5 Ways To Know If A Company Is A Great Place to Work

Everyone loves that feeling of relief when they secure an interview. Maybe that’s you and you’re preparing to impress the Hiring Manager and secure your dream role… but how do you know if it’s your dream job?

Looking at a job description may give you a good idea of what the job may entail, but can you gauge the company culture and whether it’s the best environment for you professionally? This isn’t something you can afford to ignore when interviewing. New job excitement doesn’t last forever and the factors you may have brushed over could quickly become real problems for you.

So how do you make sure that the next company you work for will tick the necessary boxes? Here’s 5 things to check through:

RESEARCH THEIR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

First things first, research. Your best bet for getting quick information about a company is by going online. However, most people would only go on there for the purpose of preparing for their interview, rather than asking themselves the vital questions of whether they’d actually want to work for that company. This will be the first stop for many people when looking to get an overview of a company, what they do and to prepare for an interview.

The first place you want to look is the company website. This is a solid place to find information that you otherwise might not see on a job advert such as more details on benefits, the team, values and a sense of what it might be like to actually work there.

The next thing you’ll want to do is check out the company’s social media. We’re in an era now where most companies, and their employees, have a presence on social media - particularly LinkedIn - and this is a great place to get an overview about the culture.

Ask the right questions

Research is a good starting point, but actually communicating with your potential employer is how you’re going to not just hear their answers to questions, but also hear their tone of voice in their answers.

Employers can easily talk the talk online, in job applications, but how will they respond in person? By asking the right questions, you’ll hear their reaction, but If you are invited to an interview use this as an opportunity to also find out more about the company, make sure to come prepared with quality questions that can help provide answers regarding the things that are most important to you.

There’s a range of questions you can ask but keep reading for some important factors we think you should bring up/ keep in mind during your interview…

THEY WANT TO PROGRESS EMPLOYEES

If you’re wanting to join and work your way up in your next company, you need to be sure that there are progression paths in place and those progression paths are fair and designed to support employees. Consider:

• Does the progression suit your ambitions?

• What are the targets/ time frames needed to progress?

• Will you be given regular support to reach promotions or pay rises?

• Will you fully understand what’s expected of you?

• Are the salaries in line with the market?

THEY HAVE GOOD TRAINING

It’s impossible to move up in your career without training and further opportunities to learn. Training doesn’t just ensure you’ll know what you’re doing day-to-day in your job, but it ensures you’re developing vital skills and knowledge about your career and industry. Consider:

• Does the training sound beneficial?

• Is there on the job mentoring and support?

• Are there other opportunities for further learning?

THEY PRIORITISE COMPANY CULTURE

There’s plenty of companies out there that don’t see company culture, wellbeing or team engagement as a priority. But if you’re someone who wants to be in a supportive team with supportive managers, you will definitely want to be paying attention to how employers talk about the culture. Consider:

• If you met the team, did they seem excited and passionate?

• What incentives do they have for the team?

• Do they encourage collaboration?

• Are there company socials?

• How does the employer react when you talk about wellbeing?

THEY HAVE FLEXIBLE WORKING OPTIONS

A company that allows for some sort of flexibility or hybrid working, is a company who respects and trusts their employees. Especially in a post-pandemic world, flexibility in the workplace is more common than ever and if the type of work you do is possible to do away from the structured schedule of the office, this may be a non-negotiable. Consider:

• Do they have flexible working to begin with?

• Does their flexible working policy suits you?

THEY CARE ABOUT WORK-LIFE BALANCE

You may be thinking if a company has hybrid working options, they surely must value work-life balance… right? Unfortunately this isn’t always the case and employers can still be overly demanding, cutting into a healthy balance between work and life. Consider:

• If targets seem realistic

• Holiday allowance

• If you’re expected to do with more than your core hours

• Wellbeing policies

Written by Tim Macmillan

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