.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f”]{text-align:center;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_e2dc82-3f”] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
Companies listed on Fortune’s “Best 100 Companies to Work For”
Over Perform the market by a factor of 3.68 as measured against the Russell 1000 largest US companies.
As United States’ businesses emerged from emergency pandemic operation, many thought they could re-establish familiar “business as usual employee routines and schedules.”
- Return employees to the office at least a few days per week.
- Set work time schedules with 8-hour AM and PM shifts.
- Maintain traditional benefit programs
Nearly two years later, these same companies are experiencing strong resistance from long-term staff members and potential new talent. Appropriately named the “Great Resignation” era, this is a time when employee concerns are broader and more inclusive of personal lifestyles blended with professional development and family goals than ever before. Their expectations from work are not those of the past. Today they want to know:
- How will work add meaning to my life?
- Does it offer me purpose and motivation?
- How will work make me feel connected to something bigger than myself?
- Will work make me feel whole?
- Does this environment empower and enable employees?
- Does it provide a sense of autonomy, responsibility, and a strong system for getting work done?
- Will my position impact the organization’s overall goal?
- Will the organization support my career growth?
- Does the organization consult employees about work-life needs – when & where to work, elder care, and childcare?
A new term, “Workplace Culture,” reflects broader employee concerns. In this sense, Workplace culture defines how all employees experience the business.
An alternative, perhaps clearer definition of Workplace Culture is “employee experiences that shape their beliefs and, in turn, drive their actions and results.” Since the Pandemic, Workplace Culture has quickly become the new foundation upon which business goals are built in successful companies.
Many businesses worked on their “culture” before the COVID pandemic, but they often touched only basic DEI issues: race, gender, ethnicity, and job position. Actual employee experiences were “nice to know” in case managers needed answers to satisfy thorny issues, should they arise. That was not the workplace culture that is now critical for fostering innovation, improving company profitability and creating trusted leadership in today’s business environment.
.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5″]{text-align:center;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5 mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_a0f9c7-d5″] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
Workplace culture is the key to business success and profitability when accepted as a central part of an organization’s strategy.
.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8″]{text-align:center;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8 mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_f1dcf5-c8″] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
Companies with high trust cultures are more profitable and enjoy higher stock market returns than those who do not.
The increasing value of workplace culture grows upon positive employee experiences like trust, transparency, caring, clarity, a sense of purpose, and high engagement at all levels of the organization. Higher engagement, in turn, results in better customer service, greater innovation, and increased long-term financial results. A high-trust workplace culture is the key predictor of financial success in recessions and years thereafter. (From research by FTSE Russell)
Now, consider the recent state of employee satisfaction and priorities gathered from a Gallup poll.
- Over 1/3 of US workers are willing to pass on the perfect job if a company’s culture isn’t a good fit.
- Even higher pay isn’t enough to keep workers at a company where they feel they don’t belong.
- 68% of American workers see benefits and culture as more important than salaries.
- Company leadership is leaving. Managers are twice as likely as individual contributors to be looking for a new job.
- 33% of employees don’t feel the Company listens to them.
.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_025f38-84, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_025f38-84[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_025f38-84″]{text-align:center;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_025f38-84 mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_025f38-84[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_025f38-84″] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
The value of strong company cultures is based on positive employee experiences in their daily lives.
Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” businesses enjoy special financial benefits from happy, motivated, and engaged employees.
- One-half the turnover rate of their Russell 1000 peers, saving not only their employees but also their relationships, institutional knowledge, and future contributions.
- Higher ability to recruit top talent. Thriving employees recommend the Company as a good place to work to their friends at more than 6 x the normal rate.
- Lower levels of burnout with employees 2.6 times less likely to seek new jobs and 63% less likely to take sick or emergency days off).
- 58% of “Best Places to Work “employees report that they “thrive” at work compared to 16% of the Russell 1000 businesses.
- 83% of Employees on the Fortune list reported personal psychological safety satisfaction, while only 52% of the Russell 1000 employees said the same.
These results reveal a more comfortable workforce with new risk-taking, new skills, new ideas, innovation, and maximum flexibility when seen as an overview. This employee spirit is much more likely to push for greater performance levels to strengthen the business and empower themselves to do their best work regardless of external conditions.
.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_106579-e1, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_106579-e1[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_106579-e1″]{text-align:center;font-size:var(–global-kb-font-size-lg, 2rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_106579-e1 mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_106579-e1[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_106579-e1″] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
Profits don’t create Great Workplaces.
It’s the other way around.
According to comparative surveys conducted from 2020 through 2024 between Fortunes’ “Best Places to Work” and Russell’s 1000 largest US companies, Fortune’s Best Places with high-trust workplaces continue to perform and lead in both profit and investor returns.
- Revenue per employee doubled for the Fortune 100 Companies
- Returns for the Fortune companies achieved 37.4% versus 20.9 % for Russell’s
- Since 1998, Fortunes’ Best Places to Work’s cumulative return was 1709% versus Russell’s 526%.
- Researchers also noted that one of the most critical factors was not only the amount of and percentage of profit achieved but how it was achieved that stood out. “Best Places” invest in employee growth and development. Consequently, 88% of employees reported giving extra effort when needed versus 52% in other companies.
.kb-image20166_7929aa-c9.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:296px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image20166_7929aa-c9.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 figure{max-width:296px;}.kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 .image-is-svg, .kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image20166_7929aa-c9 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}
While some business leaders continue to believe it is impossible to prioritize both profits and employee satisfaction, Fortune’s “100 Best Places to Work” has proven over 30 years that positive employee experiences are compatible with profitability and vital to achieving fiscal goals.
Strong workplace cultures, developed by continually successful companies, make all employees, no matter who they are or what position they hold in the company, feel that their work is important and positively affects their customers, and provides a broader physical and social impact. ________________________________________________________________________
“Financial benefits from being ‘Great places to work’ was presented by members of Cornerstone International Group. We offer executive recruiting and leadership development everywhere you need us to be in the world.”
.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:start;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:start;}.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(–global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);row-gap:var(–global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:var(–global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);grid-template-columns:minmax(0, calc(25% – ((var(–global-kb-gap-md, 2rem) * 1 )/2)))minmax(0, calc(75% – ((var(–global-kb-gap-md, 2rem) * 1 )/2)));}.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id20166_123d6b-b7 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}
.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(–global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column20166_e67649-0f{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column20166_e67649-0f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}
AUTHOR
.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e”]{padding-top:0px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:var(–global-kb-font-size-md, 1.25rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e mark, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e[data-kb-block=”kb-adv-heading20166_42f910-2e”] mark{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}
Anne Glenn
Cornerstone International Group