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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
8:00 - 9:00 AM
Pre-Conference Registration
9:00 - 2:30 PM
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Fundamentals of a Great Place to Work®
This introductory seminar offers an overview of the essential ingredients found in great workplaces. Intended for senior leaders, managers, and supervisors of organizations aspiring to improve business performance by creating a great workplace, this workshop is a perfect introduction to the Great Place to Work® Model© and is ideal for participants wanting to start by developing this core knowledge base. Also, this seminar will examine the motivation and business rationale for investing in creating a great place to work. The workshop includes both individual and group learning experiences designed to help participants explore how they can create a great place to work and spotlights the ways other companies have built great workplaces. This workshop is a more detailed, in-depth and interactive version of the breakout session being offered during the main conference.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the essential ingredients and framework for building a great place to work®
- Learn the best practices of the Best Companies, your peers, and how to apply them to your organization’s unique culture
- Identify opportunities for change in your organization
Focus Level: Presentation/Interactive - 35%/65%
- Hal Adler
President, Great Place to Work® Institute
- Marcus Erb
Consultant, Great Place to Work® Institute
Dollars and Sense: Your Roadmap to Enlisting Cultural Change Champions
The goal of this workshop is to provide leaders and managers with both the information and skills they need to successfully enlist champions and sponsors for the journey of creating a great workplace. The information to be shared will focus on the business benefits of creating a great workplace, while skill development will focus on the positive uses of influence and persuasion to engage key people in the organizational transformation process. The workshop includes individual and group learning experiences designed to help participants explore how they can be a catalyst for cultural change, one decision maker at a time.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain a broad understanding of the business benefits of a great workplace, including those associated with productivity and financial performance, hiring and retention, and employee well-being.
- Renew your understanding of change in organizations, focusing upon your role in creating individual change through persuasion, and overcoming resistance.
- Develop your own business case and plan for creating change in your own organization.
Focus Level: Presentation/Interactive - 50%/50%
Creating a Giftwork™ Culture: The 9 Steps for Building a Great Workplace
How do great workplaces create a culture of trust? What makes great workplaces more profitable than their competitors? Careful analysis of the policies and practices of the best workplaces highlights nine distinctive steps that these organizations take to create a high trust culture. This workshop will help to clarify why research on the “100 Best” shows that these companies have a competitive edge and reveal clear next steps for companies seeking to improve their workplaces. Participants will have an opportunity to examine the dynamics of each of the nine steps and develop an action plan for building a Giftwork™ culture in their organization.
Learning Objectives:
- Develop a strong understanding of the concept of Giftwork™ and the nine steps in creating a great workplace.
- Examine how companies have maximized Giftwork™ in their organizations to increase productivity
- Learn how to assess workplace practices through the Giftwork™ framework
- Apply these principles to your own organization and develop next steps for fostering more Giftwork™ in your organization
Focus Level: Presentation/Interactive - 30%/70%
Leadership in Action: Your Role in Creating a Great Workplace
In this highly interactive session, we will provide participants with the opportunity for in-depth learning and knowledge sharing focused on the essential practices and behaviors required by every leader committed to this journey. The primary methodology will be peer consulting, peer coaching and group exercises. Whether your organization is striving for greatness or working to sustain it, understanding your unique role as a leader is crucial to your organization’s success. This session will connect you with like-minded leaders across industries, equip you with an understanding of your own trust-building abilities and behaviors, and support you in creating a framework for leading your organization to new levels of trust.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the essential ingredients and framework for building a great place to work®
- Build a business case for becoming a high-trust workplace
- Identify opportunities for change in your organization
Focus Level: Presentation/Interactive - 25%/75%
- Jessica Rohman
Associate Consultant, Great Place to Work® Institute
- Jane Weiss
Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Institute
3:30 - 3:45 PM
Welcome
3:45 - 4:30 PM
Opening Keynote: How to Get Ordinary People to do Extraordinary Work
George Zimmer opened the first Men's Wearhouse store in 1973 in Houston, TX, now the largest retailer of men's tailored clothing in the U.S. and Canada with more than $1.5 billion in sales. In this opening keynote presentation, Zimmer will touch on aspects of the Men's Wearhouse culture, which woven together make up the fabric of the organization. You'll learn how the company's servant leadership culture has been integrated across over 700 stores, and how the company's leaders use non zero-sum teams to inspire individuals to extraordinary levels of service. Men's Wearhouse has been recognized as one of the "100 Best" for seven of the last eight years.
- George Zimmer
Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Men's Wearhouse
4:40 - 5:40 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Bridging the Divide: Addressing Generational Differences at Work
Effective organization leaders motivate diverse groups of employees to work together to contribute to organization success. This can mean evolving approaches to address unique generational needs and the resulting business challenges created. Join this session to hear how MITRE and NIKE have addressed generational differences in the workforce to create a great workplace for employees of all ages. How do they retain the institutional knowledge of their retiring baby boomers? How are they coaching Generation X to move into leadership positions, or meeting their growth needs if leadership positions are not available? Are they experiencing higher turnover among their Generation Y employees, who are reputed to have lower loyalty to individual employers?
