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Countless studies have demonstrated the positive correlation between employee satisfaction and company performance. 
If you're still in doubt, just ask any business school student or, better yet, read  the opening chapters of Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin's The Great Workplace: How to Build it, How to Keep it and Why it Matters. 
The 222-page title makes a strong case for the 'happy employees mean productive employees' approach and includes a  host of statistical and empirical data to back it up. 
 Burchell and Robin are both members of the Great Place to Work Institute, a global corporation that since the early 1990s  has advised some of the world's largest companies. 
The institute is also highly regarded among academics, but is likely best known for its  Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, which it produces annually. 
Using real-life examples, Burchell and Robin highlight  workplace strategies that continue to help the 100 Best get more out of their staff - strategies that, for the most part, stem from attentively listening to their concerns. 
The authors' suggestions are structured around a slightly modified version of the institute's Great Place to Work Model (shown above).  
 As noted, the elements of what makes a great workplace can  be divided into five themes:  credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.  
These also make up the five core chapters of the book which, rather than a being a simple collection of best practices, serves more as a management-guide with action-steps, checklists and  case studies. 
The chapter on credibility discusses how leaders need to demonstrate competency and  help foster communication. 
Two-way communication, the authors say, is 'arguably the most important dimension of the Great Place to Work Model'. 
This is  subject to the caveat that the communication is informative. 
'The biggest mistake we see leaders make when addressing the area of informative communication is simply to communicate more often, without considering either the best vehicles or the type of information being communicated,' they write. 
'Leaders at all levels should attend to the meaningfulness of their communications, their quantity, and their format.'
On the dimension of respect, Burchell and Robin advocate a culture of support, whereby leaders sustain their staff, personally and professionally. 
Collaboration, the ability to participate in meaningful decisions and the perception of a genuine sense of caring, they say, are of equal importance.
As for fairness, the third dimension and last of the book's 'Three Relationships',  emphasis is placed on equal treatment, impartiality and the creation of a level playing field. 
Benefits, work environment and work-life balance all fall under this category 
Beyond the Three Relationships, the authors also suggest  creating a sense of pride among staff. 
 'When employees believe their efforts make a difference, they feel  their work has an impact on the organisation, and that their personal presence in the workplace (independent of their job description) also makes a difference,' they write.
Burchell and Robin conclude with a few directions on camaraderie. 
Citing Starbucks as an example, they explain that organisations should 'build a sense of family at work'. 
They further put forward the theory that  'when employees feel a sense of camaraderie with their co-workers, they feel as energised by their work environment as they do by their non-work environment'.
Book: The Great Workplace  
Author: Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin  
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Dimensions of a great place to work 
CREDIBILITY 
Communication: Communications are open and accessible 
Competence: Competence in co-ordinating human and material resources 
Integrity: Integrity in carrying out vision with consistency 
RESPECT 
Support: Supporting professional development and showing appreciation 
Collaborating: Collaboration with employees in relevant decisions 
Caring: Caring for employees as individuals with personal lives 
FAIRNESS 
Equity: Balanced treatment for all in terms of rewards 
Impartiality: Absence of favouritism in hiring and promotions 
Justice: Lack of discrimination and process for appeals 
PRIDE 
Personal job: In personal job, individual contributions 
Team: In work produced by one's team or work group 
Company: In the organisation's products and standing in the community 
CAMARADERIE 
Intimacy: Ability to be oneself 
Hospitality: Socially friendly and welcoming atmosphere 
Community: Sense of 'family' or 'team' 
SOURCE: GREAT PLACE TO WORK INSTITUTE



Keeping the troops happy