Cultural Practices of the Best Companies
The companies whose practices are presented here have inspired us in our work at the Institute, and we hope that they will do the same for you. Every two weeks a new set of practices will appear in this space. Each practice will be linked to its dimension and sub-dimension within the Great Place to Work® Model©. We hope that you will be inspired by these examples to discover the best practices currently in use in your own workplace, and be lead to develop new practices that will help your workplace to become great.  |
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RESPECT - Collaboration
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Retail / Food/Grocery
Superquinn
5500 employees - Ireland
HQ: Ireland
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In response to a new countrywide tax on grocery bags being implemented by the Irish government to discourage their use, employees and management at SuperQuinn collaborated with customers to create a re-useable Green Bag that is easier to pack, more convenient for customers and is a profitable product for the company to sell. This collaborative effort was lead by front-line employees whose suggestions for the size and sturdiness of the bag were critical to its final design. Employees were involved in every aspect of the project and were shown tremendous respect by managers who recognized that their knowledge of the bagging process was critical to the success of the project, that their design suggestions would be invaluable as they would be a key user of the product, and that their comfort with the decision making process would smooth the way to implementation as they would be the people explaining to customers why the Green Bag is such a great product for them to buy and use.
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FAIRNESS - Justice
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Financial Services & Insurance / Investments
Goldman Sachs
12562 employees - USA
HQ: New York, New York, USA
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Goldman Sachs has an enthusiastic commitment to the firm's people, and to diversity. In 1990, Goldman Sachs formed its official firm-wide Diversity Committee to support an inclusive work environment in which to recruit, retain, develop, and reward the best workforce.
Currently, divisional diversity committees focus on specific accountabilities: career development on a person-by-person basis, mentoring, networking, and work-life balance. Particularly noteworthy is the global nature of the firm's diversity initiatives. Together with companywide diversity training for people at all levels, a range of programs ensure that equal opportunity is available to all employees while the firm makes multi-pronged efforts to increase the representation and development of women, minorities and other groups overall in the divisions.
In 2001 senior management created a Diversity Task Force to a conduct a firmwide survey and other initiatives that resulted in the formation of a central Office of Global Leadership and Diversity. This group is further centralizing and increasing diversity efforts throughout the firm.
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