Best Companies Group has the privilege of working with thousands of companies across the US during our many “Best Places to Work” programs. We often work with companies that already strive day after day to increase employee engagement and encourage employees to feel a sense of company pride. Often, companies go above and beyond when it comes to making employees feel proud of their company and create programs and projects designed to enhance employee morale.
One of the companies that have worked especially hard to increase employee morale through a variety of creative projects is Geneca*. Custom software development firm, Geneca has made the “Best Places to Work in Illinois” list for the past four years and continues to combine creativity, new business ventures and employee morale into a package that delivers not only an increase to the company’s recruiting efforts, but also instills a sense of company pride from all employees.
BCG interviewed Geneca’s Recruiting Director Mike Denton after Geneca contacted BCG about their new and exciting project that focused on enhancing the careers/recruiting section of their website and resulted in a huge jump in employee morale. Many companies have a standard recruiting website where they can direct new or potential employees. Geneca decided that they wanted their recruiting website to tell the story for them. They wanted to create a site where current employees could share their own experiences, showcase their talents and provide a true inside-view of the company culture. The goal of the project was to create a site that people would love. In the end, the goal was met and employee morale at Geneca is still flying high.
Check out the full interview below!
BCG: Please share what the goal of the website re-design/project was:
Mike: The goal was simple. We wanted to build a site that software developers and the people that work in software development would want to build themselves. We knew we wanted to break the mold of your standard careers site. 90% of the recruiting sites offer the same information – and there is often little difference in how that information is presented. During our requirements phase we realized we were going down the path frequently traveled. So we scrapped the design – adapted the content and built a single page application meant to be highly interactive and engaging for the candidate.
BCG: How did this project get started and why did the company want to start something like this?
Mike: Websites alone aren’t enough to attract candidates, but they are a necessary tool. The previous version of our careers website was okay but kind of stale and uninformative. It certainly didn’t represent our culture as well as we needed. I wanted to create something we could point candidates towards that would help draw them in even more.
BCG: How did this project get employees from all company levels engaged?
Mike: There were several aspects of the development of the site that got employees engaged.
For example, we had a chance to get the entire company engaged with the filming of our Frequently Unasked Questions videos. You can read an endless stream of articles talking about the value of employee engagement. This was an answer to that (one of many for us). And that is the point of it all. We’re recruiting. What better way to attract than show people exactly who you are and what you do and celebrate it.
We used a designer to help select fonts, background, and other design artifacts. The rest of the project was completed using our own employees. Since we are a software development company, we were able to use some internal, unassigned resources. From idea conception to go-live it was a year in the making. However, once we knew what we wanted to do and were given the internal resources to do it, we used 3 to 5 people for 4 months to code, test, fix and change our way to completion.
In the end, it was a fun, very cool project featuring our Genecians, using current technologies that show off our capabilities building complex, highly interactive applications – built by software folks for software folks.
BCG: How did this project contribute to employee morale once completed?
Mike: We introduced the site and played one of the videos at our quarterly company meeting and it really brought the house down! The website really resonates well with Genecians. Everyone identified with the site and felt a very positive association. Many of us forwarded the site to our friends, family and colleagues. We are all proud of what we created.
Everyone loves the feature of having a specific web page for each Genecian. This makes employees really feel like part of the organization and demonstrates the importance we put on every individual.
BCG: How do you see this project contributing to employee engagement and morale in the future?
Mike: In 3 months most information goes stale – so we plan to keep it updated by adding more videos, featured employees, new employees and employee testimonials. So there will always be ongoing opportunities for employees to get involved in the site.
BCG: What suggestions do you have for other companies that would like to create employee-focused projects?
Mike: Answering this kind of question has so much to do with an organization’s culture. Geneca has the type of culture that is always looking for new ways keep employees engaged. So, it starts with having an open culture. Some examples of what we do in addition to things like our website: Our Market Dept. encourages individuals and teams to write articles and helps them get their work published. We also have an Innovation Group and a Corporate Shark Tank program where we can win support for products we invent. We just recently started a skills based volunteer program called Projects with Purpose where we form small teams to help local nonprofits with technology related issues. In the end, any company looking to highlight their own staff needs to listen to its staff – they have the answers.
*Custom software development firm, Geneca, is recognized by its clients and the marketplace as a trusted advisor that consistently delivers great business value. Well known for its use of Getting PredictableSM software practices, Geneca is committed to helping organizations identify and overcome obstacles to success. Visit Geneca at www.geneca.com.
Has your company gone above and beyond to enhance company pride? Do your employees feel the love at their workplace? Let us know! Share your examples of company pride below, or Contact a BCG team member to share your project details.
