10 Things That Show A Company Gets It Right
As you’re going through the interview process, there are a few things you should be watching out for. While you may be thinking about your salary and location, you also need to be looking for the most successful companies to join.
Here are ten signs that you’ve found a good one:
- A Level 5 Leader – Leadership is what keeps companies afloat during the tough times, and helps push them to the next level. In Jim Collins’ iconic book, Good to Great, he speaks about the qualities of level 5 leadership. It takes great leadership to manage a multi-national company.
- Appreciation of Good Work – Appreciation for good work needs to flow in every direction. Up, down, laterally. Whoever is doing great work deserves recognition. You don’t have to be a manager to appreciate somebody else. It’s about the culture of the company. As a global transfer, you want to find a welcoming culture wherever you end up.
- Mentorships Available – You may have joined a company only to find out that you have to train yourself on the job and there is little opportunity to advance. This can be disheartening. You should be looking for companies that have a mentorship program in place because it shows they value their future employees and want everybody to keep growing. As one recent article suggested, look for companies that value mentorship above plain old performance statistics. This can be especially important if you’re moving internationally.
- Clear Objectives and Expectations – Back to the culture of the company and the leadership, if the leaders have not made expectations clear, then you could be moving around the world to join a chaotic, disjointed effort. You should be looking for signs that everyone has an objective and a unified front for reaching goals. The management needs to be held to a higher standard than the employees below them.
- A Willingness to Learn from You – They chose you. They wanted to interview you and hear your thoughts. Look for a company that values your opinion and your role, not one who thinks they’re doing you a favor by offering you a position. There is give and take in any employment agreement.
- Positivity is Prevalent – The concept that we must all dread going to work, and dread talking those Monday morning meetings and emails from co-workers, is a bit overplayed. The best companies in the world are those where positivity is the rule. This includes people having fun and enjoying their jobs. It also means having positive relationships with co-workers.
- Passion Counts – Even though employee happiness should be a goal of any company, there also needs to be room for passion to flourish. This means that parties can get into heated debates about what direction the company should take next. These aren’t personal attacks against one another. They’re well thought out presentations of why the company should take a specific action. Employees who are unable to take a strong stance for what they believe in are probably indifferent about the company and the mission as a whole. Hint: This also means you have to be willing to listen to your employees, not just send out directives.
- There’s Room To Fail – Many leaders set the precedent than anything less than 100% success is a complete failure. The problem is that people get quickly demotivated this way. You need to have room in your organization for people to miss the mark, and regroup before trying again. No belittling their efforts.
- They Take Their Reputation Seriously – Every year, business magazines interview thousands of people and put together a list of the ten worst companies to work for. Not surprisingly, some of those companies sit on that list for years and years, and management is even aware of their negative reputation, but unwilling to do anything about it. On the other end of the spectrum are companies who work tirelessly to promote a positive culture and to avoid getting slammed by their employees.
- Generous Incentives – A new trend is emerging in the business world where bosses are no longer handing out raises with annual reviews. Instead, more companies are basing their bonuses and raises on skill tests, co-worker recommendations, and other merit based systems. This promotes the idea that everybody is in it together, and you can reward your teammates for doing a great job!
These are the ten things that stand out among successful companies of all sizes, but especially at the global scale. As you interview for positions around the world keep these factors at the front of your mind.
