MGMT 453 Blogs - Nicole F

Fortune: 100 Best Places to Work

So, what makes a work place great, anyway?

According to greatplacetowork.com, qualitative studies researched statements such as, “When you join the company, you are made to feel welcome,” “I am proud to tell others I work here,” and “I am given the resources and equipment to do my job.” These statements and others, regarding an employee’s experience with their work environment, were then rated and compiled to produce the “Best Places to Work, 2025.”

According to First Break All the Rules (2014), these statements are congruent with the “measuring stick”, a series of 12 questions that Buckingham and Coffman say test the strength of an organization. Based on the positive responses from the employees of these companies, we can assume that HR and management are answering these questions seriously to improve the experiences within their individual organizational cultures.

Comparing #1 Hilton, #15 Delta, #43 Zillow, and #100 Walmart, employees at these Fortune 100 Best Places to Work say that their company is a “great place to work”, more so than the average employee experience. With Hilton topping out at a 95% positive employee experience and Walmart coming in at 73%, these companies score much higher than the 53% national average.

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Looking ahead: What kind of manager do I want to be?

In general, I want to be the type of manager that helps employees learn, change, and grow in whatever direction they want to. I want to be the type of manager that is always willing to listen to feedback and challenges and help my team collaborate on solutions. I also want to be the manager that wants to connect with my team, both up and down the chain, to maintain relationships and perspective.

The conversation between Gallup and ‘Michael’ in First Break All the Rules resonated with me deeply regarding the type of manager I would like to be. It was refreshing to hear an experienced manager say that it is perfectly ok to treat each employee you work with differently than the next. It speaks to a willingness to not only meet an individual where they are at in their employment journey, but to also speak their language and learn what makes that person tick. Personalizing human resources management is a more connected approach that I believe leads to higher job satisfaction and commitment.

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Management: What are the Challenges?

While there are many challenges that come up for managers, I think one of the most obvious challenges is attempting (and failing) to please everyone. Even in the most thoughtful decision making, there is likely going to be someone that disagrees with your decisions and may be upset as a result. In cases like these, I think being empathetic can go a long way in allowing an employee to feel seen and heard while still being firm in the decisions being made.

Another challenge that I could see come up for managers is having to be the middle man between the top of the firm (the macro decision-makers) and the bottom of the firm (the workers and laborers). I can imagine it can be quite frustrating to always be relaying information and putting things in action coming from the top-down, especially related to scheduling, staffing, and organizational changes like restructuring or layoffs.

Above all, the biggest challenge managers face is earning the trust of their team. Effective managers have the unique role of building and maintaining relationships with the employees they work closely with. A great way to earn trust with a team is to give trust, allowing employees to have a certain level of autonomy. In First Break All the Rules, ‘Michael’ states, “…pick the right people. If you do, it makes everything else so much easier. And once you’ve picked them, trust them.”

While human resources management certainly has it’s challenges, managers who are willing to accept these challenges will grow into even better leaders than they were before.

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