When you think of work, there must be something significant to get us up and about every morning. Some of us find it easy, blood pumping before our feet hit the floor, while others hit snooze maybe once (or twice) more than we should. For a lot of us, it comes down to where you work and who you work with.
So, what makes an organisation officially a ‘Great Place To Work’?
Make yourself seen
Craig Alchin, Story House COO first became aware of the Great Place To Work (GPTW) Award on LinkedIn and knowing the work that had already been going on in the space of People and Culture throughout Story House and how well it aligned with the businesses core values, thought to apply.
To achieve certification, team members are sent a survey to assess culture using GPTW’s trust index. The GPTW organisation has a statistical approach to determining if a sufficient number of team members completed the survey and if their responses meet the GPTW's high threshold for awarding certification.
Story House clearly has enough wonderful employees, all very happy with their workplace to have answered so positively, and anonymously.
At Story House, celebrations matter
For the previous two years, across 38 services, and approximately 1200 employees, teams have worked tirelessly to ensure the culture of each center aligns with the core business values. While each centre is proud to keep its individuality, they all must adhere to the overall business culture approach.
Each Service Manager is expected to be involved in monthly calls to discuss wins and pain points so the organisation can support change and growth.
Each month, one service is chosen to receive $1000 to go towards celebrating their team. This is determined by each business operations manager, putting forward a service in their area that has lived loudly one (or more) core values over the last month then the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) discusses to determine the winner.
Whilst annual awards happen, Story House also want to live the core value of Celebration and celebrate Story House-ers in as many ways as they can throughout the year, including formal recognition such as the monthly values award but also informal recognition through the Main Street reward and recognition platform. This platform is a place where team members are encouraged to send each other recognition e-cards that are both values-based and general recognition such as ‘thank you’, ‘happy birthday’, and ‘happy Story House-versary’.
Growth is still ‘culture first’
When it comes to hiring, Story House takes a culture first approach. Right from application through to onboarding, staff need to display the same core values as the business and be willing to live them vigorously.
Regular check-ins are key
It's not all about the GPTW survey - staff are very used to checking in and have been for some time. Story House has continuous feedback processes which comprise of:
Quarterly check-ins, including a happiness rating & well-being rating. This ensures staff are well supported and don't just “feel like a number”. They're a whole person and as such the business recognises that their happiness in their role may be different from their general well-being.
Twice yearly employee NPS surveys
NPS surveys are anonymous, offering employees the opportunity to share direct feedback with the business. Once the information has been de-identified and collated, it’s shared with service managers, discussed in team meetings, passed on to the ELT, and actioned outcomes are shared with the organisation.
In addition to all of that, all staff takes part in annual formal appraisals.
It’s all about the data
These surveys are not filled and forgotten; they are actioned. If staff indicate they're unhappy in any form, the Business Operations Manager, Service Manager, and/or People & Culture check-in (depending on the circumstances), confirm, and support staff where possible. This could mean more flexibility, mental health support, etc. All managers and 2iCs are mental health first aid trained, which is paid for by Story House
As you can tell, there are many reasons Story House was awarded a Great Place To Work.
