Communication key to a successful workplace
Hearing back from employees has played a major role in the success of the award-winning firms among HRD's Best Companies to Work for in Australia this year.
Employee feedback gave retirement and aged-care provider Mark Moran Group a "great benchmark" of their members' actual mood at their organisation.
"Some comments are quite scathing, some employees were comfortable enough to say what they really thought, as you're never going to get 100% of people saying they love the place," said Malcolm Day, the firm's senior people and culture leader.
Day told HRD that he had to visit each of the firm's facilities and distributed material more frequently to highlight the importance of engagement surveys, which didn't have a very good uptake in the past.
"Subsequent surveys have been more and more beneficial because not only is it confidential, but we're actually being warts and all honest about what the responses have been – and we are doing something about it," he said.
Employee feedback also helped award-winner Accolade Wines in making changes to their offered benefits.
Their Fast Fridays policy, which allows employees to end their work week early, became a permanent fixture from a previous "summer-only" initiative after feedback from staff.
"We listen to our people, and we work with a continuous mindset," Anjanette Murfet, chief people and communications officer, told HRD.
Communication is key to fostering workplaces where people are happy and supported, according to Kathryn Bonning, director at Human Capital Consulting.
Bonning is one of the experts interviewed to provide analysis on this year's findings for HRD's Best Companies to Work for in Australia. According to her, communication should be "tightly woven" into an organisation's culture.
"Communication must always be real, human-centric, and delivered with heart and head," she told HRD, adding that managers and team leaders should also be equipped with skills on deciphering and acting on feedback.
Read more about this year's winners and what made them rise to the top here.
