EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Singapore - Keeping employees happy doesn't mean giving them everything they want, says one of the UK's best 100 companies to work for, because it starts with having the right culture.
Voted seventh on The Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to work for list in the UK this year, PR agency Bite Communications' CEO Clive Armitage says his company is big on using the right carrot to engage employees. "The only product we sell is our people and to do that, we have to make sure our people are happy." But "that doesn't mean giving them everything they want," he adds.
Nonetheless, Armitage understands that the nature of the PR industry is such that people do have a tendency to move around frequently. Being "a high pressure industry" staffed by mostly young people, he says the company can't expect "a high percentage of people to stay at the agency forever". Which is why building the right culture within the 11 offices around the world is important to Armitage and he is hoping to recreate the same atmosphere in the Singapore office. "My personal measure is when people do move on, they are not moving to another agency because if they do move to another agency, it means we are doing something wrong."
So far, the 52 employees at Bite's London office approve wholly of what HR has done for them. Besides being actively encouraged to blog, tweet and log onto Facebook during work hours, 91% say their jobs are good opportunities for personal growth. A workweek may be long, ranging from 43 to 45 hours, but 77% say there are no limits to how much they can learn and grow. Strong leaders in the office are also key in keeping employees happy with 86% singling that out as a main factor for them. Likewise, 89% feel that managers do care about them and they would listen, instead of barking out orders.
But it's not all work and no fun for the employees whose average age is 29. There are monthly "thirsty Thursday" drinks sessions where employees can head down to a nearby pub and have some drinks on the company's tab, Armitage says. There are also cake "bake-offs" and every quarter, a peer-nominated "star of the month" gets to travel to any Bite offices around the world. Armitage says, "When an account manager or account executive does a brilliant piece of work, this is a great way to recognise that."
It's unsurprising then to hear 92% of his employees say they have fun with their teams. For Armitage, having the right culture means treating staff fairly and giving them the right rewards from the start. "You can't force a culture."
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