me. The amount of money they would make isn't that different, but they value being able to be in control of when and where they work. This is also what freelancers on sites such as Upwork always say as well; flexibility does indeed make a huge difference. This used to be seen as a perk or a bonus, but now many employees consider this the standard for how work could and should be done.
What This Measures
Organization's willingness to adapt to how work gets done Commitment to employees to make their lives easier
Progressive workplace thinking
What You Can Do
Introduce a workplace flexibility program.
Provide education and training to employees on why and how the flexibility program works.
Set clear expectations and guidelines for the program.
See Table 5.2 to see who some of the highest‐ and lowest‐scoring companies for this variable are.
Table 5.2 Offers Flexibility Some Highest‐Scoring
Every organization has its own set of values, which are typically words or phrases the organization believes in or wants to represent. Values help guide the culture and the actions that the organization chooses to take. Oftentimes these values include words or phrases such as trust, transparency, fun,
innovation, collaboration, and honesty. For many organizations these things (just like mission statements) are nothing more than lip service and useless platitudes. I see this time and time again in many organizations, and I'm sure you do as well.
A few years ago I was brought into a large company that wanted me to advise it on some issues related to employee experience. Naturally I was excited to do so. This particular organization had values that included some of the ones listed above. When an organization says its values are trust, fun, transparency, and so on, then typically I expect to see these values reflected in the actual workplace. However, in this particular instance I found the exact opposite. Employees all had to commute and work 9 to 5, there was no communication or collaboration going on, the workplace attire was extremely formal, the entire floor was colored brown and lined with giant cubicles, employees all looked unhappy, and the CEO's response to why he didn't want to change anything was “It was like that the day I got here and it will be like that the day I leave.” Although the organization still exists I wasn't shocked to learn that some of its divisions have either filed for
bankruptcy or have been sold off. There's really no kind way to put this, but as an organization if you say you care about and believe in something and your actions (especially internally) don't reflect that, then you are lying to yourself and to everyone who interacts with you.
If this particular organization were to be honest with itself, its values would have actually been don't communicate, keep outdated workplace practices, build the tallest hierarchy, make employees miserable, and do what you're told. It's not enough to have values, to communicate those values, or even to have employees memorize what those values are. Values need to be
physically manifested in the spaces in which employees work (and
ingrained in the culture, which I will explore later). In other words, if you were to walk around your organization, would you actually be able to see your values come to life?
Oftentimes when we interview to work for organizations, the question of values comes up. We have our personal values and the organization has its
values. As employees we make decisions based on these sets of values because we want to work for an organization where they align. If you care about making the world a better place, being fit, being able to learn new things, contributing ideas to executives, and having fun, then naturally you would want to work for an organization that enables you to do so and cares about similar things. So what happens when you join a company and it doesn't actually manifest the values it says it cares about? You feel lied to, betrayed, and cheated. Unfortunately at that point you already signed the contract, so you can't really jump ship. Immediately you become resentful.
Your home can say a lot about who you are. Everything from the paintings or photographs you hang on the wall to the color of the walls to the type of dining table to even the types of towels and soaps you put in the bathrooms speaks. When you walk into someone's home, you get a better sense of who someone is, and when you walk into organization, you get a better sense of the type of organization it really is.
Facebook, which scored highest out of all 252 organizations on the Employee Experience Index, has five core values, which are “Be Bold, Focus on Impact, Move Fast, Be Open, and Build Social Value.” Definitely a noble set of values to have. If you visit the Facebook campus, you can quite literally see the manifestation of these values. Whether it's the mainly open floor plan, the eclectic art that adorns the workplace, the ability of employees to quickly move around the campus to work anywhere they want, the diverse group of employees (each with his or her unique fashion style), the guest business leaders who come speak to the employees, the customer stories that are shared, or the fact that employees are encouraged to speak up to share their ideas and feedback and even challenge their managers—you can absolutely see the values come to life.
I was at an executive customer board meeting for a large technology company not too long ago. One of the attendees mentioned that one of his company's core values was “Do the right thing” and asked how they could possibly show that value manifested in the workplace. I was honestly a bit stuck. Then another attendee chimed in that his organization also had this as one of the core values and brought this to life by having on‐site battery recycling, charitable contributions, and guest speakers from social impact organizations and by consistently promoting ethical and sustainable
business practices to employees. This is an amazing way to help employees see this value come to life!
Culture and technology take some time to absorb and get a feel for, but the physical space is something you can see and immediately make a judgment about. Remember, the physical space acts as a type of symbol for the
organization and as a modern‐day employee experience center or a museum for the people who work there. This is why one of the quickest ways to ruin an employee experience is by the organization not reflecting the values in the physical work environment. If you want to get a good sense of an organizational culture, then start by looking around at the workplace. It's something we can spot and notice on day one!
What This Measures
Commitment to employees versus lip service for employees
Whether the organization represents itself in the way it says it does Organizational honesty and integrity
Culture
What You Can Do
Write down your values on a sheet of paper and walk around the office.
Do you see those values come to life? Why or why not?
If the values do align, think about what you can do to enable everyone else at your organization to see that alignment. If they don't align, what can you do to fix that?
See Table 5.3 to see who some of the highest‐ and lowest‐scoring companies for this variable are.
Table 5.3 Organization's Values Are Reflected Some Highest‐Scoring
Organizations
Some Lowest‐Scoring Organizations
Nike General Dynamics
Google AmerisourceBergen
Facebook Archer Daniels Midland
Apple Anthem