Stay off any lists of the worst companies to work for. Here's how.
Most of us are focused on learning and improving as leaders. Whether we've been at it for a year or 20, it is good to get some validation along the way. While that typically comes in the form of revenue or profit growth, we often look to other measures, like making certain rankings, or pride-generating awards.
But there's one list you don't want to wind up on: 24/7 Wall Street's America's Worst Companies to Work for. While most of us are not publicly-traded like those on the list (and may never aspire to be), I think there are some valuable lessons we can learn from their inclusion, besides the impact of bad publicity.
These bad companies to work for have several things in common. According to 24/7′s research, which centered on an examination of employee reviews on the job site Glassdoor.com, these companies generally rank poorly in customer satisfaction surveys, they don't offer training or development, and their employees complain about low pay as well as a lack of a promotional track or raises. In some cases, customers even complain about employee mistreatment.
The simple reminder here is that happy employees create happy customers and that is reflected in the perception of your business internally and externally.
Here's my five simple "Ps" to generate employee happiness and stay off of any worst-companies-to-work-for lists:
