Manager Access in the Trust Index™ Survey provides real-time insights that empower leaders to take ownership of their teams’ experience, drive positive change, and build a thriving workplace.

According to Gallup, , yet research shows that . Without the right tools, leadership effectiveness suffers, and so does business performance.

Manager Access helps solve this challenge by giving leaders targeted insights—not overwhelming data—so they can:

• Make informed decisions based on real employee feedback
• Identify opportunities for growth and track improvements
• Create accountability for engagement, retention and performance

How Manager Access transforms leadership effectiveness

Without clear insights, even the most capable managers struggle to improve team engagement. Manager Access bridges this gap by providing tailored survey results to leaders at every level.

This means:

• Department leaders get relevant insights on their teams’ experiences—without jeopardizing confidentiality
• Managers can track key performance indicators (KPIs) like engagement, retention and productivity
• Actionable reporting helps leaders develop data-driven strategies to improve culture and performance

“Effective leadership is about creating a high-performing, engaged and purpose-driven team,” says Julian Lute, insights & innovation strategist at Great Place To Work®. “Effective leaders don’t just manage people—they inspire them.”

What makes Manager Access so powerful?

Great culture doesn’t happen by accident. Leadership is defined by actions and impact, not just by their title.

Manager Access is more than just a reporting tool—it’s a strategic solution that drives measurable improvements in leadership effectiveness. Here’s how:

1. Clearer leadership accountability

Managers are responsible for engagement, retention, and team development. Manager Access gives them the visibility and accountability to lead effectively.

• Helps leaders model trust-building behaviors like listening, thanking, and developing employees
• Encourages transparent, constructive feedback between managers and teams
• Creates measurable goals and action plans for continuous improvement

2. Smarter decision-making with data-driven insights

Managers receive survey results specific to their teams, allowing them to:

• Pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement
• Compare their department’s performance to company-wide benchmarks
• Track progress over time and measure leadership impact

“You can’t improve what you don’t measure,” explains Julian Lute.

3. Higher employee engagement & performance

• Leaders can identify and address engagement gaps before they become retention risks
• Managers develop actionable strategies to improve communication and trust
• Teams experience a more consistent, positive workplace culture.

Leaders must take ownership of engagement —Manager Access ensures they have the data to do so.

Real companies, real impact

Trek Bicycle: creating leadership ownership with data

By breaking down employee survey data to a granular level, Trek Bicycles fostered a sense of ownership among its leaders. Drawing on insights from the Trust Index Survey, Trek could benchmark against similar divisions and share best practices to drive improvements.

John Burke, CEO at Trek, calls this “The Montgomery Principle”—a nod to their warehouse manager who realized that making the organization great was everyone’s responsibility.

The result?

• 24% improvement in manager communication across the organization
• Leaders used survey data to drive meaningful conversations with their teams
• Manager Access became a key tool for accountability, with every leader having a Great Place To Work objective in their OKRs
  
  

“Every key manager at Trek has a Great Place To Work objective as part of their OKRs,” says Burke. “It forces managers to have conversations with their team on how we can make Trek a great place to work.”

Wellstar Health System measure & improve high-trust culture

Wellstar Health Systems took action to support their leaders in taking ownership of the business by actively listening to their people and responding to feedback.

To do this, Wellstar leaders rely heavily on feedback from the Trust Index Survey, particularly the Manager Access feature, to ensure that they are creating an environment where trust is at the forefront.

The results speak directly to the employee experience:

• Wellstar used survey data to build leadership trust through actionable data, helping leaders see the direct impact of their actions
• 73% of leaders increased or maintained high trust scores, with an average increase of 21 points
• Employee engagement shot up, with notable gains in respect and connection across the board

“Data from the Great Place To Work Trust Index survey is the most powerful point to drive home [to our leaders] why culture is important,” says Samantha Ros, Director of Team Member Engagement.

How WP Engine made strategic, high-impact culture decisions

By reviewing the Trust Index data, WP Engine was able to find a solution to the challenge of cascading information from leadership to ensure employees felt aligned with the company strategy and how it related to them.

The outcome? 

• Unified feedback from 1,300 employees across 10 countries, enabling informed decision making. 
• Implementing regular meetings with all people managers to improve transparency and alignment of company goals
• A more transparent and connected workplace where everyone feels a sense of direction

“This is an insight that could only come from the data collected by the Trust Index,” says Annette Alexander, the Chief People Officer. “There was a disconnect between how we thought we were performing versus the employees’ actual experience — we needed the data to highlight this gap for us.

Create leadership accountability with Manager Access

Leadership isn’t about titles or power—it’s about accountability and impact. Manager Access helps leaders take ownership of their team’s experience and turn insights into meaningful action.

Customers: Want to give your leaders the data they need to take action? Get in touch with your CSM today to activate Manager Access and begin witnessing the impact on engagement and performance.

Once manager access has been enabled, organizations can invite managers to view their results in the platform and review responses of the survey.

Not already a customer of Great Place To Work? Start using manager access to improve leadership and enhance team performance at your company today. Talk to someone on our team.

Developing leaders should be a key component of any talent management strategy because effective leadership is essential to the success of any organization. Great leaders can inspire and motivate their teams, create a positive and productive company culture, and drive innovation and growth.

Think about it this way: If a restaurant only focused on hiring great chefs and didn't bother to teach them how to lead a team or run the kitchen, things could quickly fall apart.

By investing in leadership development, organizations can identify and nurture individuals with the potential to become future leaders and help them develop the skills and leadership qualities needed to succeed in these roles. This helps ensure the organization's long-term success and helps retain and engage employees who feel supported and valued by their employer.

