6 Reasons to Become a Great Place to Work

What makes a great place to work? The benefits? A good winter party? Flexible hours?

Sure, all of these contribute to a good working environment, but the answer is the people. The people who show up everyday inspired to do their very best work. Hausmann-Johnson Insurance is led with the philosophy of "when an employee feels valued, so do the clients." A philosophy that was recognized when Fortune named Hausmann-Johnson Insurance (HJI) to their 2016 Best Small & Medium Companies list.

Here are six reasons to become a Great Place to Work:

1. Recruit Job Applicants - Qualified job applicants often have choices. Being able to legitimize your workplace as one of the best will only help with recruiting top talent. According to the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce 2016-17 Economic Outlook Survey, completed by 270 of Madison-based executives, many employers are delaying expansion plans over concerns about finding qualified workers.
2. Enhance Your Brand - From a marketers perspective, achieving Great Place to Work is like winning the marketing lottery. Though, before you go and announce it to all of your followers, make sure to take a step back and revisit your marketing strategy. What are your goals and how can this recognition help you get there? And, don't forget the real reason for applying for the award: improvement. Instead of boasting, help others get there. The truth is, when we're all great places to work, everyone benefits.
3. Retain Talent - When employees are inspired, they will do their very best work. Some of the questions you'll get asked during the Great Place to Work application may be, "How do you thank employees?" "How do you listen?" And most importantly, "How do you inspire?" At HJI, we have baby showers, give recognition, celebrate, and, provide opportunities for employees to give recommendations and ideas to improve our culture and our business. All of these ultimately come down to trust and help create an environment where employees feel inspired.
4. Identify Areas of Strength and Weakness - Following the application process, you'll receive data. A lot of really good data. From this, you'll be able to determine where you're doing well, and where there is room for improvement. And, be prepared to make changes. If your organization isn't ready to accept the areas where improvement is necessary, and develop a plan to address it, you're probably not ready to apply.
5. Drive Employee Engagement - Much of the process of Great Place to Work is about communication. Communicating with your employees the vision of the organization and regularly making sure employees understand how their job fits into the big picture. Don't get me wrong, holiday parties and flexible scheduling are important, but, a proud employee is an engaged employee.
6. Increase Business Success - This will come naturally. Valued employees = valued clients. Creating a Great Place to Work is a process. A company must adopt the philosophy of continuous improvement in everything they do.

Want to learn more about becoming a Great Place to Work? View our webinar as we discuss the steps you need to take as an organization to apply for, and win the Great Place to Work recognition.