Why IT firms are considered the best corporations to work with? By Alfredo Araneda* for staffingamericalatina ...
Why IT firms are considered the best corporations to work with?
By Alfredo Araneda* for staffingamericalatina
Towards the end of 2013, they released the worldwide results of the Great Place to Work Institute, confirming the best companies to work worldwide, evaluating different areas qualitatively, such as integration, infrastructure, training process to its employees and talent programs that allow career development of its employees. This, just to name some of the most important evaluation points to consider. For this, the Institute contemplates each year more than 45 countries around the world, coming to evaluate about 10 million employees for each event.
After reviewing the ranking of the winners of the Great Place to Work, I realized that more than half of the top ten best companies to work with as well as the best ranked firms correspond to technology companies, in both global and Latin American awards. (See results http://www.greatplacetowork.cl/best-companies).
In my opinion, it is not a coincidence to see these results because technology companies have been changing the current and backward-looking work methodologies, along with focusing business strategy on people, understanding that for them the key to success is innovation. If for example, we review the case of Google, winner of both lists and considered one of the most innovative companies in the world. It offers everything that any employee may long for: developing your career in a specialized way, comfort and infrastructure in your job place, pleasant working environment, excellent remuneration and professional development. Likely, if we did a survey to a random group of people, we would agree that everyone would like to work in a firm like Google. In their offices, they give space to the development of various activities that allow their employees to feel better than home: recreation rooms, swimming pools and sports facilities, massage rooms, a place for their pets to be taken care of, nurseries, hairdressers, casinos and restaurants, and even the opportunity to decorate their offices. Undoubtedly, there are countless benefits and gratitude that a company like this one makes his employees more comfortable in their jobs and motivated to start a new workday each day, but more importantly is what makes the difference with other companies: maximum efficiency of human capital, which eventually allows business profitability to unexplainable growth rates.
One of the main criticisms drawn by the market to this model is that they end up exploiting people, in the best sense of the word, referring to working more hours than the legally established and creating family problems due to the fact that such methodologies make the employees feel better at work than at home, guaranteeing their permanence and dedication to their work duties beyond the minimum effort demanded, directly affecting their personal lives. However, my argument leads us to the question: Do we work overtime to finish a project, business or pending task? Probably most of us has done it more than one time, and will continue doing so. In that case, this model does not seem so bad after all if the company gives us the facilities and the opportunity for us to connect ourselves with our personal lives. After all, this mechanism still shows us that its main concern continues to be the people.
