Creating the Best Workplace on Earth

This summary of the article includes excerpts, concepts, and references from the
following article:

Goffee & Jones (2013). “Creating the Best Workplace on Earth,” Harvard Business Review

Purpose of this reading:

The Goffee and Jones article sets out some fundamental organizational attributes that
employees seek when determining where to work. This is especially important today
because the 21st century employee typically makes multiple job and career changes.
These practices are valuable because they help minimize turnover and optimize
employee productivity. Additionally, as you move throughout the course, you will notice
that these practices apply to other course readings or topics. You might consider these
questions: How are they being used? How could they apply to a multi-cultural
workplace? The concepts covered in the following summary can serve as a starting
point when identifying potential strengths or areas of opportunity for firms.

In the age of knowledge-based employment, satisfaction with the job and employee
productivity are two challenges that firms face consistently. Attempting to improve both
categories helps reduce turnover and costs to the company. With that in mind, Goffee
and Jones set out to identify what factors contribute to “creating the best workplace on
earth.” They found six themes. They are as follows: “Let People be Themselves,”
“Unleash the Flow of Information,” “Magnify People’s Strengths,” “Stand for More than
Shareholder Value,” “Show How the Daily Work Makes Sense,” and “Have Rules
People Can Believe In.”

Summary:

Let People be Themselves. This idea comes from employers embracing diversity, but
not just in the traditional sense. Diversity means everything from ethnic or cultural
differences to preferences in scheduling or attire. The best firms promote choice and
freedom because the 21st century employee is an individual. Goffee and Jones insist
that the best workplaces allow their employees to be themselves so long as their
choices do not impede on the business. By not forcing employees into rigid company
standards, employees tend to be both happier with their job and more productive.

Unleash the Flow of Information. Here Goffee and Jones discuss the importance of
not “spinning” information to employees while also keeping them abreast of important
developments that may affect them. This should not be interpreted as providing all
information to all employees. However, it is all too common that employees learn
information second-hand through casual conversations at work or through the media.
Discovering information in these ways often damages employee morale. To that end,
managers must provide open, authentic, honest information to employees. Goffee and
Jones state that managers must embrace the task of bearing bad news rather than
concealing it.

Magnify People’s Strengths. “The employee-employer relationship is shifting in many

industries from how much value can be extracted from workers to how much can be
instilled in them.” Goffee and Jones discuss how fluid the workforce is and why it is
important the firms provide opportunities and training to add value to employees. With
workers moving firm to firm for better opportunities, the best workplaces on earth ensure
that employees can fulfill those desires in house. This strategy raises employee
satisfaction, and the investment tends to improve productivity as companies develop
new and existing talents in their employees.

Stand for More than Shareholder Value. This factor is driven by a strong
organizational culture that resonates with employees. It is important to note that not
employees are compatible with all companies and vice-versa. However, by having vivid
missions and goals, employees can self-select into the firms that they most identify with.
That connection makes the job a daily reinforcement of personal beliefs, rather than just
a means to earn a paycheck. By tapping into deeper desires or beliefs, a firm can
motivate employees ways beyond just financial compensation. Every company can offer
financial compensation, however not every firm supports values shared by all
employees.

Show How the Daily Work Makes Sense. Employees must see the value in what they
are doing. The challenge for managers is to demonstrate why the daily work is
important. Goffee and Jones say that individual roles and tasks must be evaluated by
managers to ensure that no employee is working on unnecessary tasks. Employees that
find their job monotonous or insignificant may leave. Goffee and Jones also found that
failing to communicate the value of their jobs to employees may cause a company to
lose its best talent or never attracting top talent.

Have Rules People Can Believe In. The final idea to come from the Goffee and Jones
article focuses on the removal of unnecessary or “arbitrary” rules. This can be
interpreted several ways, but they particularly suggest “flattening of hierarchies,”
because the 21st century employee tends to be “skeptical of purely hierarchical
power—of fancy job titles and traditional sources of legitimacy such as age or seniority.”
Rules or practices that undermine merit, such as relying on seniority to weigh issues,
will reduce employee morale. To solve this problem, companies should focus on the
results an employee produces rather than an “efficiency of means.”

If companies abide by these six tenants and strive to implement them to their fullest,
they will have created what Goffee and Jones call the “Best Workplace on Earth.” These
six themes push employers to value their employees. Per Goffee and Jones, employees
“want to do good work,” which is why these factors are so important. They remove
inhibitors or promote productivity in ways that allow employees to give their most to the
company while also gaining value from their workplace.