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Great Place To Work Frequently Asked Questions

Great Place To Work® helps companies attract and retain top talent, improve productivity, enhance reputation, and gain valuable insights into their workplace culture. Here's everything you need to know about participating in the Great Place To Work Certification™ process and being featured on Best Workplaces™ Lists.

FAQs

General FAQs

Who is Great Place To Work?

Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and the leadership behaviours proven to deliver improved revenue and increased innovation. We help companies around the world survey their employees, benchmark their results, identify gaps, and improve their culture. Ours is the only national recognition program based on a rigorous methodology and validated employee feedback.

What is the difference between being Great Place to Work Certified and the Best Workplaces Programme?

Becoming Great Place to Work Certified™ is the first milestone in our recognition process. An organisation that has completed the employee survey process can receive Certification™ at any point in the year, once they have met the minimum 65% Trust Index employee survey threshold, and submitted their Culture Brief telling us about their organisation. Then, through our Best Workplaces™ Programme we determine the best from the pool of Certified™ organisations via a rigorous assessment process that is based on the outcome of both your Trust Index™ survey and other factors.

What is the criteria for an organisation wanting to participate in your Certification and Best Workplaces Programme?

A minimum of 10 UK-based employees and a Trust Index survey score of 65%+ is required to become Great Place to Work Certified. To also be eligible for our Best Workplaces Programme, you will need to earn Certification and pass a rigorous assessment of your organisation's workplace culture by our culture experts.

How does Great Place To Work compare with other recognition providers?

Great Place to Work® UK provides recognition across multiple categories in annual lists, which are published throughout the year.

We are unique in measuring an organisation’s culture, the benefit of which is that we can also benchmark policies and people practices with Best Workplaces™ of a similar size and industry. No other employee experience survey compares what leaders think they are delivering with what is actually being experienced by employees.

Moreover, we provide outstanding organisations with recognition in other countries where they have offices; other continents (Europe's Best Workplaces™) and globally (World's Best Workplaces™).

 

If we choose to partner with Great Place to Work, will we lose our existing employee data from previous surveys?

You will not lose previous data. We are highly experienced in ensuring the smooth transition from an existing questionnaire to our Trust Index™ employee survey. Being able to track 'trend' comparisons on individual questions across time is a crucial requirement if you already have employee data from your current survey. This is true for many of our clients, who have an established survey that has been used for several years. Customisation of our Trust Index™ format allows you to track and compare data on bespoke historic engagement questions.

Is there a cost for your services?

Yes. As a consultancy business, our fees are tailored to the needs and specific solutions that are relevant to your organisation. Get in touch with one of our Great Place to Work® experts to discuss your requirements.

Certification FAQs

What is Great Place To Work Certification?

Great Place To Work Certification recognises employers who create an outstanding employee experience. Certification is a two-step process that includes surveying your employees and completing a short questionnaire about your workforce.

What does participation in the Certification process look like?

Participation in our Great Place To Work Certified™ benchmark study takes the form of an employee survey (called the Trust Index) accompanied by the Culture Brief short questionnaire regarding the history and demographics of your workplace, completed by your organisation's HR team.

Organisations that have 10+ employees will be Great Place To Work Certified when their overall Trust Index score is 65% or higher.

The Certification process will provide important information about the current state of your workplace culture, enabling your leaders to measure, understand, and develop your culture further.

Certification is also the first step to becoming a Best Workplace™. Once an organisation is Certified, and provided they meet the specific Best Workplaces Trust assessment requirements for their size category, they will receive Best Workplaces recognition.

Which companies can sign up for Certification?

All UK-based and multinational organisations with a UK branch which have 10+ employees are eligible to become Great Place to Work Certified.

How do I get Great Place To Work Certified?

Certification is a two-step process that includes surveying your employees and completing a short questionnaire about your workplace history and demographics. Soon after the survey has closed, and provided you have submitted your Culture Brief questionnaire and earned an overall survey score of 65% or higher, you will receive your official Certification™ digital badge, valid for 12 months.

