ADVERTORIAL
How HR Departments Can Impact
Their Business’ Bottom Line
By Jennifer Wetherow, Senior Director, Great Place to Work® Institute
As we head deeper into the 21st
century, HR departments are
becoming increasingly important
in their overall contribution
to their organization’s bottom line. The
Russell Investment Group has tracked the
financial performance of all publicly traded
groups on the annual Fortune list of 100 Best
Companies to Work For since its inception
in 1997. The results (shown on the graph
below) confirm that these companies consistently
outperform the broader market indices
and are – quite simply – more profitable than
their peers.
Financial performance of this nature is remarkable
by any standard; but what’s really
interesting – from a people perspective – is
that the companies on this list were ranked
using a survey tool that assesses the degree
of trust in the workplace. The Trust Index©
survey tool is based on 30 years of research
compiled by Great Place to Work® (GPTW),
which, in addition to producing the 100 ‘Best’
lists for both Fortune magazine (USA) and
The Globe & Mail (Canada), also publishes
similar lists in 50 countries on six continents.
Annually, this global list program reflects
the voices of over 11 million employees, forming
the largest and most respected survey of
its kind. Having access to a database of this
magnitude is invaluable. From a quantitative
perspective, it allows program participants to
benchmark against narrowly focused groups
of their peers.
But even more interesting is the ability to
draw insights from the qualitative data, which
includes the world’s largest repository of best
people practices. The GPTW list program is
unique in this sense; the detailed assessment
of culture allows participants to receive very
direct feedback on where they are ahead of (or
behind) the curve in terms of people practices.
This gives HR leaders a concrete starting
point in the journey to build a high-trust
workplace culture and to becoming a Best
Workplace. The
ability to market
your organization
as one of the Best
Workplaces is
very valuable in
strengthening your
organization’s reputation
with both
clients and stakeholders.
The result
is a complex and
virtuous circle that
drives a sense of pride amongst employees
and, ultimately, a stronger bottom line.
The graphic above presents a visual interpretation
of the basic relationships measured
by GPTW as part of the annual 100 ‘Best’ list
program.
At the core of this model is an understanding
that employees who trust their managers
give their best work freely, and their extra effort
goes right to the company’s bottom line.
Managers who trust their employees allow innovative
ideas to bubble up from all levels of
the company.
Any organization (public, private or notfor
profit) can benefit from the services Great
Place to Work® has to offer – whether your organization
is ready to participate in the Best
Workplaces program or not! Make sure you
check on the ‘health’ of your organization and
get your HR department to impact its bottom
line.
Registration for the 2016 list program is open
until October 30, 2015 and can be submitted
online at www.greatplacetowork.ca/register.
Registration for beyond 2016 and non-list
services are open year-round. Mention HR
Professional in the last ‘How Did You Hear
About Us’ section and get a free copy of No
Excuses: How You Can Turn Any Workplace
into a Great One!
For more information, call GPTW toll-free
at (866) 712-0630. n
– LAURA HAMMOND, HR MANAGER, H&M
