AN INTERESTING conversation for around the water cooler is “what makes a good corporate culture?”
It has been said that Australia hasn’t got much of a reputation for great workplaces.
Unlike North America, where the battle for the best-trained graduates and top-quality employees has grown to epic proportions, we Aussies tend to be more laid-back in attitude.
She’ll be right, mate: it will all work out in the end tended to be the mindset.
But that opinion is changing fast.
As Australia’s unemployment rate again dips toward 5 per cent, with a promise of an even tighter jobs market in WA in the months ahead, companies are refocusing on the importance of retaining existing staff.
If somebody leaves a job it costs a company far more to replace them and re-train another employee than it would have been to give the original worker better conditions – or even a pay rise.
But some of Australia’s employment problems run deep. Many employees feel they are working too hard; there is a lack of flexibility in the workplace and training and development is almost non-existent.
There is also a distinct lack of trust, with many employees feeling they are constantly being watched.
So, how do companies create a great place to work?
Research indicates the best firms foster a corporate culture where employees trust the people they work for; have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with.
So, how does your company fare? Do words like trust, pride and enjoyment carry any weight where you work?
If not, they had better be addressed – and soon – for employees are going to have plenty of other choices of where to work in Western Australia as the job market tightens.