Sometimes it’s hard to even think about retirement when you have yet to find a job that really embodies what it means to work for a great company. Kim Peters of Great Place to Work has made a living out of identifying places of employment that go above and beyond what many expect from traditional employment.
In this interview, she discusses how individuals can look for places that offer enviable retirement plans and employer contributions, along with other facts that individuals can look for so they can not only work for a great company, but retire knowing they did everything possible to establish an incredible plan.
One thing that makes up a great place to work is a solid retirement plan. What do you think makes up an enviable retirement plan?
When we examine companies’ programs, we are looking not only for a high degree of financial generosity in what they offer, but also markers that the programs the company provides are accessible to everyone in their organizations and really take into account who people are as individuals.
The companies we work with provide generous matching programs up to (and even exceeding) 100 percent of employees’ contributions. Many will fund employees’ retirement accounts even if employees themselves do not contribute. Over 200 companies on site match between 50 and 125 percent of employees’ own 401(k) contributions. Intuit is the stand-out, matching 125 percent of employees’ contributions up to $10,000 each year.
But the companies we work with also take care to provide their people with ongoing financial education that encourages retirement planning and is customized to employees’ particular lives and career stages.
These employers are also increasingly offering a range of job options that make it possible for employees of retirement age to work part-time or access an official phased retirement program, which is very attractive for many folks who have spent a lifetime committed to their careers and want to take a longer period of time to rebalance their lives.
What trends do you see happening in various work environments pertaining to retirement plans?
Among the companies we researched for the recently released Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” list, 25 percent offer a defined benefit pension plan and nearly all of them (99 percent) offer a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. The majority (88 percent) make matching contributions to employees’ 401(k) accounts, and 39 percent will also contribute funds regardless of whether employees contribute themselves.
A third of these companies’ employees are 45 years or older. Regardless of life stage, there are reasons to utilize flexible work programs, but employees who are considering a staged transition to retirement may find these programs particularly useful as strategies either to prolong their working careers in a sustainable way or start to make time for their lives outside work. Almost half (48 percent) of the “100 Best” offer job-sharing programs, and just over three-quarters permit compressed work weeks. Forty percent directly offer phased retirement programs.
How can a place of business really stand out in today’s world?
Businesses stand out to media, customers and job seekers because of the story behind their businesses. All these audiences are trying to understand the personality and authentic brand of the companies they consider engaging with. Think of how much positive attention Zappos and Google, for example, get from the market simply because of the amazing workplace cultures they’ve created.
Social media thrives on stories. And the Internet demands transparency – either you provide it or the Internet will take it.
Because of this, companies’ workplace cultures will either help them or hurt them as they try to stand out. Smart companies know they need to get out in front of the trend toward transparency by creating great workplaces, surveying their people to get realistic information that will both help them improve and allow them to communicate an authentic brand, and then proactively communicating that brand and their commitment to employees – for example, through review sites like GreatRated.com.
The CEOs of the organizations we work with consistently emphasize that their cultures are truly their key competitive advantage. Many have told us it’s the only part of their businesses that competitors can’t copy. These unique cultures are what enable them to recruit other companies’ top talent, to provide superior customer service and to innovate faster and more successfully because their employees aren’t fighting internal restraints.
What advice would you offer a start-up or small business looking to make a difference in how employees are treated?
Every workplace should be surveying their employees regularly in order to get valid, actionable data about the state of their workplace – specifically, how strong the levels of trust are within it.
When you review the survey results, remember that you can’t fix your way to being great. Meaning: Make sure you pay as much attention to what you are doing right – and build on that – as you pay to what you need to improve.
Many start-ups have an inspiring business plan and highly motivated staff. Use that to your advantage by helping all employees in the organization, regardless of role, experience your organization’s successes in a visceral way. Make sure you celebrate achievements and that everyone has a chance to interact directly with your happiest clients.
