1. How Leaders Build a Great Places to Work
Kevin Kennemer | Principal, The People Group™
April 26, 2012

2. 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 © The People Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

4. 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?

7. It is really uncomplicated…
THE OBSCURE
we eventually see,
THE COMPLETELY OBVIOUS
takes longer.
Edward R. Murrow
American Broadcaster
The POWER of P3

8. The State of the American Workplace

9. The State of the American Workplace

10. TV Commercial by LinkMe.com in Australia
Employee Punches Out Boss

11. Reality of Today’s American Workplace
7 Realities of Today’s Workplace
According to research by Winning Workplaces…
Fear-based management philosophy
Root of considerable burdens on employees and families
Trust and respect is breaking down
Less than 40% of employees believe or trust senior management
Employees feel little control
Torn between work and family
Two thirds regularly experience high levels of stress on job
Reality of Today’s American Workplace

12. Observations about People

13. 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

14. 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

15. The Great Place to Work Movement
Fortune Best Places to Work 2012
Top Ten
Google
Boston Consulting Group
SAS Institute
Wegmans Food Markets
Edward Jones
NetApp
Camden Property Trust
Recreational Equipment (REI)
CHG Healthcare Services
Quicken Loans
Oklahoma-Based Companies
18. Chesapeake Energy (OKC)
28. Devon Energy (OKC)
47. American Fidelity Assurance (OKC)
66. QuikTrip (Tulsa)

16. 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

17. The Rise and Fall of SemGroup 1
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

18. Benefits of Great Places to Work

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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)

22. The Financial Benefits
Graphic Credit: Great Place to Work® Institute

23. The Financial Benefits
Graphic Credit: Great Place to Work® Institute

24. can create a ANY ORGANIZATION GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Here’s the good news…
ANY ORGANIZATION
can create a
GREAT PLACE TO WORK
The POWER of P3

25. 12 Best Practices of Great Places to Work

26. 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

27. Tony Hsieh | CEO, Zappos
The CEO TV Show

28. 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

29. 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 to Work® Institute
The POWER of P3

30. 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

31. 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

32. Building a Great Place to Work….
And finally….
It’s the right thing
to do.

33. Thank You! www.thepeoplegroup.com | kevin@thepeoplegroup.com