How do you create a company culture in which people really want to work?

The days of a ‘job for life’ have gone; more from the employees’ point of view than from the employers’. To keep good staff in these days of almost full employment, organisations need to both value their employees and offer them choice.

Many big corporate broker firms have the old-fashioned attitude of tying people in to ensure they get their pound of flesh. There are still far too many stories of firms that reputedly grind brokers into the ground. Brokers report that in all too many organisations they aren’t allowed to flourish or think about the future; rather it is about boxing them up and making sure they hit their targets – and, when they hit them, having them raised for the following year.

But the employed world has changed forever and few – if any – people want such a scenario. Many brokers report an environment where they are asked first thing in the morning how many calls they are going to make that day and how much money they are going to bring in – and then being beaten up verbally if they don’t hit their targets.

Of course, no company can afford to carry passengers and every firm needs to yield results, but there are different ways of doing this.

A well-run firm should recognise that brokers’ ambitions for their career do not necessarily stay the same. Someone may start off wanting to be employed and having that pay packet and team around them, but later in their career choose to embark on self-employment and to be more in charge of their destiny. Maybe a move into a management role beckons, or into training, or perhaps they prefer a more phone-based role, looking after existing customers.

Increasingly, people are putting the work-life balance at the centre of their employment decisions. When I joined Just Mortgages four and a half years ago, all brokers had to work every Saturday. This was something I did away with quickly. You can’t expect people to work at their best when they are chained to their desk with no break in sight.

Stories about hard-working staff in other organisations having to take a half-day’s holiday to go to their child’s nativity play or sports afternoon are just wrong.

A successful working relationship is about give and take. It is about valuing the individual, supporting them and providing them with options so their work fits with their life – and this breeds loyalty.

When the time comes where you need more from them, they are almost always willing to give it.

John Phillips, national operations director, Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart