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WHAT WEIRD STRATEGIES ARE USED BY THE BEST 100?

Each year, since 1998, Fortune Magazine has published its 100 Best Companies to Work for
in the USA. As I said in the last two Passion Points, there are great lessons to be learnt
from them. This is the third Passion Point exploring the lessons to be learnt from this
years listing.
What weird, unusual, clever insightful strategies do these 100 Best Companies use to
create the culture that makes them out-perform the rest?

At Google, employees get free, gourmet-quality food all day long (but not good for
your diet)
At Google, you get free gyms, and free massages
SAS Institute surveys employees annually on the state of their relationships
Onsite child care at SAS Institute
Most of the top 100 let people work whenever they want
If an employee dies, his or her spouse receives half the employees salary for a
decade.
Marriott Hotels: Take care of the associates, the associates will take care of the
guests, and the guests will come back again and again.
At Marriott HQ theres a gym, dry cleaner, gift store, day care, preferred parking for
hybrids, and an array of wellness initiatives.
Marriott is an opportunity to grow a career, because the company prefers to promote
from within
Marriott has a culture of mentorship. People help each other.
Marriotts hiring mandate: hire friendly, train technical. (Note: research clearly
shows that the best companies hire primarily on attitude, NOT skills: because skills
are easy to teach, attitude is really difficult to change!)
Marriott has 76 internal business councils, to share learning knowledge and
maintenance of culture issues
Twitter assembles all staff twice a month to update employees and answer
impromptu questions
Twitter aims to do good in its neighbourhood, and last year gave $367,000 to local
non-profit organisations
Acuity: offers unlimited education reimbursement to its employees
Acuity offers compressed workweeks
Acuity employees decide who receives $1 million in charity each year
Acuity takes employee suggestions seriously and contributions are rewarded
individually
Gore Tex has no rigid hierarchy but is a latticework of strong interconnected talents
woven together like a tapestry. Its been on the culture trail since founding in 1958
and been on the Best 100 since 1998.
Gore Tex fights to ensure its values, that also drive culture
Gore Tex uses peer assessments to determine compensation

Promoting work/life integration rather than work/life balance, particularly by using


technology
Training spending is increasing because business conditions are changing ever
more rapidly
Each of the 100 Best companies has leaders who genuinely listen to their employees
and craft distinctive policies and programs that suit todays workforce.
The true measure of a company is how they treat their lowest-paid employees.
Scott Scherr, CEO of Ultimate Software.
Boston Consulting allows employees to take a social-impact leave of absence for 312 months
Bring a referral as a potential employee reward at Salesforce.com
College scholarships for children of employees at Camden Property Trust
Observance of The Rule: there are no arseholes here! Robert W Baird, Investment
adviser
Bring employees together from around the world for one week of video game
competitions amongst themselves
Commitment to develop a culture of innovation at Salesforce.com
3 weeks of training per year per employee at Kalamazoo
Training that also includes professional growth, not just job training
CEO has passion for safety and job security at Nustar Energy
Open book management at Hilcorp
Dogs can be brought to work
Extensive help given to employees to develop career goals at Baptist Health
One week for induction at Twitter
Employees can nominate any colleague for an immediate $50 reward for going above
and beyond at. Kimley-Horn & Associates
Can create individual work plans to suit life demands and can borrow 40 hours time
off in advance at Netapp
Devon Energy staff provide one-on-one tutoring to kids in local schools
Teksystems relies on workers to recruit new talent.
Southern Ohio Medical Centre does not hire smokers.
Factset Research Systems provides standing workstations to save backache.
Goldman Sachs engages prominent thinkers to share ideas with employees.
Staff discounts on purchases are 50% higher if staff member enrolled in a healthy
lifestyles program. Whole Foods Market
Houston Methodists CEO answers questions from all new hires at any level within
30 minutes.
Employees at every level are empowered to do whatever it takes to care for the
guest. We ask them to be themselves at work and trust their instincts. This freedom
fosters an environment of creativity, happy employees, and loyal guests. Mike
Deering CEO Kimpton Hotels
Opportunity to job-shadow peers to aid career development and overall collaboration
at Scripps Health
Former employees still get rewarded for referrals of new hires that get hired. KPMG
Company matches donations of employees to charities
Stock option schemes abound
Short term financial assistance of up to $3000 and is not expected to be repaid. Mayo
Clinic
On site child care: I know my kids are being more just watched but loved, educated
and enriched. Hyland
Focus on talent retention in many companies.
Concierge service for employees at Wellstar Health Systems
Time off policy: You shouldnt take time off only when you are sick; you should take
time off to manage and maintain your health. Hilti
Free trip of a lifetime for every five years of service at Arthrex.
Philanthropy is a motivational driver of culture at Deloitte
A culture of fairness and transparency is constantly reinforced at Protiviti.