What does Great Place To Work Certification mean?

Great Place To Work Certification signals to the world that you have created a company culture your employees love. It proves that your organisation has created a work environment that fosters trust, fairness, respect, and camaraderie among its employees.

How much does Great Place To Work Certification cost?

At Great Place To Work, we provide three comprehensive packages: Assess™, Analyse™, and Accelerate™, all based around our employee survey. Each package offers different levels of data analysis and guidance, along with the opportunity to achieve Certification and earn recognition as one of the Best Workplaces. The pricing for these packages is determined by various factors, including the organisation's size, whether it requires a national or international survey, and any specific requirements your organisation may have for the survey and follow-up process.

How long does Great Place To Work Certification take?

We typically suggest a 2-week window to launch your survey - and with our survey platform, you're able to view and analyse the results of your survey as soon as the survey closes. Shortly after the survey has closed, and provided you have submitted your Culture Brief questionnaire and earned an overall survey score of 65% or higher, you will receive your official Certification™ digital badge, valid for 12 months.

What are the benefits of Great Place To Work Certification?

Being a Certified great workplace has several benefits for an organisation. It serves as a valuable external validation of your company's commitment to its employees which, in turn, will enhance your reputation as an employer of choice. It can also attract and retain high-quality talent, improve employee engagement and satisfaction, and contribute to overall business success.

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Best Workplaces FAQs

How do we become a Best Workplace?

Organisations looking to be recognised on a Best Workplaces™ list must first earn Certification as a great workplace. Through the Certification process, we capture valuable employee insights and data using our research-driven Trust Index™ anonymous survey, as well as company-provided information about the history and makeup of your organisation. Only the top-performing Certified companies who pass a rigorous assessment by our culture experts can earn official recognition as a Best Workplace.

How are Best Workplaces selected?

We use our For All™ Model and Methodology to evaluate our pool of Certified great workplaces. Only the top-performing Certified companies who pass a stringent assessment of their company culture and employee experience are recognised as Best Workplaces. To become Certified, companies must survey their employees using our flagship assessment, the Trust Index survey, and complete a Culture Brief questionnaire about their workplace.

Who’s eligible for Great Place to Work’s Best Workplaces Lists?

To be eligible for our Best Workplaces™ Programme, you will need a minimum of 10 employees, be Great Place to Work Certified and pass the rigorous assessment of your organisation's workplace culture by our culture experts. All eligibility criteria for each Best Workplaces™ Lists can be found on our upcoming lists calendar.

What happens if we don’t make the list?

Ranking on our Best Workplaces™ lists is no mean feat! We never disclose the names or results of any company which does not receive this recognition, but rather offer to support these organisations to improve their employee experience and achieve better results in the future. 

Our mission is to create a better world by helping organisations become great workplaces for all. Certification, which organisations of 10+ employees will receive as long as they hit the 65% Trust Index™ employee survey threshold and submit their Culture Brief™ questionnaire, allows you to signal to the world that you are on the journey to building a better workplace culture.

And our services go beyond recognition, too! We provide bespoke consultancy which enables individual organisations to make continuous improvements based on key data and insights that target their unique set of needs at any given time. All our clients are assigned a dedicated Customer Success Project Manager to help with every step of the process in moving from good to great, including post-survey support.

What is the Best Workplaces list deadlines?

Organisations must earn Certification by the 'Get Certified' dates specified for each Best Workplaces List on our List Deadlines page.

What is the process for being recognised as a Best Workplace?

Our Trust Index anonymous employee survey and Culture Brief questionnaire are the two tools used to assess organisations of all sizes participating in the Best Workplaces™ Programme. Together, they enable us to generate accurate and fair measures of employee engagement, trust, fairness, and other critical factors of workplace culture within every organisation participating in the programme. Companies with 1001+ employees are also required to complete a Culture Audit assessment to be eligible for Best Workplaces recognition. The Culture Audit contains five required essay questions and allows us to evaluate your company’s people practices against our For All™ model.

