How Catalina Consultants became a Great Place to Work

Catalina Consultants is proud to announce that we’ve been officially certified as a Great Place to Work – a testament to the collaborative and supportive culture we’ve built
together.

We take a look at why we pursued this certification and what it means for our employees and clients. You can also listen to me being interviewed about the process here.

What is ‘Great Place to Work’ Certification? 

Great Place to Work is the Global Authority on Workplace Culture. Its certification program is designed to identify and recognise companies that create exceptional employee experiences. 

To achieve this recognition, we underwent a rigorous two-step process:

• Employee survey. Over two weeks, all of our staff participated in a Trust Index survey – a research-based tool that measures workplace culture through the eyes of employees
• Culture brief. We provided comprehensive details about our company and the culture we foster.

To become certified, we needed to achieve an overall score of 65%. We didn’t just achieve this – we far surpassed it, achieving 95% overall, and even hitting 100% in some categories.

For us, this showed we were genuinely creating something special at our workplace, and highlighted how engaged and satisfied our team members were. 

Why did we get certified?

We thought there were a few compelling reasons to become Great Place to Work certified.  

Attracting top talent. In an age of labour shortages, we believed certified would be a great way to prove to potential recruits this was a place they would enjoy working at. It showed them this would be somewhere they’d have the opportunity to grow their careers, and would be the kind of workplace they wanted to turn up to each day.

Leading by example. As HR consultants, we wanted to ‘put our money where our mouths were’ when it came to our clients. We often advise businesses on how they can build a good workplace culture, and we thought it was vital that we show we’re doing the same. Certification would be official recognition that we have the same elements in place that we’re asking others to implement in their organisations. 

Client benefits. Beyond this, we believed there were some advantages for our clients in becoming certified too. After all, if we were using it as a way to attract the best staff, which means we can also provide the highest quality of work. It also means clients can be confident they’re working with a happy team that values workplace culture. 

Should your business try to get Great Place to Work certification?

Our view is: absolutely. 

In many ways, going through the certification process is a comprehensive health check for your organisational culture: one that allows you to pinpoint strengths but identify areas for growth. 

Beyond this, certification can be a powerful tool for talent acquisition – helping you stand out in a market where competition for quality candidates is high. 

But if you’re considering doing it, we think you should also be prepared for negative feedback. Treat this as a learning opportunity. After all, the point of certification isn’t only to give you outside validation on what you’re doing well, but also to highlight areas you can improve on. 

So make sure all employees feel valued and heard through the certification process, and use any negative insights to create a more engaging and productive workplace.

Remember, the goal isn’t perfection but rather a commitment to continuous improvement. Ultimately, it’s about creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to contribute their best. 

Want more?

Listen to me being interviewed about becoming a Great Place to Work.

You can also read more about how to avoid the most common mistakes around workplace culture.

Alternatively, visit the Great Place to Work website, or if you have any questions about getting certified, feel free to speak with one of the Catalina Consultant team members today.