Tell-Tale Signs of Great Employers

You might feel compelled to take a job, any job, at any employer.  But are you sure that’s best for your career? How much happier or successful might you be if you worked at a company that invested in you, trusted you and partnered with you?  

Through my work as a career coach and radio host, I get the opportunity to see how companies really work. What I’ve learned is that there are tell-tale signs of great employers (that you want to work for) and not-so-great employers (that you’ll want to avoid.)  

Here’s what to look for… 

Tell-Tale Signs of Great Employers:

• They invest in their employees’ careers.  One of the things I value as a coach are organizations that value their employees.  Vermont Country Store (VCS) is one such organization.  I had the pleasure of working with the company as an executive coach earlier this year.  I was impressed with the investment VCS made in their executive team on down to entry-level employees with coaching programs, mentoring programs, training programs.  If every organization did this, it would create a completely different and more effective corporate environment. 
• They trust their people to get the job done.  I recently interviewed Hopstop CEO Joe Meyer on what a day in the life is like for a technology start-up CEO.  Joe said that working at Hopstop isn’t about punching a clock for him or his people.  He has autonomy and so do they.  In fact, they have no vacation policy (people can take time off as they need.)  Rather, it’s about getting high-quality results and Joe knows his team takes that responsibility seriously without him having to micromanage them.
• They partner with their employees. This fall I worked with an information services firm in NYC to kick-off a new kind of career development program focused on collaboration.  The training team led by collaboration expert Janet Wise and I customized one of my career workshops to spark a lively conversation about what it really takes to get and stay motivated at work.  Employees, managers and executives left inspired to create the kind of work environment that inspires them. 

What do you feel are the tell-tale signs of a great employer?  I’d love to hear about your experience. Comment below and share what you feel makes for a great place to work…

(Photo courtesy of Paul (dex).)