How Leaders Build Great Places to Work Kevin Kennemer | Principal, The People Group™ April 26, 2012 Presentation Objectives • • • • • • • Questions to Ask Yourself The State of the American Workplace Observations about People Common Myths of Great Places to Work Benefits of a Great Places to Work 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work Q&A Copyright © 2000-2012. The People Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. 2 Questions to Ask Yourself… • Is there a gravitational pull of qualified applicants towards your company? • Do you retain your best talent? • Is positive energy circulating within your culture? • Do employees trust company leaders? 4 It is really uncomplicated… THE OBSCURE we eventually see, THE COMPLETELY OBVIOUS takes longer. The POWER of P3 Edward R. Murrow American7 Broadcaster The State of the American Workplace The State of the American Workplace 9 TV Commercial by LinkMe.com in Australia Employee Punches Out Boss 7 Realities of Today’s Workplace According to research by Winning Workplaces… 1. Fear-based management philosophy 2. Root of considerable burdens on employees and families 3. Trust and respect is breaking down 4. Less than 40% of employees believe or trust senior management 5. Employees little control REALITYfeelOF TODAY’S AMERICAN 6. Torn between work and family WORKPLACE 7. Two thirds regularly experience high levels of stress on job 11 Observations about People Observations about People • Employees prefer a great work environment • Leaders prefer a great work environment • Quality of work environment has major impact on life • majority of waking hours at work • distress at work = stress at home 13 Observations about People • Employees desire to look forward to going to work every day • The Sunday Blues is becoming an epidemic • Question: What happens on Mondays from 9am to 11am? • No one enjoys coming home from work feeling frustrated and discouraged from work/life 14 The Great Place to Work Movement Fortune Best Places to Work 2012 Top Ten 1. Google 2. Boston Consulting Group 3. SAS Institute 4. Wegmans Food Markets 5. Edward Jones 6. NetApp 7. Camden Property Trust 8. Recreational Equipment (REI) 9. CHG Healthcare Services 10. Quicken Loans Oklahoma-Based Companies 18. Chesapeake Energy (OKC) 28. Devon Energy (OKC) 47. American Fidelity Assurance (OKC) 66. QuikTrip (Tulsa) 15 Common Myths of Great Workplaces • Pay the highest salaries • Provide best and most benefits/perks • Company must first be highly profitable before becoming a great workplace • HR creates the corporate culture 16 The Rise and Fall of SemGroup 1.0 (My Perspective as Consultant & Chief Human Resource Officer) OF SEMGROUP 1.0 HOW TO BUILD & DESTROY A GREAT COMPANY Benefits of Great Places to Work Benefits of a Great Places to Work • • • • Higher productivity Higher profitability Better customer satisfaction Lower staff turnover • On average, 50 percent lower than competitors (Great Place to Work® Institute) • Greater number of applications for each open position 19 More Benefits… • • • • Attract higher quality talent Less resistance to change Lower health care costs Lower workers’ compensation costs • Lower absenteeism rates • Higher levels of cooperation 20 Even More Benefits… • Higher quality products/services • Increased innovation and risk taking • Employee-Customer-Profit Chain • Increase in Employee Satisfaction = Increase in Customer Satisfaction = Higher Profitability • (Harvard Business Review) 21 The Financial Benefits Graphic Credit: Great Place to Work® Institute The Financial Benefits Graphic Credit: Great Place to Work® Institute Here’s the good news… ANY ORGANIZATION can create a GREAT PLACE TO WORK The POWER of P3 24 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work #1 Strong commitment from CEO • Company culture flows down from the top • Top down, not bottom up #2 Attitude and behavior of leadership is key variable • Adopt and model behavior • How management relates to its employees makes the difference 26 Tony Hsieh | CEO, Zappos The CEO TV Show 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work #3 High level of trust between employees and management #4 Leaders build trust by… • Sharing information broadly, including finances, good and bad news • Being accessible to employees • Willingness to answer hard questions • Delivering on promises • Showing recognition and appreciation towards employees • Demonstrating personal concern towards employees 28 Don’t lose it once you’ve got it TRUST is a delicate commodity that must be EARNED DAILY. Robert Levering Co-Founder Great Place to29Work® Institute The POWER of P3 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work #5 Hire for attitude, train for skill #6 Managers are mentors and communicators – not “bosses” #7 It’s not about management – it’s about leadership #8 Provide a sense of family and belonging 30 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work #9 Overall sense company has a special culture #10 Management shows a sincere interest in employees as people #11 Make work fun, motivate, keep people focused and attain clear targets #12 Maintains flexible work environment 31 Building a Great Place to Work…. And finally…. It’s the right thing to do. Thank You! www.thepeoplegroup.com | kevin@thepeoplegroup.com WANT TO REPRINT ALL OR PART OF THIS PRESENTATION FOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING, COMPANY COMMUNICATIONS, NEWSLETTER, BLOG, ETC? You can, as long as you provide the following text and hyperlink on the same page as the presentation material. www.ThePeopleGroup.com. By Kevin Kennemer, founder, The People Group, LLC. Subscribe to The People Group Newsletter at www.thepeoplegroup.com/blog. Follow The People Group on Twitter @ThePeopleGroup and Kevin @KevinKennemer. Copyright © 2000-2012. The People Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. 33