Celebrating 10 years as a Great Place to Work in India
The Great Place to Work Institute defines a ‘great workplace’ as one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with. Every year that Pitney Bowes receives this recognition, I think about how we got here. To be a workplace that our people trust and to be named among the elite group of companies known as India’s Best Companies to Work For is something that fills me with gratitude and pride.
Great Place to Work® is the only company culture award that selects winners based on how fairly people are treated. They assess companies on their ability to create great employee experiences that cut across race, gender, age, disability — or any aspect of a person’s identity or job role.
I once read that to be the best, a company’s employees must consistently have a positive experience, regardless of who they are or what they do for the company. As we celebrate a decade of being recognized as a great workplace, I am humbled by our journey so far and cognizant of the work that we need to continue to do to remain a ‘Great’ workplace.
Here are some of my key learnings from the last decade.
1. Make Employees Feel Valued
Pitney Bowes is a great company because of the people that work here. I have always found that it takes something beyond visible benefits like expansive workplaces and special perks to make people feel valued. It’s the small things that make a difference. Having regular touch points and open conversations, knowing your team and what’s going on with them beyond work, and making them feel cared for and appreciated all go a long way. The most important step is to create a culture of authentic appreciation.
2. Provide Exceptional People Experiences
Recently, someone asked me the top reason for our high employee engagement scores. My answer was clear: Our commitment to letting employees be themselves. Pitney Bowes lets me be me and encourages open conversations and authenticity.
The pandemic taught the world an important lesson. A reminder that the people that work in your teams are beyond just ‘employees’. They are parents to young children, caregivers to elderly parents, with home responsibilities and several other challenges that we may not have considered. From our inception in 1920, Pitney Bowes has built a strong cultural foundation tethered on the values of doing the right thing, the right way. We are proud of creating a culture of meritocracy where everyone is treated equally and has a positive experience, regardless of who they are and where they come from. At Pitney Bowes, diversity has always been a reality of who we are.
3. Invest in Growth
In my personal career, I have always placed immense importance on learning. I believe that continuous learning is the only thing that matters. And to that end, I continue to explore new avenues to gain deeper domain knowledge and grow my expertise in fields that interest me, within and outside the remit of my work. I believe that for any organization to keep its workforce keen and engaged, there needs to be deep focus on learning. As part of Pitney Bowes commitment to our team, we provide access to education and skills training and a roadmap that encourages employees to keep upskilling themselves, regardless of where they are employed.
Giving employees opportunities to innovate, explore new challenges, take ownership, and make decisions while providing them with guidance and avenues to learn from their leaders, mentors, and role models within the company is essential.
4. Make Every Voice Heard
Work is no longer just about monetary compensation. Employees want to feel like they are a part of something bigger and that their opinion matters. We need to be open and receptive to their perspectives. Giving them the platform to voice their opinions and listening to them not only shows that we value their thoughts but also brings to the fore an abundance of innovative ideas that have potential business value.
Adopting a proactive approach towards building an inclusive culture, where employees feel respected, understood, and heard regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, or personal choice, has stood the test of time. Choosing to connect with individuals, being aware of and empathizing with their stories, being compassionate towards their challenges, and making them feel that they belong to the Pitney Bowes community is what has made people stay with us.
Today, I am proud to be able to lead an equally passionate team in India that is raring to deliver the best for our clients and stakeholders every day. We collaborate, innovate, learn, and thrive together.
To all our employees in India and globally, thank you for helping us accomplish the tremendous milestone of being recognized as one of India’s Best Workplaces yet again.