Plus, a company with a strong leadership pipeline is better prepared to handle unexpected changes or challenges, easing the need to recruit external candidates for leadership positions. This can save the organization time and money, while also ensuring that new leaders have a deep understanding of the organization and its culture.

Finally, leadership development can help to create a culture of continuous learning and improvement, where employees are encouraged to develop their skills and take on new challenges. This can lead to higher engagement, job satisfaction, and improved performance and productivity.

What is leadership effectiveness?

Leadership effectiveness isn’t just a fancy title or a corner office. It’s about creating a high-performing, engaged, and purpose-driven team. Effective leaders don’t just manage people—they inspire them. They guide their teams toward shared goals while cultivating a workplace where everyone thrives.

What makes a leader effective?

Great leaders share a few key traits:

• Clear communication — The best leaders don’t just talk, they connect. Transparent, thoughtful communication builds trust and fuels collaboration.
• Trustworthiness — People follow leaders they trust. Transparency, integrity, and consistency create a safe space for teams to do their best work.
• Strategic thinking — Effective leaders see the big picture. They don’t just react, they plan, anticipate, and strategize for success.

Want to elevate leadership effectiveness in your organization? Great Place to Work® offers a tool that arms leaders with the right data to make informed decisions and drive their teams to success.

How do you measure leadership effectiveness?

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Here’s how organizations can assess leadership effectiveness:

• Employee engagement surveys — Engaged employees equals effective leadership and these surveys provide insights into how well leaders are supporting their teams
• 360-degree feedback — A holistic view of leadership, gathering input from peers, direct reports, and supervisors
• Leadership KPIs — Metrics like goal achievement, project success rates, and team performance indicators provide quantifiable proof of leadership impact
• Retention and productivity – High-performing teams with low turnover are the mark of an effective leader

The role of emotional intelligence in leadership effectiveness

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the secret sauce of great leadership. Leaders with high EI create environments where employees feel heard, valued, and motivated. The four key components of EI are:

1. Self-awareness — Understanding strengths, weaknesses, and emotions
2. Self-regulation — Staying composed under pressure
3. Empathy — Supporting employees’ needs and perspectives
4. Social skills — Building strong relationships and trust

High-EI leaders foster high-performance workplaces. When leaders understand their teams, engagement and productivity soar.

Leadership development: Lessons from Target and Allianz

Top companies (and Great Place To Work customers) like Target and Allianz invest heavily in leadership development. But here’s a surprising insight: middle managers—not executives—feel the most pressure.

Gartner research shows that by their growing responsibilities. And yet, these mid-level leaders are the glue holding organizations together. They translate strategy into action, develop talent, and drive culture.

So, what happens when middle managers are ignored? Burnout. Disengagement. High turnover.

카지노 커뮤니티 추천 investing in leadership development for middle managers see better engagement, retention, and financial performance. Removing middle managers isn’t the answer — supporting them is.

Mistakes to avoid when developing middle managers

Here’s what not to do when supporting middle managers:

• Focusing on time spent instead of outcomes — Leaders should be judged by results, not hours worked
• Failing to offer clear career progression — Employees need to see a future to stay engaged
• Not providing flexibility for development — Being flexible with leadership development means offering diverse learning formats that fit different schedules, such as on-demand e-learning, virtual coaching, or self-paced training.

The skills middle managers need to lead effectively

At Target, leadership training is aligned with business strategy. Key areas of focus include:

• Tech skills — AI and digital tools are transforming the workplace
• Change management — Helping teams navigate uncertainty with confidence
• Leadership behaviors — Inclusive communication, employee recognition, and performance management

At Allianz, the focus is on coaching and mentoring. Leaders are trained in active listening, conflict resolution, and employee development — because today’s workforce wants empathetic, approachable leaders.

How leadership development needs to evolve

The best organizations are rethinking leadership development:

• Expanding access — Training isn’t just for top performers; it should be available to all
• Measuring impact — Using HR metrics and analytics to connect leadership training with business outcomes
• Prioritizing soft skills — Leadership today is about coaching, mentoring, and emotional intelligence

At Allianz, middle managers are encouraged to be coaches, not micromanagers. Investing in leadership behaviors like active listening and feedback leads to higher engagement and retention.

9 high-trust leadership behaviors everyone should model

Great leadership isn’t about authority — it’s about trust. Great Place To Work has identified nine behaviors that build trust and create a thriving workplace:

1. Listening — The most important leadership skill—truly hear your team
2. Speaking — Clear, transparent communication fosters trust
3. Thanking — Show appreciation for contributions
4. Developing — Invest in employees’ growth
5. Caring — Support employees personally and professionally
6. Sharing — Fair compensation, bonuses, and recognition matter
7. Celebrating — Recognize achievements that align with company values
8. Inspiring — Help employees see their impact
9. Hiring & welcoming — Onboard new employees with intention

Leadership effectiveness isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about building trust, fostering connection, and creating an environment where people do their best work.

6 strategies to enhance leadership effectiveness

카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 research on “For All” leaders (as laid out in our book), who intentionally build trust regardless of who a person is or what they do for the business, demonstrates that the most effective leaders focus on:

• Working with teams, seeking ideas from team members and involving them in decisions that affect them
• Recognizing employees, especially by calling out accomplishments and helping employees get ahead in their careers
• Inspiring employees to follow by showing them that leaders are competent, honest, and reliable

So how do you cultivate leaders like this at your company?

1. Identify the most important behaviors for great managers at your organization

While certain characteristics of manager effectiveness apply across most companies, true insights come from identifying the unique behaviors that best align with your organization’s mission, culture, customer needs, and strategic goals.

As mentioned above, Great Place To Work research identifies nine high-trust leadership behaviors that shape positive employee experiences and drive business success. These behaviors include listening, speaking, thanking, developing, caring, sharing, celebrating, inspiring, and hiring and welcoming.

