How Great Companies to Work For Stay Great

Over the past 20 years, more than 450 companies have appeared on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Yet only 12 companies have made it onto the list every year. The obvious question: What, if anything, do those 12 companies have in common?
They are generous to their part-time workers.
Surprised?
Great companies to work for are careful not to create a two-tier system of “real” employees versus “others”. They don’t want a cultural caste system. They want to unite, not divide.
That’s why all twelve companies provide health insurance to their part-time workers (compared to 19% of the private, part-time workforce across the U.S.). That’s why they offer benefits such as employee stock-ownership plans (Publix), scholarship programs (Wegmans), and – in the case of Four Seasons – free hotel stays.
Many companies struggle with managing internal divisions – the “us” versus “them”. Whether it’s between locations, departments or job classifications, it’s often natural for divisions to arise. Yet companies unwittingly exacerbate them through their policies and practices.
Create One Team! Whether your people are full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary, or contract, treat everyone as part of the Big Team. Put the focus on the collective “we”.
And why not include former employees? A growing number of companies have alumni programs to stay engaged with former employees. Why? The general answer is that business is about relationships. The specific answer is that former employees can be valuable referral sources for new employees or business development. They can be powerful brand advocates. And they too can benefit from the connections in your growing alumni network.
The bottom line is this: Great companies to work for that remain great create One Team. And they are intentional about creating One Team.
Are you?
Make it happen.
Michael

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