The Great Workplace

Gold Medal Winner, Human Resources and Employee Training, 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards

Trust, Pride and Camaraderie—transform your company into a "Great Place to Work"

The Great Place to Work Institute develops the annual ranking of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. In this book, the authors explore the model of a Great Place to Work For-one which fosters employee trust, pride in what they do, and enjoyment in the people they work with. They answer the fundamental question, "What is the business value of creating a great workplace?" and brings the definition of a Great Place to work alive with anecdotes, best practices, and quotes from employees working at the best workplaces in the U.S.

• Reveals the essential ingredients in and the trends of the best places to work
• Explores Great Place to Work model developed in 1984 and validated through its enduring resonance in both the United States and in over 40 countries around the world
• Written by Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin two Great Place to Work Institute Insiders

If you organization is struggling with the challenges of leveraging human capital, discover why some companies have what it takes to be great.

Foreword xi
by Robert Levering

Preface xv

1 Introduction: The Value of Creating Great Workplaces 1

SAS: Taking Care of Their Greatest Asset

2 Credibility: “I Believe in My Leaders” 27

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP: Inspiring Excellence

Google: Finding the Googlers in a Very Large Haystack

3 Respect: “I am a Valued Member of this Organization” 61

General Mills: Developing Great Managers

SC Johnson: A Family Company

4 Fairness: “Everyone Plays by the Same Rules” 97

Scripps Health: All for One and One for All

5 Pride: “I Contribute to Something Really Meaningful” 127

Wegmans Food Markets: Proud of Their Contributions to Communities

W. L. Gore & Associates: An Innovative Culture and a Culture for Innovation

6 Camaraderie: “The People Here Are Great!” 155

Camden Property Trust: Building a Fun Community for Employees and Residents

Microsoft: Geniuses Welcome

7 Global Perspectives: Great Workplaces around the World 183

8 Taking Action: Creating Your Great Workplace 203

References and Resources 223

Acknowledgments 225

About the Authors 229

Index 231

... a truly inspirational business book — accessible, easy on the jargon and full of creativity... packed full of great case studies." (Talent Engagement Review, March 2011)

"Written in an informative, straightforward way... puts engagement and the culture of camaraderie into context for large and small organizations." (HR Magazine, June 2011)

MICHAEL BURCHELL, Ed.D., is a corporate vice president with the Great Place to Work^® Institute and a partner in the Institute’s UAE affiliate. A sought-after speaker at conferences around the world, he has worked with senior leaders in positioning the workplace as a competitive business advantage.

JENNIFER ROBIN, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Great Place to Work^® Institute. A former consultant with the Institute, she currently teaches in undergraduate, master’s, and professional programs at Bradley University.

The Great Place to Work^® Institute is a global research and consulting firm with forty affiliates around the world. The Institute produces the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For^® Annual List and the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America lists, in addition to thirty-eight best companies lists internationally.

To learn more about the book, please visit www.thegreatworkplaceonline.com and www.greatplacetowork.com

What Separates a GREAT COMPANY from a Merely Good One?

The Great Place to Work^® Institute produces the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For^® Annual List, which, year after year, features some of the most respected companies in the world—SAS, Starbucks, Cisco, Mattel, General Mills, American Express, and Four Seasons Hotel, to name a few.

In this highly-anticipated book, Institute insiders Jennifer Robin and Michael Burchell explore the concept of a great workplace and answer the fundamental question, “What is the business value of creating a great workplace?” The Great Workplace shows that, more than offering great pay and quirky perks, a great workplace is one where employees trust the people they work for, take pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.

Drawing on decades of research, the authors explain how leaders and managers can create and reinforce the core values of trust, pride, and camaraderie with every communication, every decision, and every interaction. And they bring the definition of a great work-place alive with anecdotes, best practices, and quotes from employees working at some of the best workplaces, such as Google, Microsoft, Marriott International, FedEx, NetApp, Deloitte, and more.

If your company is struggling with the challenges of leveraging human capital, discover why some organizations have what it takes to be great—and what your company can learn from them.