First, identify the managers inside your organization who are successfully building high-trust relationships. Employee survey data is a source of truth here.

Interview these managers and ask them “how” they did what they did. Use this information to identify three to five habits that create a great work environment and share them across your organization.

2. Build trust

Employees follow their leaders when they trust in them. They trust managers because they believe them to be competent, honest, and reliable.

You can instill trust in your leadership in three ways:

• Create credibility: Do what you say you are going to do. If you promise your employee a project or learning opportunity, follow through on your word.
• Be respectful: Ensuring your people are set up for success. Arm them with the resources and support they need to do their best work.
• Make fair decisions: This is fundamental for building trust in your management effectiveness, especially when it comes to promotion decisions and for people who are different than you (whether gender, racial background, or tenure).

3. Be a true collaborator

Work with your team to co-create plans and concoct new ideas.

This doesn’t mean reaching a consensus or decision-making by committee. We’re talking about real involvement and collaboration.

Improve collaboration by:

• Involving your team in decisions that affect them by getting their feedback before decisions — such as moving to a new office space — are made and address any concerns
• Seeking employees’ opinions on the next problem you’re trying to solve
• Having regular one-to-ones and informal conversations, such as staffroom lunches and coffees away from the office

These effective management behaviors will make your employees feel included, valued, and inspired to do their best work.

4. Make employee recognition your ritual

Employee recognition shows employees their contributions are recognized and appreciated. A study of employee engagement by O.C. Tanner showed that personal recognition is the number one driver of employee performance — more than pay, promotions, inspiring work, training or autonomy.

Leaders can make recognition part of their manager ritual by:

• Having recognition “triggers” — for example, tangible goals with upfront guidance to managers on how to communicate the goals and track them
• Making it easy for managers to celebrate employees — for example, Hotel chain Hilton gives managers an annual “Recognition Calendar” with easy-to-implement ideas to thank employees every day of the year

5. Rethink how you promote your people

If managing a larger team is the only way to a promotion at your company, you may want to rethink your promotion process. Some people may be more valuable to the organization as an individual contributor or a part of a team.

Smart companies (and effective managers) create multiple avenues to success for employees. For example, they:

• Help people earn new responsibilities and develop their skills through new projects, lateral moves and stretch assignments
• Take an active role in employees’ development plans
• Keep an eye out for additional ways employees can add value to a project or lend their expertise to something outside of their general scope of responsibilities

6. Flip the traditional performance process

It's common for managers to rate and review their employees, but great managers want feedback to flow both ways. They make sure their employee surveys not only look at organizational culture as a whole but management effectiveness, too.

At Great Place To Work Certified™ companies, employees rate management on all five of the above behaviors in their Trust Index™ Survey.

Employees reflect on management’s behavior, whether management shows a sincere interest in them as a person (not just an employee), and how much management’s actions match their words. This authentic feedback gives a nuanced picture of management effectiveness.

Becoming a more effective leader

Want to take your leadership to the next level? The Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey gives leaders access to the insights they need to drive engagement and performance. Talk to someone on our team to learn how to measure and improve leadership effectiveness at your company.

During the pandemic, the hospitality industry faced unprecedented challenges, including hotel closures and furloughs. Despite these hurdles, Marriott emerged stronger by prioritizing workplace flexibility and redefining leadership.

Ty Breland, EVP and CHRO, discussed the company's journey of resilience and reinvention, and the impact their culture has on business performance. Marriott has set hiring records and is ranked No. 8 among the Fortune 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For.

On job sharing and creating workplace flexibility for workers:

We listened to our associates, and what they were looking for was intraday flexibility. Many have families and commitments outside of work, and we didn’t want them to miss out on activities that are important to them.

We started to think, why can't we share some of these jobs? Why can't this be a split job between two people who are performing what used to be one job? It doesn't work everywhere, but where it could, we took advantage.

On the non-management or hourly side of the business, it was about creating your own schedule. Like many companies, most of our workforce was full-time before the pandemic. We would fill the entire schedule with full-time associates and then where we had anomalies in the schedule, we may offer it up to part-time, which might not be the most desirable shift.

We flipped that logic and really looked at people creating their own schedules and having an influx of part-time mixed with full-time associates. This led us to rethink how we managed scheduling.

What that gets you is a more engaged and committed workforce, which we’ve seen in our numbers. It also builds community, where people can bring their whole selves to work and help each another, whether it's by picking up a shift or helping with a report. It makes us a better organization and community, increasing our impact.

[Learn how culture drives business success from Marriott and other leaders of companies on the 2025 Fortune 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For List at the For All Summit™ in Las Vegas April 8-10.]

On creating new jobs, called Integrated Jobs or iJobs:

All of us travel and stay at hotels. When you walk in, you really want one person to help you with what you need at that time. A guest experience expert is not only your front desk agent, but they also can serve as a concierge or other front-of-house role you might need before heading to your room.

In the past, those responsibilities would have been divided between three or four different jobs, but the consumer appreciates having one point of contact. The associate likes the variety in their job, and they feel like they're really caring for the guest in a more authentic and complete way.

We’ve seen improvements in the customer experience, cleanliness scores, guest engagement scores, and associate engagement scores. Turnover is lower at hotels that have fully adopted iJobs. All the metrics go up, including revenue, because the associate feels closer to their role and purpose, which benefits our associates, Marriott, and our customers. It’s a win-win-win. 

On the new leadership mindset:

Having a leadership mindset is important, no matter what level you are. When you wake up each day thinking like a leader, you're curious, courageous, and connected. This mindset can go across the entire spectrum of associates in your organization.

