Why It Pays To Work For A "Good" Company

We've all heard that good guys finish last, but in the case of companies, that might not be true anymore. Laurie Bassi, CEO and co-founder of the consulting firm McBassi & Company, argues that "good" companies are finishing first. She developed a Good Company Index, which ranks companies in three different areas -- as an employer, a seller, and a steward of their communities, the environment, and society as a whole.

Turns out, companies that do well on this index tend to outpace their competitors' stock performance over one to five years. (Top-ranked companies recently included Walt Disney, FedEx, and Cisco Systems, while bottom-feeders included Sunoco, Valero Energy, and ExxonMobil.) Bassi explains it all in her new book, Good Company: Business Success in the Worthiness Era. How can you tell if you work for a "good" company? Here's what she says:

In your book you talk about the concept of "worthiness." What is it? We think of worthiness as meaning worthy of employees' loyalty, customers' business, and investors' confidence. This is reflected in consistently good behavior on the part of an organization -- behavior that focuses on "all-win." A company behaving this way genuinely seeks to do more than enrich a narrow set of shareholders and executives. The Worthiness Era is the economic epoch that is beginning to unfold -- one in which companies cannot be great unless they are good.

Why are the "good" companies better poised to do well today? A convergence of forces -- economic, social, and political -- is pushing businesses to be better to their employees, customers, and communities. These forces include one, the rise of interactive online rating tools, including Glassdoor, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Amazon ratings, which expose all aspects of companies' behavior like never before; two, growing numbers of "green" or "ethical" consumers; and three, the increasing power of Millenials, a huge generation that has demonstrated a greater inclination toward civic-mindedness, as well as technological prowess.

Other than karma, why should we want to work for a "good" company? Good Companies create virtuous cycles: They seek to create career and financial stability for their employees, which in turn creates customer and shareholder value, which perpetuates career and financial stability for their employees.

What should managers know about worthiness? Reciprocity -- seeking to create "all-win" relationships -- is the foundation to worthiness for both companies and individual managers. That means that you cannot benefit for long unless you create benefit for others. And the broader the group of shareholders that benefit from your actions as a manager, the better off you will be.

Is the idea that "good guys finish last" merely outdated -- or did it never really exist? It is an outdated idea, but it definitely did exist. We are leaving an era in which thinly veiled corporate greed was treated as a virtue -- especially by shareholders. Outfitted with 401(k) plans and focused on becoming rich, we've rewarded short-term corporate results and turned a blind eye to environmental harm and human exploitation.

So greed is no longer good? People are setting the bar higher for themselves and the companies in their lives. Greed is on the way out. Goodness is in. In a nutshell, greed is being restored to its rightful place -- a vice that will no longer be tolerated, rather than a virtue to be admired.

Why does Disney top the "good" list? Disney calls itself the happiest place on earth. And there's a lot to be happy about with Disney. They put great emphasis on leadership training, delivering holistic "experiences" to customers at its theme parks, and holding "Environmentality Summits" focused on sustainability issues. Disney understands that employees are the key to it being a good seller and good steward. And so all employees -- including the street sweepers -- are treated as essential, because they are essential.

If you're job-hunting, why weigh worthiness along with other factors like salary and benefits? If you're a job-hunter that is only concerned with getting the highest possible compensation in the short-run -- say over the next year or so -- then worthiness should be a relatively low priority. Having said that, if you are concerned about your long-run career and financial stability -- say beyond a one-year time frame -- you should put a great deal of weight on finding a good company, one that is worthy of your best efforts, customers' ongoing loyalty, and investors' continued support.

Do you work for a Good Company? Why/why not? Please share in the comments section below.


Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
More on MoneyWatch:

• Become A Better Manager: 14 Simple Tricks To Try Today
• Career Advice: Manage A Bad Boss
  
• Is Your Boss A Bully? That Could Soon Become Illegal
  
• The Worst Types Of Bosses And Colleagues, And How To Handle Them
• 4 Things Never To Share With HR
• How To Get Your Company To Offer Summer Fridays
• Are You The Office Bully? 4 Ways To Tell
• Why Most Meetings Are A Waste Of Time, And What To Do About It
• 4 Good Reasons To Leave Your Job Now
• Lululemon CEO Christine Day On Making It To The Top