A STEP TO TAKE
Your next step is to contemplate which of the above weird or risky or unusual strategies
would make an amazing difference to the culture in your workplace?
Of course, many of these cost money to implement, but many of them do not! And what is
the cost to your workplace of losing someone you dont want to lose?
The answer is, on average, 240% of that persons salary!
Spending money to ensure you retain your talent is one of the best investments a company
can make.
For your convenience, I am including below the first two Passion Points that explored the
Best 100 Companies.
A PASSION POINT TO PONDER: WHAT ARE THE 4 FACTORS THAT MAKE YOUR
COMPANY ONE OF THE BEST?
Each year, since 1998, Fortune Magazine publishes its 100 Best Companies to Work for in
the USA. As I said in my previous Passion Point, there are great lessons to be learnt from
them, and I have been using these lessons in my speeches and workshops and executive
coaching. This is the second Passion Point exploring the lessons to be learnt from this
years listing.
There are Four Proven Factors that have been distilled from the evidence that will make
your company one of the best:

There is a clear Mission, or what I call Purpose: It feels great to work for a company
that is trying to solve the next unmet medical need. Roche Diagnostics
Great Colleagues: the best people want to go to where the best people are
Trust. If team members are trusted, most people prove to be trustworthy. Being
trusted is incredibly empowering.
Caring. Every company says it values employees. The Best 100 dont say it: they
show it in many ways.

How then can your organisation harness the power of these Four Factors? Here are some
key strategies that the Best embrace, as reported in Fortune:

Foster strong and rewarding relationships among employees


Relationships are the essence that makes culture and character
In times of great change, it is more important than ever, and harder than ever, to do
this.
Culture is what people do when they are not being told what to do
Great companies have cultures that are relationship-based
Free lunches help to build relationships
Human capital is growing more valuable in every business; such people are more
thinkers and creators.
Intangible assets, mostly derived from human capital, have rocketed from 17% of
the S&P 500s market value in 1975 to 84% in 2015.
Knowledge is becoming commoditized. The most valuable people today are
increasingly relationship workers.

In the next Passion Point, I will share a number of very practical action steps to implement
the above strategies that the Best Companies use. Remember, the benefits of being one of
the Best are extensive, and were examined in the April 2015 Passion Point.

QUOTES TO CONSIDER
These are two of my all-time favourite and inspiring quotes. I refer to them in every
workshop I have facilitated since 1993.
When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your
thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness
expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a
greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
Patanjali, circa 2nd Century BCE
I believe that the role of business is to make the world a better place for everyone. First,
by creating self-esteem through jobs, choices, opportunities, and challenges. And then by
focusing our creative minds on innovating for the greater good.
Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

A STEP TO TAKE
Start to change the culture in your organisation by contemplating the Four Factors and the
two quotes. We can help you with a clear road map on how to do this. Just get in touch and
lets have a chat.
A PASSION POINT TO PONDER: WHY BOTHER WITH BEING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK?
Each year, since 1998, Fortune Magazine publishes its 100 Best Companies to Work for in
the USA. I have been collecting these lists for all of those years. There are great lessons to
be learnt from them, and I have been using these lessons in my speeches and workshops
and executive coaching of senior executives.
In March 2015, the current list was published, with Google sitting in the Number 1 position.
So, why would you bother striving to be a great place to work? It is incredibly difficult to
make it into the Best 100. Is it worth it?
This is the question I invite you to consider, and it will be the subject of a couple of these
Passion Points to Ponder, in this and the next edition. The data and information below is all
extracted from the 15 March edition of Fortune Magazine.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING ONE OF THE BEST?

You can attract and hold on to the best and most valuable talent: this is proven to be
one of the best ways to gain competitive advantage.
The Best 100 really do outperform other companies as investments: the publiclylisted 100 Best companies outperformed the S&P 500 nearly 2 to 1!!
A happy workforce is a cost-saving strategy.
Turnover of staff is lower in a great workplace.
A seasoned workforce does a better job and they cost you less money (Marriott
Hotels).
Culture of a great workplace drives loyalty, which drives better service, which drives
customer preferences, which drives higher retention, which reduces costs (Marriott
Hotels).
The Best 100 are getting better results because business leaders are focused on
workplace culture as a competitive tool. More employers are seeing the connection
from culture and relationships to workplace greatness to business success.
Googles leaders explicitly attribute the companys financial performance to its
benevolent people practices
Deloittes annual survey from 106 countries found for the 1st time that top managers
say culture is the most important issue they face, more important than leadership,
workforce capability, performance management, or anything else.

AND HERES A COUPLE OF PUZZLES ACCORDING TO FORTUNE

1. Most employers realize they have no clue where to begin in creating the culture
they need.
2. Why dont investors realize that great places to work are also great investments?
Investors just dont get it: they simply dont understand that great workplaces
work better. A corollary is that most employers dont get it either.
QUOTES TO CONSIDER
More and more major employers are recognizing that they need workers who are good at
team building, collaboration, and cultural sensitivity Fortune, 15 March 2015.
It is not simply the brightest who have the best ideas; it is those who are best at
harvesting them from others. It is not only the most determined who drive change; it is
those who most fully engage with like-minded people. And it is not wealth or prestige that
best motivates people; it is respect and help from peers.
MITs Prof Alex Pentland, quoted in Fortune, 15 March 2015
A STEP TO TAKE
Start to change the culture in your organisation if you want more success. We can help you
with a clear road map on how to do this. Just get in touch and lets have a chat.

Charles B. Kovess Co-Founder Julie Parker Dental Management


www.julieparkerdentalmanagement.com.au charles@kovess.com

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