Events
GREAT PLACES TO WORK
Date: 30/05/2018
PRESENTER: JOHN RYAN, CEO OF THE GREAT PLACE TO WORK INSTITUTE IRELAND
On Wednesday 30th May 2018 we held a Breakfast Briefing which was attended by 25 ACESA members. John Ryan gave a presentation about motivating and engaging staff, particularly in organisations with dispersed offices. John is the CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute Ireland which focuses on assisting organisations to create high performing workplaces. Progressive workplaces see employees as investors. This approach allows for a different level of engagement which results in a more empowered, engaged, and invested group of employees who see themselves as key stakeholders in the organisation and its mission.
John Ryan shared practices from organisations across the globe as they attempt to leverage their people and unlock their talent. He explained why those dedicated to developing their employees, providing them with exceptional leaders and dedicated to their health and wellbeing, re the ones that are finding sustainable success.
Over 90% of the participants rated this briefing as extremely useful or very useful and there was positive feedback from our follow-up survey.
Members reflected that there is considerable potential value in assessing and improving the culture in agencies and workplaces in order to derive improvements in the day to day running of our businesses. And, if the culture is led from top-down, it helps if the CEO feels valued and respected in his/her own right.
One of the messages from the session was the focus of trust as a key feature of ‘a great place to work’. Trust is at the core of any healthy and vibrant work culture where people can flourish, and innovation can thrive. We can influence a lot of supporting factors ourselves in this space. More often than not, communications in the modern age are ‘fast and furious’; often, there is not time to explain the reasons why tasks must be performed. If an employee trusts the manager, the efficiency of the workplace is enhanced.
There is a huge amount that each CEO can do to drive performance in an organisation, regardless of its scale or financing arrangements. This comes from co-creating goals and values and developing behaviours and cultures that will support these goals. The focus should be on improving elements of organisational culture which are within our control.