News about great employers travels fast in the modern online world. People who are pleased with their jobs are more likely to stay and invest their energy into the company’s success. A study by Columbia Business School looked at the public language of executives to suss out the value of employees compared to stakeholders and customers. Their findings suggest that “strategic importance of employees compared to other stakeholders” was vital to employee retention and satisfaction. So how can companies rethink their priorities to an employee-focused org? Consider the following six qualities of a great employer:
Recognition
Acknowledging good work has a powerful effect on employee morale, making it one of the top qualities of a great employer. According to a Quantum Workplace study, employers who offer formal recognition for good work have a 31 percent lower turnover margin than those without. Further, when you “reward employees for their contributions, they feel ownership and pride—and are willing to work just as hard on their next project.” An organized recognition program will be fair for all employees and encourage parity among those who give out the rewards.
There are various types of recognition, and different employees will respond according to their personality. It’s valuable to get to know employees so the recognition can match:
- Public acknowledgement from a superior or co-workers
- Anonymous card on the desk or mention in a company-wide communication
- Feature on social media channels
Recognizing performance metrics is an obvious choice, but consider watching for other opportunities to acknowledge, like helping a co-worker or organizing a company event.
Promote Personal Growth
Recognition is a vital part of employee satisfaction, but it’s not all you can offer. Promoting personal growth means “identifying and nurturing potential,” says Tiffani Bova in Harvard Business Review, “giving employees the skills needed to grow.” She identifies a program at Unilever where employees joined a leadership development program where they identified future individual plans that aligned with company goals. After the workshop 92 percent of employees reported that “their jobs inspired them to go the extra mile.”
Other areas of personal growth can include physical and mental health initiatives, promoting creative hobbies outside work hours, or contributing to the community with service opportunities on company time.
Mutual Trust
Trust goes two ways: leadership and management of the organization trusts the employees and the employees trust that they are capable of solving problems and finding solutions within work tasks.
According to McKinsey, organizations with mutual trust as a core value give workers confidence that “leads to a 47% increased likelihood that employees will stay with a company and a 90% increased likelihood they’ll go out of their way to help each other.”
Work environments with mutual trust help employees feel heard and that their suggestions or contributions are welcome and valued.
Active Listening
Another of the top qualities of a great employer is building trust, and one important way to do so is by promoting a culture of active listening. Harvard’s Robin Abraham and Boris Groysberg suggest good listening requires a three-pronged approach:
- Hearing, comprehending, and integrating the words and ideas spoken by another person without interrupting
- Maintaining a compassionate stance and managing emotions such as anger or boredom appropriately
- Giving physical cues that show you’re engaged: nodding, vocal agreement, and asking follow-up questions when appropriate
Compassionately hearing an employee’s suggestions or concerns can be enough to foster trust even if the outcome is different than they expected. This kind of respectful response shows that the door will be open the next time they want to talk.
Good Communication
Active listening is half of good communication skills; for the verbal and written half consider the following tips from Harvard’s Mary Sharp Emerson:
- Clarity comes from knowing your conversational goals in advance (where possible), avoiding excess repetition, and using simple language without filler words.
- Advance preparation is vital for consequential conversations like salary discussions, promotions, or conflict resolution. It can be useful to try and anticipate questions in advance in order to prepare your possible responses and determine where you may be willing to compromise.
- Tone can set the stage for a productive or defensive conversation. Tone encompasses volume, intonation, and word choice. If you’re concerned the tone may not be received as you intend, written communication gives you a chance to read over and adjust tone where needed. Be aware that a joke to one person may not be funny to another, and some may never be appropriate for certain work conversations.
- A company communication strategy can help avoid “I never got that email” confusion and worse. It can help define which tools get used for which types of messages: what is appropriate for a text message (and during what hours) vs. what should be in an email for multiple recipients. A company policy can help get the right info to the right people while avoiding excess messaging that begins to feel like noise.
Promote Positive Company Culture
Research suggests that employees who feel good about the work they do are more likely to stay with their employer, look for leadership opportunities, and feel satisfaction at work. Positive company culture plays a big role in fostering these feelings and contributing to overall productivity.
Small businesses just starting out may feel that it’s too early to start developing company culture, but consultant Jennifer McCusker says it starts on day one, and each employee has the opportunity to contribute to what the culture will be.
The first step is identifying your company’s core values, and then hold up every decision to make sure it aligns with them. If a core value is work-life balance, then you might ensure that employees don’t receive a text message or an email after hours. You may offer a flexible work schedule or remote work options. You may offer benefits that contribute to the overall health of your employees, like gym memberships or great healthcare.
A business is made up of many parts, but without good employees the productivity comes to a screeching halt. Companies of all sizes can find proactive ways to aid in retention and employee well-being, aligning with the top qualities of a great employer. Explore how retention rates start with the hiring and onboarding process. Take steps to ensure that your company processes are consistent and positive, including implementing ApplicantStack, a proven applicant-tracking system, and watch employees thrive.
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