What makes a great place to work?

Computacenter and ServiceNow are both great places to work according to the Glassdoor's Best Places to Work 2023 report. I’m a great believer in ensuring that everyone benefits from being part of a great place to work. But what elements go into making this happen??

Looking at my own history with Computacenter, I never set out to work for a giant in the IT industry.? It happened because the ServiceNow partner that I was working for (TeamUltra) was acquired.? And working for a FTSE listed company is quite different to an SME!?

However, the transition was relatively straightforward as the two companies had similar shared values. I’ll come back to why that is important later.?

A great place to work for everyone?

A great place to work starts with the people in my view.? You can have the most well rewarded job with the brightest career prospects, but if you don’t like the people you work with then that’s the shortest route to unhappiness.?

I do believe it’s important to work with like-minded people which leads into another ingredient for a happy workplace – to work with people that you respect.? If you look at our ServiceNow practice, one aspect that stands out is the enormous respect that our consultants have for each other.?

I’m proud to say also that our people are friendly, helpful and supportive to their fellow colleagues.? I see first-hand every time we get together the genuine warmth team members have for each other.? It extends to new starters; they come into a culture where support and advice are only ever a call, email or Teams chat away.?

Working for our customers?

We are one big team all working to achieve a common goal – providing great service to our customers.? By focusing on that goal, we never lose sight of why we are here and that’s just one of the reasons our customers choose to engage with us and continue to do so over the long term.?

Our customer retention rates are amongst the best in the industry.? This is invaluable in a competitive market.? We genuinely see our role as the trusted advisor to customers on their ServiceNow journey.? Last year, I read an article where ServiceNow talked about their partner approach. One sentence really stuck in my mind: ‘we have a shared mandate of making the world work better.’? We all have that shared mandate within the ServiceNow practice.?

Team spirit?

We know that team spirit is highlighted by our people as being one of the key factors that they enjoy the most about working at Computacenter.?

I like to think that if our people are proud to work here and take pride in doing a great job then we REALLY are doing something right.?

We strive to create an environment where our people feel:?

• They can realise their personal goals?
• They can reach and exceed their professional goals?
• They feel listened to, valued and? have a real sense of belonging?

If we can help elevate what people do from being ‘just another job’ to something that has special meaning, then the possibilities are endless, and the results amazing.?

We also provide opportunities and time for our people to get involved in initiatives that are not core to their specific job role.? These include the ethnic diversity Employee Impact Group, future talent outreach, graduate schemes, and more.? It allows our people to ‘give something back’ and it often ends up as a very rewarding use of time.??

The working environment?

What does the working environment look like within our ServiceNow practice?? There are many different aspects to our culture that we can’t list them all, but I will call out two in particular.?

Firstly, we believe in giving people flexibility and empowerment to do their jobs in the best way possible.? This might include hybrid or remote working for people that want to balance childcare with delivering outstanding outcomes for customers. Or it might mean eliminating that time-consuming daily peak time commute.?

Secondly, it is important to ensure there are opportunities for progression in any role.? That’s why we have clear career pathways within the practice.? This gives people consistency around their development whilst improving career satisfaction.? It provides the right environment for greater motivation and achievable success factors in meeting both personal and organisational objectives.?

There are also plenty of entry points for Computacenter staff that don’t already have ServiceNow experience to join the ServiceNow practice.? This might be people with project management experience, or people that have worked on the Service Desk.? We provide full training and a progressive career opportunity.?

Shared values?

The positive values at Computacenter enabled us to retain the best of the SME culture (flexibility, agility, team spirit) that our ServiceNow practice has always embodied.? We’ve been able to merge it seamlessly into the more structured environment at Computacenter.?

It wasn’t a surprise to see ServiceNow on the latest Glassdoor's list of great places to work too.? What has impressed me since I joined Computacenter is the striking similarity between our shared values with ServiceNow.?

We may use different words but ultimately, they have the same meaning.? This underpins why the relationship with ServiceNow works so well.? We think the same and put the same high value on our people and our customers.?

In my view, that’s why both companies are gaining on-going recognition as great places to work.?