Creating a workplace that employees love is not an act of benevolence. It is a strategic imperative that will fuel sustainable growth. In modern-day organisations, retention and engagement of the right people are critical to sustainable growth. As such, executives must move beyond traditional incentives to address the broader employee experience.
Financial rewards remain important but are no longer sufficient. To succeed in creating a workplace for the people, leaders must embed strategies that acknowledge complexity, foster well-being, provide growth opportunities, and encourage ownership.
Employees look to work for organisations with a clear purpose beyond financial performance. A clear, shared purpose provides a framework for alignment, and connects individual ambition with organisational goals. For this to work, it has to be consistently articulated by leadership and embedded across practices, policies, and behaviours.
Hiring for Cultural Fit
The culture in your workplace is an intangible yet fundamental factor in shaping the employee experience. A strong workplace culture attracts and retains people with the same values, while a weak or misaligned culture drives people to leave or limits their ability to perform. Recruiting for cultural fit ensures that new employees strengthen, rather than dilute, the culture. By prioritising cultural alignment, in some cases even over technical expertise, organisations can create conditions for sustained cohesion. Skills can be taught, but values and behaviours are more difficult to change.
The cultural values must be clearly defined, articulated, and continuously reinforced. Leadership behaviour must reflect stated values, as employees quickly identify any gap between rhetoric and action. Leaders who act as stewards of culture by fostering trust, transparency, and empowerment set a standard. Employees will mirror the behaviour and priorities of its leadership.
Growth as a Driver of Commitment
Opportunities for development are central to retention. Formal training and learning programmes are valuable, but growth can also be achieved through lateral moves, mentoring, and exposure to new functions. Such pathways allow employees to develop skills without relying solely on promotions.
When individuals see a long-term future for themselves within the organisation, loyalty and performance are strengthened. Development is rarely seamless, but progress emerges when organisations provide frameworks that allow people to learn, adjust, and grow alongside business needs.
Transparency and Learning
A workplace that encourages openness about failure creates trust and accelerates learning. When mistakes are acknowledged rather than concealed, teams can analyse what happened, share insights, and improve together. This approach removes the stigma of error, replacing it with a culture of experimentation and growth.
Employees value environments where honesty is possible and where missteps are recognised as part of progress. Such transparency not only strengthens collaboration but also fosters the sense of security and respect that makes people want to stay and contribute.
Facilitating Collaboration
The working environment, both physical and digital, plays a significant role in engagement and happiness. Physical surroundings designed for interaction encourage creativity and transparency. At the same time, virtual platforms that support collaboration across geographies ensure that productivity is not restricted by location. Building a system that enables effective communication helps teams to focus on outcomes and reinforce collective purpose.
Employees expect to be heard, and subject matter experts expect to be involved in decisions that affect their work. Involving the right people in decision-making and strategic choices not only improves outcomes but also reinforces respect and trust. Listening is not a symbolic gesture but a strategic act that shapes commitment and credibility.
Shaping Workplaces People Love
Ultimately, workplaces that employees love are created through consistent focus on purpose, culture, well-being, growth, collaboration, and empowerment. Success lies not in rigid plans but in listening, adapting, and embedding values into daily practice. By doing so, organisations not only retain talent but also create advocates who strengthen reputation and drive sustainable performance.
About the Author: Anne Katrine Carlsson Sejr is co-author, alongside Ivanna Mikhailovna Rosendal, of Maneuvering Monday, a book that blends fiction with business insight. As a leader of teams specialising in organisational development and transformation, she has sought to address the oversimplified advice prevalent in business literature by crafting a narrative where leaders navigate uncertainty, mistakes occur, and good intentions meet resistance. Together with Rosendal, she hosts the Maneuvering Monday podcast, where experts and thought leaders share insights and approaches to tackle the challenges explored through the book’s characters and dilemmas.