We encourage our non-management associates to transition into management roles. They know our business extremely well. Oftentimes, it's giving them the courage and sponsorship to apply for those jobs. We've always done a great job of having individuals cross from non-management to management, but recently we've doubled down and launched a program, Elevate by Marriott International, which targets non-management associates becoming managers.

Since launching that program, we've seeing big changes in our first-level management jobs. Right now, one in every four hires for entry-level management positions come from our non-management population.

As part of this program, something that was unique was giving them all coaches. We've partnered with an external coaching firm to support these associates. Traditionally, coaching was reserved for executive levels, but we’ve turned that on its head and offer coaching to non-management associates pursuing management opportunities. This gives them the best chance to not only land one of these positions, but to thrive in them.

On advice for HR colleagues:

We have many leaders at Marriott who prioritize putting people first. But for the broader HR community, you have to have a seat at the table. Once you're there, you have to have a voice. And once you have a voice, you have to make sure you're heard.

The best way to do that is to really listen and understand the business. Once you have that firm understanding, you’re better able to apply the right HR solutions and strategies to propel the business forward.

And measure things. We're relentless in our analytics and connecting the dots.

Need help finding the perfect gift for anyone looking to grow their career or improve their workplace?

카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 community of workplace experts and culture leaders have created a reading list of books that make the perfect gift for a family member or work colleague.

You won’t want to miss selections like by Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania professor and returning speaker for the For All  Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas. Or, from bestselling author Amy Edmondson, who spoke about her book with us on our Better podcast.

Other speakers and guests have told us about well-loved tomes that offer lessons, inspiration, and wisdom for anyone trying to create a better workplace for all.

Check out the list:

1.  by Charles Vogl

Alveda Williams, chief inclusion officer at Dow, says Vogl’s book offers “really simple principles around creating communities of belonging.”

With hands-on tools for implementing each principle, this book is the perfect gift for anyone looking to build a healthier workplace.

2.  by Adam Grant

Monique Herena, chief colleague experience officer at American Express, says she gave the new book by Wharton industrial and organizational psychologist Adam Grant to her team.

“One of the insights I loved about Adam’s book is that it’s discomfort and getting out of your comfort zone that unlocks hidden potential, and there’s no sort of person who has a unique ability to learn in a better, more efficient, more sophisticated way than another person,” she says.

Learn strategies from other great workplaces at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

3.  by David Brooks

Amy Edmondson, bestselling author and researcher who coined the phrase “team psychological safety,” says this book from New York Times columnist David Brooks includes an exploration of purpose and virtue was “deeply moving.”

“I think too many people, young and old, … they want to be successful, famous, look good in the eyes of others, rather than actually feel that deeper sense of fulfillment from making a contribution that you uniquely are there to make,” she says.

4.  by Michelle MiJung Kim

Synchrony’s Michael Matthews shared how hearing from Kim as a speaker at a company event impacted him. Her book explores how to close the gap between our good intentions and our real-world impact.

“It talks about diversity and leaning into individuals and understanding the role that we as individuals play,” he says. As a discussion about privilege and how our lived experience influences the workplace, this is a must-read for leaders.

5. “” by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

This collection of daily meditations from stoic philosophers of Ancient Rome like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus was recommended by Cisco’s Kelly Jones as a companion she uses every day.

“It’s a practice and it’s a mindset of understanding that there are things you can control and things you can’t,” she says.

6.  by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

This book, which offers a provoking and fresh perspective on workplace culture, led to important changes for Camden Property Trust’s Cindy Scharringhausen.

“As a result of this book, we have eliminated the annual performance evaluation and replaced it with a model that is set to foster the relationship between the employee and their direct manager — creating more dialogue and connection than a formal once a year process,” she says.

7.  by Nellie Borrero

Accenture’s Yolanda Friend recommends a new book by her colleague and mentor Nellie Borrero with life and career lessons from Borrero’s work as a first-generation Latina at the global consulting firm.  

In Borrero’s book, you can learn more about how Accenture built a high-trust workplace and get practical examples to drive change at your organization.

8.  by Hubert Joly

Need to connect culture to business outcomes? This book comes highly recommended from Mr. Cooper Group’s Kelly Ann Doherty.

“This book helps you understand workplace culture from a CEO perspective and how connecting culture to positive business outcomes is a real game changer,” she says.

9.  by Bento C. Leal III

Are you struggling with tough conversations in the workplace? So much of workplace culture is communication, and that’s why this practical guide with hands-on exercises is the recommendation of DVL Group’s Christy Magee.

10.  by Simon Sinek

Penn Mutual’s Liz Heitner loves the focus on trust in Sinek’s book. “It delves into how leaders can build trust, foster collaboration, and create environments where employees feel valued and safe,” she says.

We’ve got a book, too. Learn more about the concepts and methodology behind our data with a copy of “A Great Place To Work For All” written by our CEO Michael C. Bush and the Great Place To Work research team.

In this episode of Better from Great Place To Work, we delve into the intricacies of performance reviews and goal setting with Liz Heitner, chief human resources officer at Penn Mutual.

She shared how Penn Mutual has transformed its approach, resulting in a dynamic performance success program. They've shifting from annual reviews to continuous, real-time feedback that's connected to business goals. Leaders are aligned and employees are actively involved in the process.

She also encourages the use of AI tools like ChatGPT to boost productivity and innovation, while upholding ethical guidelines and transparency.

On why performance management often doesn’t work well:

One thing some programs get wrong is this focus on a bell curve that's predicated on the fact that you have low performance, that you’re hiring people that do not fit and will not be successful. That's actually a very small percentage of most populations of most organizations. The focus really needs to shift to empowerment, enablement, and people really bringing their best. It's not something that you can just say, "Oh, yay, we've arrived. Check the box. We're done."

