Trust and achieve

A company’s success lies in creating a workplace culture that enables its staff to feel trusted, according to the Great Places to Work Institute Singapore

Having trustworthy leaders and co-workers creates a comfortable zone for employees to experiment, possibly leading to groundbreaking results.

When there is such a level of trust, there is a higher chance of employees thinking about how to work more efficiently and productively, and in more creative ways.

These findings are from the Great Places to Work Institute (GPTW), a global organisation that assesses and certifies companies for their positive workplace cultures.

Ms Evelyn Kwek, the managing director of GPTW’s Singapore office, says that trust is the secret ingredient that enhances performance in the workplace. This is why the institute emphasises trust when evaluating companies for the annual Singapore Best Workplaces List.

“When curating the list, we look out for indicators that show there is trust between leaders and employees in an organisation,” she adds.

Big payoff

GPTW’s research proves that the investment in trust among leaders and co-workers pays off. In a global study done by the institute, publicly-traded Great Place to Work-certified companies in the United States have seen their stock performances double over the last five years.

“The focus of our evaluating process is on trust,” says Ms Kwek, who explains that there can be no engagement, safety nor innovation without trust. “Trust is the foundation of a great workplace. It creates the conditions for people to bring their full selves to work,” she adds.

Winning ways

The 2019 Singapore Best Workplaces List honours 10 medium and large enterprises, and three small enterprises. Among them are transportation and mobile technology company Grab, human resources firm Adecco, business hotel Royal Plaza on Scotts and LED lighting systems maker Signify.

Ms Kwek says companies that create a “high-trust” culture have employees who take pride in what they do and enjoy working with their leaders and co-workers.

At Royal Plaza on Scotts, for example, there are policies to help hotel staff lead balanced lifestyles. These include having a staff lounge within the hotel and the option for staff to choose flexible working hours.

Human resources company Adecco also offers flexible work arrangements. In addition, it has an open-door policy where anyone can approach leaders to share ideas or feedback.

Safe space

GPTW’s assessment of a company as a great workplace is based on surveys done by the employees of participating organisations. The Trust Index Survey features questions such as whether staff members feel safe at work to speak up and try something new, and be themselves without being judged.

“We measure what people experience on a day-to-day basis at the workplace because we believe that when employees feel trusted or vice versa, they will go the extra mile, and think about the business even when they are outside of the workplace,” says Ms Kwek.

In the past, the Singapore Best Workplaces List was dominated by firms in the info-comm industry. Ms Kwek believes that is because these companies have always been intentional in creating a great workplace experience to draw the brightest talents. However, she has observed that other industries are recognising the value of building positive workplace cultures.

“Our Best Workplaces and Certified Companies come from across industries — some are multinational corporations, while others are modest start-ups. What they have in common is that they place emphasis on trust. These companies are committed to building workplace environments that harness diversity, foster inclusion and build belonging that differentiate them from competition, enabling them to win in the marketplace,” she says.

Having trust-worthy leaders and co-workers offers a friendly and comfortable zone for one to take a chance to try something new that can possibly be groundbreaking. When there is such a level of trust, there is a higher potential that everyone will think about how to work more efficiently and productively, and in more creative ways.

These findings are from the Great Places to Work Institute (GPTW), a global organisation that assesses and certifies companies for their positive workplace cultures.

Ms Evelyn Kwek, the managing director of GPTW’s Singapore office, says that trust is the secret ingredient that enhances performance in the workplace. This is why the institute emphasises it when evaluating companies for the annual Singapore Best Workplaces List.

“When curating the list, we look out for indicators that show there is trust between leaders and employees in an organisation,” she adds.

2019 Singapore Best Workplaces
Medium and Large Workplaces
  1. Royal Plaza on Scotts
  2. Salesforce
  3. DHL Express (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
  4. HubSpot
  5. Grab
  6. FireEye
  7. Agilent Technologies Singapore
  8. Aviva Ltd
  9. Micron Technology, Inc.
  10. Adecco Personnel

Small Workplaces
  1. Hays Specialist Recruitment Pte Ltd Singapore
  2. Signify Singapore Pte Ltd
  3. Rackspace

The Featured Winners