Singapore – Employees' involvement in the business decision-making process can help make your company an employer of choice.

Alison Tickner, MD of Academee Asia-Pacific attributes employee involvement as the main reason as to why their employees are happy and the workplace satisfaction high.

The company was also recognised by The UK Sunday Times as one of the top 100 best small companies to work for.

She says, “If we are looking to make any changes within the business, instead of somebody at the top of the organisation making the decision, we take suggestions in our employees’ forum.”

Seeking employees’ opinions and taking action on their suggestions allows them to feel valued by their employers.

Tickner says, “We spend an awfully amount at time at work. I think it is important that people feel that they are valued in work.”

She adds that employees need to be respected and be given the space to contribute to their personal and professional learning and creating an atmosphere where people are happy.

“You can sense or feel when an organisation or department is a happy place to be,” says Tickner. “Likewise, you can sense when there is a lot of tension, a lot of stress and where people are unhappy.”

Being aware of the diversity in the company and tailoring to individuals’ needs also help keep the workplace morale high. Tickner says the company offers employees with family commitments the option of flexible working, regardless of their gender.

When asked if implementing those values has a positive impact on the an e-learning solutions provider's bottomline, Tickner says, “Back in UK for the last two years, we have been voted the best workplace and our profitability and our growth have increased by 25%.”

Tickner says, “For us [in Singapore], it is early days yet in terms of benchmarking on those criteria. Hopefully this time next year, we will see some of those tangible benefits.”