This is how contemporary leaders, operating in these remote, high-performing organizations need to focus their time and energy. This is the J-O-B so to speak.

A lot of these performance management programs are a check-the-box compliance exercise, a tool for delivering merit and bonus — and not thought of as the fiber of how we work and accomplish results as a company.

On how Penn Mutual made changes:

We took a test and learn approach.

Step one was goal setting, and we did a lot of training and development to support this effort. People said, "I'm not really sure how my role relates to these areas of the business. I'm really only focused on this area." And so having those integrated conversations with leadership to ensure the goals made sense down to the individual level and cascaded down was huge. And you’ll learn what people shouldn't work on. “What are the things that we no longer are going to work on that don't align with the priorities?”

We also moved our performance calendar to align with our business cycle. And rather than it being an annual event — performance management, success, or feedback — it happens in real time and we’re normalizing that for employees.

And we looked at the alignment of rewards. If you get your performance review and your rating in June, you might ask, "How does that connect with my bonus that I get in the following February?" So again, making sure that we lined up performance elements and the reward cycle in the right place was something we got a lot of credibility around.

[Learn to support your entire workforce at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas. Better listeners save $200!]

On the importance of aligning leaders:

You need to get everybody focused, committed, and on the same page around what you’re trying to accomplish with your performance management system. That has been a continued focus of our leadership development and training.

At our leadership summit for the top 150-200 leaders, we made sure that we're aligned and committed to the results and priorities as a company. That was a very impactful cultural catalyst, if you will.

On professional development programs:

Organizations need to spend some time reflecting on, "What are the skills, what are the capabilities, what are the competencies that we really need to be successful?" Not today, because today's baked, but five years from now, and, "How do we really chart that course?" That’s all aligned to your business goals. I would get aligned around those goals before you develop and deliver any learning and development activities. That’s so critical.

The other piece of this is thinking about how those programs will be received by employees. If the content is not engaging or relevant, and people don't understand the “why,” it leads to low participation and retention.

Make sure you engage your employees in the design process and explain to them why you're focused on the things you're focused on.

On expanding tuition reimbursement programs:

I think everyone is aware that degreed programs are less and less relevant to equipping current talent in the workforce with the skills they need for the future. We've heard the sound bites around the shrinking half-life of a skill, and it's interesting. There's so much to be gained by degreed programs, but there's so much value we can get out of certifications and courses so we shifted tuition reimbursement program to open it up for employees so they can build skills in the areas where they see fit, where they think they're going to get value.

On setting internal AI guidelines:

If your company doesn’t have an acceptable use policy that addresses AI – whatever your stance is – that is the first place you want to start. Get on the same page from a policy standpoint around what is acceptable and what isn’t within your environment.

We're taking a thoughtful look around the benefits and risks these tools can bring to our employees, policyholders, financial professionals and other stakeholders. Where I think we landed is that this technology has incredibly impactful possibilities for productivity. The toothpaste is out of the tube. It is not going away.

Also recognize that this technology is not something that we, as an employer, are procuring and providing, it's readily available on everyone's cellphones.

This episode of Better features journalist, speaker, and podcast host Ellen McGirt. In this deeply personal conversation, we dive into the challenges of caregiving while balancing a career. She opens up about her experience as part of the sandwich generation, caring for both her family and three vulnerable adults, and the struggles caregivers face in the workplace. 

We discuss practical solutions and the importance of normalizing conversations around caregiving and grief at work. This is an issue every employer will face, as caregivers are the fastest growing employee identity group in the U.S.

On how managers can better support caregivers at work:

Flexible time off, no questions asked. A flexible schedule can change everything for people. You need a leader, manager, assigner, or someone who will help you cobble together a schedule that doesn't derail your colleagues, which of course is a burden, but gives you the flexibility to think, to schedule, to understand what your vulnerable adult needs, and of course, just pull yourself together.

I think hospice-style training would be useful for certain types of managers. You put your hand up for it and you can identify yourself as someone who has that wisdom because you’ve had the kind of training and preparation that a hospice volunteer would have. If you could self-identify, "I'm hospice trained. I'm a volunteer. If this is happening for you, let me be part of your support team," that would be really nice.

And being willing to revisit in 1:1's or regular meetings, how everybody is doing and if there's anything going in their lives where they need a little extra flexibility. The question then becomes one for the team and not just for the individual. I would've been much more likely to say, "I need a little support here," if it was a characteristic of the entire team, that we are all caring about each other. 

You want to be able to know that you're plugging into a workplace ecosystem that is prepared to support you in at least talking through the human side of caregiving.

On the impact a senior leader can have by talking about caregiving and grief:  

If a very senior person triggers this conversation in the workplace with a disclosure or concern, you're going to see new training, new conversations, new talking points, and new volunteers, and maybe even new staff positions around this.

Remember a couple of years ago when Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, was moved by the news of the deaths by suicide of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade in a row? He asked his senior team, "Could people be suffering, and I not know it?" And he wrote a letter to the organization flagging this and asking people to reach out if they needed help.

He got flooded, and it changed the way the organization dealt with mental health.

Senior leaders should also do an audit of their employee assistance program packages and ask: "Are we providing the proper support with the proper tone that reflects our spirit in this organization?" That would be a wonderful way to get ahead of this.

On how colleagues can support coworkers who are caretakers, or members of the sandwich generation:

Kindness and compassion go a long way. If I was scrambling on something or if I was late to something, just that kind of emotional flexibility that I just was not going to be able to stick to the kinds of structures that I did before.

And if you don't have a good relationship with someone, a card is probably better. This is not the time for a person that you've had conflict with or you're not aligned with or you've had some sort of issue with to try to establish rapport. A card is good. Love that person from a distance.

