Our team members at Environics Communications were thrilled last week with our selection as the #1 Best Workplace in Canada for 2010. The ranking of 75 companies in Canada is prepared by the Great Place to Work Institute in countries around the world and published in local media outlets such as Fortune magazine and The Globe and Mail.

The GPWI people have some amazing stats to show that publicly traded companies on their list outperform financially compared with the Dow Jones Index and companies not on their list. In my presentation at the GPWI conference earlier this year, I said that it takes a village to raise a culture because everyone in our company is responsible for this achievement.

Admittedly, leaders play an important role, and have to lead with direction and in walking the talk. I am not sure it is possible to have a great workplace with a bad leader. However, strong leadership is not enough and there must be an unequivocal commitment by the team members to maintain and enhance the positive culture and values.

There are dozens of components that go into a great workplace, and I heard some great new ideas from others speakers. One point that resonated, made by a vice-president from the GPWI office in San Francisco, was how increased communication automatically ensures higher credibility.

As a company made up of communication professionals, I suppose this gives us an edge in the ranking. When I meet executives from other companies, I am often surprised how little they communicate or articulate their overall story. I know for myself and my colleagues that we can always communicate more. From day-to-day updates to strategic directions, from good news to bad news, people always respond well when you make an effort to bring them into the picture.

Communication is also the best way to prevent misunderstanding or correct it when it occurs. The best communications also require effective listening, and more than one speaker at GPWI reminded people that there is a reason why we have two ears and one mouth.

Our profession as a whole can be proud that our work in encouraging more and better communications can have such a widespread effect in bettering the workplaces of society.

So, ask yourself: are you doing enough?