Small businesses don’t always have budgets that can compare to the big guys for perks and benefits – but their size can create a teamwork and scale advantage. For example, their smaller size may mean that the CEO can get to know everyone on a first-name basis, or that there is a sense of family and connection throughout the whole business that would be tough to match at a larger competitor. If it makes sense in your culture, support this teamwork and deep personal ties as much as you can – and then hit it out of the park on internal alignment, strong and transparent communication.
In today’s day and age, it seems more people are in the workforce for longer. How can businesses stay attractive to workers from all demographics (specifically retirees who are re-entering the workforce)?
There are a lot of ways employers do this – for example, providing formal skills training for those re-entering the workforce; offering flexible work schedules that allow employees in different life stages to contribute their talents to the organization while making time for educational, family or retirement pursuits; and creating work cultures that emphasize inclusion and reward performance based on objective metrics so that everyone in the organization knows they have a fair chance to succeed.
But the single best way to ensure you are attractive to top talent is to take the time to understand the unique needs of your particular employees. Conduct anonymous surveys, hold focus groups, talk to your people one-on-one – they will tell you what they need.
One company we worked with did this and they realized that their mostly male population of employees deferred all benefits decisions to their wives. The company realized then that they had the wrong people in the room when they were conducting benefits training.
So they invited family members to attend online and in-person benefits roll-outs. It seems like a small change, but employees and their families loved it because something as simple as benefits selection suddenly felt really specific and personal to them. It became part of a broader communication of respect and understanding of employees at their organization. And it happened because the company really listened to their people and understood what their unique needs were.
If trust is the single most important thing in making a workplace great, how can a business foster that idea?
The first thing to do is make sure that your managers understand how critical trust is to the successful functioning of your business – and then hold them accountable to trust-building behaviors. There is a lot of data publicly available about the financial and competitive advantages of trust-focused businesses, so utilize this data to create your own company’s business case and ensure your strategy sticks.
From there, employers should survey their people in order to get a realistic baseline picture of how much trust there is in their organization. A thorough analysis will reveal strengths that should be expanded throughout the organization, major concerns that need to be addressed, and key leverage points that will move the dial the furthest as the company seeks to improve.
While program investments may be needed (in which case you will want to make sure you have solid analysis about what drivers will have the strongest positive impact on your overall culture) – it is just as important to pay attention to the day-to-day behaviors that are part of your business operations. Specifically, managers must prioritize the key behaviors that build their credibility, communicate authentic respect for all employees, and ensure there is a level playing field so everyone in the organization has a chance to be successful.
If you could tell employers three things to help those re-entering the workforce, what would those things be?
First, the culture you create in your organization matters. A culture where mutual respect, inclusiveness and teamwork are the day-to-day norm means that current employees will immediately reach out to and support new employees who are re-entering the workplace, ensuring they can quickly contribute and be successful.
Second, while it’s important to offer any needed training to help new employees be successful, don’t forgot to ask what special skills employees re-entering the workforce might be bringing. One of the companies we work with keeps a log of all their employees’ special talents, hobbies and skills and taps into those skills when needed rather than go outside their circle. Employees feel well-respected and the employer can access a really creative range of talents from people who know their culture and business inside and out.
Lastly, don’t just pay attention to the paperwork – make sure you welcome new hires as unique individuals as well. A little creativity and humanity here will put you on the right trust-building path and
be remembered for a long time.
Please share anything additional that you would like readers to know.
There are a lot of companies out there that are working hard to build great workplaces for employees. Because it’s the right thing to do – and because attracting the right people and talent is critical for business success.
GreatRated.com gives job seekers the chance to peek inside company cultures and choose the ones that are best for them. We put the power in job seekers’ hands by publishing survey data from statistically valid anonymous surveys conducted at each company. Site users can then customize their job searches by looking for companies with great retirement packages, strong professional development programs, family-friendly managers, a commitment to leadership transparency – or a range of other factors. If you’re not sure what’s important to you yet, you can browse through the reviews or take a quiz to help you find your best match. A compare tool allows you to line multiple companies’ employee ratings up side by side and find the one that fits you best. Check us out!
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