Most companies struggle to create a workplace that employees believe is fair and equitable.

It’s also one of the ways companies have struggled in the post-pandemic era amid a rise in remote and hybrid work.

For leaders like Christy Magee, senior director of HR, DVL Group, Inc., the importance of fairness was one of the big lessons of the pandemic.

We spoke with her about her journey in the HR field and her insights into the future of work for the latest in our “How I Got Here” series.

Here’s what Magee shared about why she loves her job, her favorite career advice, and what she would love to change about the workplace today:

What was the hook that first got you interested in workplace culture?

Magee: Studying the Hawthorne effect in social psychology in my sophomore year at LaSalle University! I loved the idea that something as simple as lighting, pay, or work breaks could increase productivity, therefore increasing profits.

I decided then I wanted to go into organizational behavior. Twenty-five years later, I am still here!

What has been the biggest challenge you faced in your career when trying to build a great workplace culture?

Magee: Different companies along the way have led to different challenges. At DVL, when I first started, we were dealing with a recent unsuccessful acquisition. Challenges included different handbooks, policies, procedures — even holidays were different for both companies!

They never integrated the people aspect. Building a relationship with the right decision-maker and getting all of those things streamlined helped create a sense of fairness, caring, and integrity.

What is the No. 1 lesson you have learned about what it means to be a great workplace in a post-pandemic environment?

Magee: Fairness. I was blessed with a culture at DVL that already embraced work-life balance prior to March of 2020. Work is a “verb” not a “place” at DVL. It was about finding the right balance after June 2020 on who needs to be in the office and for how many hours per week to stay successful in our collaborative culture.

The “Hybrid Workplace Policy” put in place in June 2020 still exists to this day and balances the needs of business collaboration and work-from-home desires.

How do you think AI will change your work? Are you excited for those changes?

Magee: AI, like all tools we use, needs to be used with care. I am cautiously optimistic that it will assist HR teams in new ways by simplifying current HR processes. We tend to overcomplicate processes. This is a way to simplify it.

What’s your favorite career advice you’ve ever received? Why?

Magee: I started out in operations and was managing a team. My manager happened to walk in my office on a bad day. He was walking up behind me and said, “I can tell by the back of your head that you are in a bad mood. Also, by how down your team is in the front office.”

It was like a light bulb going off that my bad mood impacted the whole team and I had no idea. He told me to get up, walk away, and take a break to talk to him about what’s going on. It was a good lesson in reaching out when you need help. If you are not a team of one, don’t act like it!  Talk problems through with your team and mentors. You are not alone.

What’s a recent book or podcast you loved that you recommend to our community?

Magee: There are a lot of new books out there. I recently took a group of new leaders through the “Strengths Finder” book and test. They really got a lot out of what their leadership strengths are that they were unaware of.

We are also reading “4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication” to help us with those tough conversations, in and out of work.

What about your job makes you excited to come to work every day?

Magee: In a nutshell? Problem solving. Whether it’s a filling a gap with the best applicant, listening to a co-workers concern, strategy planning, streamlining processes, or helping a new hire with questions, I truly love being a “resource” to humans.

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about how workplaces operate in the world today, what would it be?

Magee: Improving mental health. At this moment, my mobile phone is ringing, text messages, emails and IMs are also ringing. How can we expect ourselves to continue to mindfully work with so many interruptions of our day?

I love that these different forms of communications exist, but the multi-tasking required to tend to all of them while doing our jobs safely and effectively wears down our mental health.

Want to join the conversation? Email Ted Kitterman to learn more about participating in our profiles series.

Whether or not he ever actually said it, Theodore Roosevelt’s apocryphal quote still applies to today’s workplace: “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

When leaders demonstrate a high level of care, it unlocks employee performance.

“People care about their work when they experience being cared for,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work®. “That shows up when you take time to understand and listen to people’s experiences, inside and outside of work.”

One of the nine high-trust leadership behaviors, caring is a signal to employees that leaders are invested in their lives and well-being, not just their performance on the job.

It’s not enough to want everyone in the organization to achieve professional success and earn accolades for their work. Do you also care about what it cost them to deliver that success?

Leaders that demonstrate a high level of care for employees ask questions about workload and work-life balance. They are focused on creating inclusive and welcoming environments where everyone can have a sense they belong. They prioritize employee well-being and take the time to learn about each individual employee’s goals and needs.

In this way, leaders might rewrite Roosevelt’s aphorism: The more you know about someone, the more you will care about them.

Here’s how great workplaces strive to ensure employees have managers who lead with empathy and build inclusive environments where everyone can succeed:

1. Offer flexibility for employees navigating complex lives outside of work

Great Place To Work research has found that when employees can choose where they work, they are:

• Three times more likely to want to stay at the company
• 14 times less likely to “quit and stay”

That doesn’t mean that every workplace builds a better culture when employees can work from home. Instead, the data highlights the value employees put on flexibility.

There are many ways to offer flexibility to employees. PCL Construction offers rotating weekend project schedules to allow workers to flex their time and participate in important family activities.

Sheetz, a convenience store chain, revamped schedules to ensure full-time management employees have a consistent schedule with two back-to-back days off and flexibility around when they start or finish a shift.

Great workplaces also ensure that when life events occur, employees have the space they need. At Baird, the company makes exceptions to its policies to meet the individual needs of an employee, whether that is offering three months of paid leave to an associate who lost a spouse, or offering four weeks of paid time off to an associate to care for family members with acute medical needs.

In the U.S., there isn’t a federal bereavement leave policy, with the average HR policy offering .

