ENGAGE 2023: How to make a workplace great for all

Keeping employees happy is one thing, but keeping shareholders happy is another thing.

Or, maybe, they’re actually the same thing.

“I’m a businessperson, just like you,” Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, told those gathered Monday for AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2023 in Las Vegas. “This culture that we’re talking about — this high-trust culture — it’s a good thing to do, and it feels good to be in it. And it pays. It pays an extraordinary amount.”

Bush kicked off ENGAGE for 3,500 attending in person and 750 online by sharing what goes into building the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list released two months ago. He also shared the impact that employees’ feelings about their employer can have on a company’s bottom line.

Research by FTSE Russell indicates that over the last 25 years, a stock portfolio featuring the top 100 companies would outperform — by more than three times — a portfolio made up of eligible companies sitting outside the top 100.

Bush’s message set the tone for the week as ENGAGE attendees go about the business of making their work world a better place.

What, according to Bush and the extensive research his company performs, makes for a great place to work? And what makes for great leaders in those workplaces?

“People all want the same things. In Bogotá, Colombia; Toronto, Canada; Buenos Aires, Argentina; they want the exact same thing,” Bush said. “They all want trust. They all want to work for a person they feel respects them.”

Alongside trust and respect, Bush also mentioned credibility and fairness. If a company creates a culture built on trust and respect, one worthy of credibility, then often it comes down to fairness.

“Fairness is the most important,” Bush said. “By far.”

Bush explained that, according to the 60-question survey of employees that lies at the heart of defining a great place to work, a lack of fairness felt by employees can destroy even the best cultures.

“What people don’t like is a leader who treats some people one way and other people another way,” Bush said.

Bush’s advice for leaders looking to improve company culture? Through humility and curiosity, build a great sense of belonging and do so with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind.

“We need many different perspectives to solve these complex problems,” Bush said. “When you’re in a room, who’s in the room? You need a lot of different perspectives around that table.”

Not every company can make the annual top 100 list, but every company can make a difference in the day-to-day lives of employees, customers, and — at the same time — shareholders.

“At this workplace, I can accomplish so much more than I could on my own. I’m a part of something that makes a difference in the work we do and will make a difference in our customers’ lives based on the work we do,” Bush said. “This way of working is great for people because it’s respectful and so on. And it’s great for business.”

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.