Do we have to participate in the full Best Workplace Programme?

No. For many organisations, the Great Place to Work® UK partnership is part of a journey. With this in mind, we often conduct standalone assessments without the need for recognition, to help identify the key drivers that will support you in moving from a good to great workplace for all.

What's the difference between the Culture Brief and Culture Audit?

The Culture Brief is a short questionnaire that allows us to build a profile of your company's history and demographics. The information you submit in the Culture Brief will be used to determine your Best Workplaces™ List eligibility and must be completed in order for your organisation to become a Certified great workplace.

The Culture Audit is required for companies with 1001+ employees who want to be considered for Best Workplaces recognition (not required for Certification). The Culture Audit contains five required essay questions that allow us to evaluate your company’s people practices against our For All™ model.

What is the Wellbeing Index?

The Wellbeing Index is comprised of a specific set of 8 core statements from the Trust Index™ focusing on employees’ holistic experiences of wellbeing at work, including their work-life balance, sense of fulfilment, social support, and job satisfaction. 

The responses to the wellbeing index are analysed to form a total Index score which must exceed a threshold of 65% in order to be considered for recognition. The results of the wellbeing Index are then passed through our rigorous assessment, paying particular attention to how these employee experiences vary depending on job role, gender, age, and other characteristics to ensure that companies are creating a great workplace For All™.

What is the Development Index?

The Development Index is made up of 10 statements from the core Trust Index grouped into the 4 key ‘essentials’ necessary to offer great experiences of professional growth and development. The 4 key essentials are focused on experiences around development, management behaviour, empowerment and recognition. 

The responses to the Development Index are analysed to form a total Index score which must exceed a threshold of 65% in order to be considered for recognition. The results of the Development Index are then passed through our rigorous assessment, paying particular attention to how these employee experiences vary depending on job role, gender, meaningful opportunities, and other characteristics to ensure that companies are creating a great workplace For All™.

Employee Survey FAQs

Is the Great Place To Work survey anonymous?

Yes. We take our ethical obligation to survey takers very seriously. Employees can rest assured that their participation is completely confidential and voluntary. Survey responses come directly to Great Place To Work. Employers cannot see who has or who has not completed the survey while the survey is live. We remove unique identifiers once the survey closes. For employers, company participation in the Certification program and the survey results are completely confidential. We do not publish the details of any organisations who do not achieve Certification or Best Workplaces recognition.

Is the employee survey available in different languages?

Yes! Our Trust Index™ survey is available in over 50 languages, and they’re all available for you to use at no additional cost.

Is assessment limited to take place on an annual basis only?

You don't have to wait for annual list recognition to begin your journey towards creating a better workplace for all! Some organisations partner with us on an annual basis, supplementing main measures with additional pulse surveys throughout the year as a temperature check on their actions. Other clients make frequent pulse checks on a quarterly or even monthly basis. Ultimately, we believe that measures should only be taken at a frequency where you feel important change may happen. 

How many questions are on the Great Place To Work survey?

Employees answer 14 demographic questions and respond to 60 statements across a five-point consistency scale as well as two open-ended questions. Employees generally take 10 to 20 minutes to complete the survey.

Can we ask our own questions on the Great Place To Work employee survey?

You can add custom questions at some subscription tiers. While our core Trust Index statements must remain unedited in order to consider you for Great Place To Work Certification and our awards, we offer different subscription tiers that allow you to add your own open-ended questions, demographic questions, and survey statements. Any additional survey statements which are not required for a specific Best Workplaces List will not be evaluated as part of our awards, so you can collect the feedback you find most relevant to your business without it impacting your Certification result.

Do we get to see our scores from the employee survey?

Yes. Once your survey is closed, you’ll immediately get (at minimum) an overview of your scores so you can see how your employee experience measures against our key evaluation areas, and how you stack up against our Best Workplaces benchmarks.

Is the survey compatible for mobile?

Yes. Our Trust Index is extremely user-friendly and compatible across all devices (laptop/pc, tablet, and mobile).

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