Best Places to Work and Star Athletes

What do we know about star athletes?  All have the following traits in common:

• A relentless passion to be the best
• Commitment to invest necessary resources to be the best
• A drive to constantly assess and repair any personal shortcomings
• It's not about a single competition - it's an ongoing journey

Organizations desiring to achieve best place to work status can learn valuable lessons from star athletes.  Becoming a best place to work and more importantly, maintaining the status once attained, is a process not a single event. It is a commitment to upholding a specific kind of workplace culture.

Let's examine each of the aforementioned star athlete traits, in the context of best place to work status:

1. A relentless passion to be the best:  The first step to achieve best place status is to examine the underlying motive of company executives.  Is it a drive to win an award or a desire to create an meaningful employment experience? Awards are won and competitions end.  Employees feel the tug of "flavor or the month" programs that have no depth.  A high-value employment experience is woven into the fabric of the culture.  Employees constantly feel the effects, through the actions of caring leaders and a healthy organizational climate.
2. Commitment to invest necessary resources to be the best: Even the best places experience business challenges. During the Great Recession, many best places to work had to make difficult decisions that impacted workers. Best places to work invested the key resources of time, attention and fiscal balance to preserve the business without persecuting the people.
3. A drive to constantly assess and repair any personal shortcomings: Employee needs are not static. Best places to work are constantly examining the organizational climate, assessing what employees value most and working to bridge the gaps between the two. Yesterday's approach to the workforce may not engage today's workers. Best places know this and commit to continuous improvement.
4. It's not about a single competition - it's an ongoing journey: Being named a best place to work feels wonderful. It is validation of hard work and attention to employees. Yet many best companies never enter these competitions. They simply do what's right for employees, because it's the right thing to do. With the proliferation of small or local best place to work competitions, it's possible for many companies to achieve some level of best place status.  But the awards are of secondary importance to those companies that are truly best places to work. Their gold is found in creating and maintaining an exceptional employment experience.

Star athlete status involves hard work and continuous improvement. The same is true of best place to work status.  If you're truly committed to being a best place to work, you'll be embarking on a journey, not just entering a single competition.