Hilton, No. 1 on the 2024 Fortune 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For® List, has made investments in supporting caregivers. After estimating that 80% of its workforce is impacted by caregiving responsibilities, the hotel chain launched a resource hub to connect employees with information and tools. It also partnered with , a service that allows team members to find care services for children and aging parents.

2. Break down barriers to ensure everyone can thrive

When leaders care about employees, they investigate the barriers that might be holding people back. They consider how equitable the workplace is — looking to see if everyone regardless of role or background has the opportunity to grow and the ability to thrive.

Employee resource groups (ERGs) can be vital tools for building belonging and trust in the workplace. What really unlocks their power is ensuring that affinity groups have clear business goals, rather than getting sidelined as a networking group.

At Cadence, that meant asking women from its operations all over the world to come together and share ideas to improve business operations.

“We want to empower the women at Cadence to have a serious voice on policies, development, mentorship, and things that are business critical so we can hopefully move those areas in a way we wouldn’t be able to do without their voice,” Tina Jones, SVP of global human resources at Cadence shared on the “Better” podcast.

To understand the barriers that are preventing some employees from having a great experience, start with your data. Even better, disaggregate your data to get the full picture of how different experiences and backgrounds can intersect to create inequality for your workforce.

“None of us are one thing,” Brian K. Reaves, chief belonging, equity, and impact officer at UKG shared at the For All Summit™ in 2024. “The multiple layers of who we are sometimes leads to different outcomes for certain people than others.” 

An example of this in practice is how Intuit developed its Trans+ Summit to support transgender and nonbinary employees in the workplace.

“By regularly checking in with our trans and nonbinary colleagues, we can make any necessary changes to ensure that they feel valued and supported in their work,” says Cecilia Persson-Ramos, DEI employee resource group leader at Intuit.

3. Invest in employee well-being

When employees don’t experience well-being — either from burnout, loneliness, or other factors — they won’t feel that leaders care about them.

A commitment to well-being requires companies to invest in leadership training and development. Research from UKG found that than their therapist or doctor.

Great workplaces ensure that employees build connections with colleagues and have a regular one-on-one with their manager. At Cisco, managers also receive a toolkit with tips on how to effectively listen and respond to the needs of employees on their teams as part of its “Safe to Talk” program, which supports Cisco employees in navigating mental health issues at work.  

Great workplaces also consider how overlooked or hidden health issues can create a poor experience for employees. AbbVie has made a goal to create a migraine-friendly workplace after identifying migraines as the second-most common disability condition in the world. To support employees who suffer from migraines, the global health tech company has launched about the condition.

4. Consider your impact outside of the workplace

Great workplaces also think about their impact on the outside world. When companies truly care about employees, they also think about their families and the communities they live in.

At Nationwide, leaders learned that associates were increasingly concerned about the mental well-being of their children, with data showing that during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationwide responded by funding the , a set of resources created by behavioral experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Nationwide associates were instrumental in developing and piloting the program, which was launched to external users in 2023.

At Sephora, digging into the results of its “Racial Bias in Retail” study revealed the need for broader action. After commissioning the study in 2019, the cosmetics company launched with 42 U.S. retailer brands to reduce racially biased interactions from the customer experience.

Great workplaces don’t just care about employees when they are in an office or on a work site. Great workplaces care about the communities where employees live and are making investments to protect the planet.

This often requires looking at the bigger picture. At Hewlett Packard Enterprise, only 3% of its total carbon emissions comes from its own operations. Its supply chain is responsible for 31% and a whopping 66% is generated when customers use HPE’s products.

To make real change, HPE’s employees play a crucial role in educating customers and solving problems creatively. The company has tasked employees with not only thinking about sustainability within HPE, but also driving higher standards and better practices among consumers who use the company’s products.

Sales and pre-sales teams can earn a “sustainability badge” and serve as crucial conduits, ensuring that customers can use sustainability best practices through the entire customers lifecycle.

Benchmark your culture

Discover what employees value about working at your company and how you can boost retention rates and increase productivity and performance with Great Place To Work 카지노커뮤니티™.

The debate over remote and hybrid work continues as companies like for lackluster business performance. Proponents of remote work argue more flexible options , which in turn drives productivity.

When you look at the Fortune Best Workplaces™ in New York, Chicago, Texas, and the Bay Area, these companies dramatically outperform the typical U.S. workplace, regardless of their remote work policies.  

Research shows that although employees at a typical U.S. workplace benefit from remote work, that doesn’t make those companies great workplaces. What does? The level of trust employees have in their leaders and colleagues.

At companies on this year’s lists, employees report better relationships with their managers, a more psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment, and more work-life balance than at typical U.S. workplaces. As a result, these employees are more likely to stay at their company and adapt quickly to change — key outcomes for every business facing an artificial intelligence revolution.

“When we debate remote and hybrid work and its impact on workplace culture, we often ask the wrong questions,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work®. “The Best Workplaces are constantly reevaluating efforts to meet the specific needs of their people. That’s what builds the trust that drives business performance.”

Co-creating workplace culture

The Best Workplaces ensure employees feel included in decision making. Eight in 10 employees (81%) at companies on this year’s lists agreed that management involved people in decisions that affect them. At the typical U.S. workplace, only half of employees (51%) say the same, a difference of 59%.  

Employees at winning companies are also more likely to say their manager shows a sincere interest in them as a person, not just a worker on the team.

Great Place To Work research shows that companies benefit when they allow employees to have a voice in where they work, with typical U.S. employees being three times more likely to stay and 14 times less likely to “quit and stay” when they can choose where they work.

That doesn’t mean that remote work is a requirement for creating a great workplace culture. Regardless of whether remote work is a natural fit for your industry, employers build trust by solving for the specific needs of their people, and companies in every industry can and do create winning workplaces.

