers want to feel that their concerns are being heard and that their professional and personal needs are being met. Once people feel respected and believe they have the latitude to move up the ranks, she says, they are satisfied. Of course, Assumption employees also appreciate being paid a competitive salary and being allowed to take time off for personal reasons. Gagnon's back-to-basics approach to satisfying workers seems to be catching on. Saint John information and communications technology company Ambir, which was named the number one place to work in Atlantic Canada in the same survey, does not offer many extra frills to its 25 employees. What Ambir does offer is a profit-sharing program, an average salary of $83,000, and good health coverage. All of its workers are experienced employees who could work somewhere else but choose to stay with the small upstart company that was founded in 2004. "We are all about the people. One of my motivations was the people," says Ian Cavanagh, chief executive officer of Ambir. "We get to the heart of motivation by asking a lot of questions and actually listening to what my employees are telling me they need." Cavanagh also had the unique advantage of having worked with, or crossed paths with, most of his employees before they came to work for him. So he had a perspective on who his employees really are and was able to tailor his workplace to their needs. "We are of a certain age here where family is important to all of us," said Cavanagh. "We provided flexibility to take time off to take care of an aging parent or a child, or even to undertake a life goal. We're open to people taking three or six months off to attain a life goal and then return to work." His workers also really appreciate health coverage. One of the company's most popular perks is orthodontics coverage for employees and their families. Ambir also offers a work-life employee assistance program, which provides access to professional advice on everything from workplace stress to parenting issues 365 days per year. On top of this, it provides a service called Best Doctors, which gives workers access to the best medical care worldwide whenever they need it. Cavanagh says his employees "are not interested in getting fruit baskets on their desk every week." What they really want, and get, at Ambir is the opportunity to make an impact on the company, take on new responsibilities, and showcase their talents. All of this emphasis on creating a good workplace is not only good for employees, but is also good for a company's bottom line. A 2002 Statistics Canada report showed that the majority of Canadians were happy with their jobs. But it's the roughly six per cent of workers who were "not too satisfied," and two per cent who were "not at all satisfied" that businesses need to watch out for. The same report found that job dissatisfaction was related to the number of sick days workers had taken in the past two weeks. The average number of days taken by workers who were dissatisfied was almost three times more than for workers who were very satisfied with their jobs. So, investing in having a happy and healthy workplace in the end is not about altruism - it makes good business sense. Gagnon says it is not one single attribute that makes a good workplace. Rather, it is a range of things that evoke a workplace culture that matches up with employees expectations. "There is a lot of room for creativity when you are trying to make a good workplace environment," said Gagnon. "You are selling a product. Companies need to figure out what distinguishes them from other places. Workers don't have to stay at your company. Give them reasons to choose you." © 2007 Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick) |