In practice, co-creating culture starts with listening. At Wegmans Food Markets, the No. 3 large company on the Fortune Best Workplaces in New York™ List, work life flexibility has always been part of the equation and a key reason the retailer says candidates choose Wegmans. For part-time employees, representing about 65% of Wegmans’ workforce, the company offers a variety of positions and shifts, where part-time employees can essentially define their availability to determine when and how often they would like to work.

For full-time employees, various surveys and employee listening channels revealed that a predictable, consistent day off each week would be helpful. While Wegmans’ retail employees still must work onsite at a Wegmans store, this scheduling policy allows them even more flexibility to plan for their personal needs, arrange childcare and schedule appointments.

A healthy workplace

Trust is more important for creating a healthy work environment than a remote work policy. 

Great Place To Work found that remote employees at typical U.S. companies were 19% more likely to report a psychologically and emotionally healthy workplace than onsite or hybrid workers.

But this year’s winning companies dramatically overperformed the typical U.S. employee experience, no matter where their employees work. At Best Workplaces, 88% of employees said they had a psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment, a 59% increase over employees who said the same at typical U.S. companies.

The result? Employees with these experiences are more likely to want to stay with their company long-term.

Work-life balance for every employee

 Best Workplaces excel at ensuring that every employee can maintain a healthy work-life balance, regardless of remote policies.

At companies on the list, 94% of employees say they can take time off when needed and 88% say managers promote a healthy work-life balance. At typical U.S. companies, only 75% said they could take needed time off, and 63% reported a healthy work-life balance.

Best Workplaces are differentiated by their determination to create a great experience for every employee, regardless of role or tenure.

“Being a For All Leader means being curious about how different groups of employees are experiencing your workplace,” says Bush. “Whether an employee is new to the company, part-time, or working the night shift, they all have human needs that employers can’t ignore.”

At Crowe, the No. 1 large company on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Chicago™ List, employees can access time off from the moment they are hired, which can be used for a variety of reasons from doctor’s appointments and vacations to mental health days and volunteering.

At Texas Health Resources, the No. 3 large company on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Texas™ List, non-exempt employees are given an extra day of paid time off each calendar year, called a “My Flex Day,” which can be used for any reason in addition to the traditional allotment of PTO days.

When you ask your employees about the specific challenges of their work, you can find many creative solutions to improve well-being.

At Camden Property Trust, the No. 1 large company on the Texas list, members of the maintenance team, which services properties for repairs, struggled to maintain a healthy work-life balance because their job involves responding to after-hours calls for emergency maintenance. To meet the team’s needs, Camden implemented quiet hours for onsite maintenance teams, greatly reducing after hours calls, ensuring these workers could set aside time to rest and enjoy time with their families.

How to make the list

Think your company deserves special recognition? Get started here to become eligible for next year’s Best Workplaces honors.

Purpose over profit.

It’s a phrase that’s become the rallying cry of so many businesses in recent years, as consumers demand better of the brands they buy from, and employees and job seekers demand better of their workplaces.

This has especially been the case since the pandemic started. Two-plus years of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and isolation have put purpose and company culture even more top of mind. People want to buy from, and work with, companies that reflect their personal values.

And brands are certainly responding – companies like Patagonia, Lego, and Ben & Jerry’s have marketed themselves as synonymous with corporate responsibility. But the question remains: Does purpose at work really lead to better business results?

Answer: It depends.

The data behind purpose at work

To find out, Harvard Business School (HBS) used Great Place To Work®’s extensive database on employee engagement, to determine if all the resources companies put towards purpose are, in fact, driving better business results.

HBS used Great Place To Work’s sample of 429 U.S. companies, and more than 450,000 employee survey responses, to create a measure of corporate purpose. Employees were asked to agree or disagree with statements such as:

• “I find my work is meaningful.”
• “I feel good about the ways my company gives back to the community.”
• “I’m proud to tell others I work here.”

These employee surveys did not go into the type of purpose the company was pursuing (i.e., environmental, social justice, etc.), but merely whether the goal resonated with employees.

What they found might surprise those on the purpose bandwagon: A sense of purpose at work alone isn’t correlated with firm financial performance.

What is correlated, and is the key to unlocking purpose’s potential, is clarity.

The clarity factor

From the initial data set, HBS performed a factor analysis and identified two types of companies with purpose:

• High purpose-camaraderie organizations. These included high scores on statements such as “We are all in this together.”
• High purpose-clarity organizations. These included highs scores on statements such as “Management makes its expectations clear.”

When it came to better business performance, only one group stood out: high purpose-clarity.

In fact, the study found that when employees experienced a sense of purpose at work and believed their leaders set a clear direction and expectations (purpose + clarity), those companies outperformed the stock market, achieving returns 6.9% higher than the market.

Middle management makes the difference

The research also revealed that it wasn’t top executives playing the largest role here, but rather middle managers and professional workers. When those two groups experienced purpose and clarity, companies’ financial performance jumped even higher.

The report explains, “This last finding underscores the absolute importance of fostering an effective middle manager layer within firms: managers who buy into the vision of the company and can make daily decisions that guide the firm in the right direction.”

Purpose at work: making it matter

Purpose does matter. Employees want to believe they’re making a difference in some way and will work harder when they believe in the purpose of the company.

But a company’s purpose needs to be carefully implemented to ensure that middle managers within the organization are clear on it. They need to be fully bought-in and on board.

Otherwise, financial results won’t be impacted, and time will be wasted coming up with words that just don’t matter.

For the full story, .

You can measure purpose at work

Are your employees experiencing a sense of clarity and purpose at work? Get Certified™ with Great Place To Work and, through our research-backed Trust Index™ employee survey, learn how your company culture stacks up and how you can create more purpose. Learn more.