Serving the Front Line: Building Trust with Customer Facing Employees
Customer-facing employees are in many organizations the most entry-level, lowest-paid and lowest-ranking employees, yet they also have the most direct impact on the consumer. In this session, you will hear how leaders at Nugget Market, where 95% of the workforce is front-line employees, ensure that people are appreciated and recognized as full members of the organization with a critical impact on customer experience.
Future of Work: How Flexibility Benefits both People and Business
Workplace flexibility is an increasing phenomenon among best companies, with the capacity to influence the lives of employees and the company's bottom line. Three years ago, Capital One recognized an opportunity to enhance employee flexibility by offering them the choice between working with a stable desk location as a "resident associate" or as a mobile employee with wide flexibility around working location day-to-day. More broadly, the Future of Work program is about re-thinking workspace, technology and the culture of collaboration. Since implementing the program, the company has noticed shifts in employees' perception of the workplace as a great place to work, along with clear benefits in productivity, collaboration and corporate real estate costs. Rob Keeling will describe the company's decision to bolster workplace flexibility options, walk through program implementation and describe the real benefits to the company and its people.
To request a copy of the presentation, please contact Lahne Mattas-Curry at Lahne.Mattas-Curry@capitalone.com .
Best Practices for Establishing Credibility
Establishing leaders’ and managers’ credibility requires outstanding communication practices, competence in coordinating human and material resources, and integrity in carrying out the organization's vision with consistency. QUALCOMM is the winner of the 2007 Great Place to Work® Award for Credibility in recognition for communication around its top-notch innovation practices. In this working session, you will learn directly from leaders at QUALCOMM about how these practices were developed, and have a facilitated discussion about how to apply these concepts to your own organization.
NOTE: You may not use or reference intellectual property in files downloaded before 11:30am PST April 26.
5:50 - 6:45 PM
Diverse People, Great Ideas, Extraordinary Accomplishments
Leaders in great workplaces are skilled at creating work environments that are attractive to people of diverse views and backgrounds. Great leaders are able to provide a clear sense of direction that unites people’s efforts toward common goals, making extraordinary accomplishments possible. In this keynote presentation, Amy Lyman, Great Place to Work® Institute co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors, will address the ways in which Best Companies create workplace environments that support diversity of thought, bring together diversity of status and personal characteristics, and create a unified culture in which the contributions of many combine to inspire the growth and future success of the organization.
- Amy Lyman, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Chair of the Board, Great Place to Work® Institute
6:45 - 8:00 PM
Welcome Reception
Thursday, April 19, 2007
7:30 - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
Registration
8:00 - 8:45 AM
Introduction to the Great Place to Work® Model©
Great Place to Work® Institute has been analyzing workplaces for over 25 years. Our time-tested assessment tool is used by thousands of organizations each year to analyze and assess their workplace cultures. Globally, our assessment tool sets the standard for great workplaces through high-profile lists in 29 countries around the world. Join us to learn how we define and measure great workplaces, what the key drivers of great workplaces are, and the basic business benefits of creating great workplaces. In addition, we will provide some specific data points and best practice examples from our research and assessment of best companies for FORTUNE and SHRM. This session will provide a brief overview of our research and Model©. (This is an overview of the information presented in the “Fundamentals of Creating a Great Place to Work®” workshop.)
9:00 - 9:15 AM
Welcome
9:15 - 10:00 AM
Keynote: Sustaining a Vibrant Corporate Culture
One of only four companies to have been included in all rankings of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”® since the list’s creation in 1984, W. L. Gore & Associates benefits from a deeply-rooted corporate culture. How does the global, $2-billion company balance its long-held beliefs with the ability to remain open and adaptive to change? Gore President and CEO Terri Kelly will describe the company’s corporate culture and the ways in which Gore ensures its culture is dynamic and relevant.
Terri Kelly will talk about how the company defines its core beliefs and communicates the impact of its culture on innovation and business results. She’ll describe how sustaining the culture creates unique expectations of company leaders. And she’ll explain how Gore’s efforts both contribute to associates’ sense of ownership of the culture and inspire associates’ passion in their work.
10:00 - 10:45 AM
Keynote: No Secrets Here - Creating a Culture of Communication
When Bob Colvin became president and CEO of Memorial Health in 1997, the company was losing money, had a poor reputation, and suffered from high turnover and low morale. Colvin knew that to turn things around, he first had to change the attitudes of his Team Members. He and his leadership team implemented a culture of communication. They established a Team Member newsletter, town hall meetings, and “lunch with leadership” sessions. They also formed the “Key 100,” which recognizes up-and-coming leaders and uses them to help facilitate communication. Colvin made himself accessible and visible, and never shied away from answering Team Members’ questions - even the very difficult questions. Today, trust and respect are core values at Memorial Health, and the company is one of the most coveted employers in the region. Colvin will discuss how a culture of communication can change your reputation, grow your brand, and generate new revenue. Memorial Health has been recognized as one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work for"®for 4 years.
10:45 - 11:15 AM
Refreshment and Networking Break
11:15 - 12:15 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Corporate Culture, Local Culture: Creating a Great Workplace in a Global Economy
Increasingly, companies are responding to global integration and opportunity by expanding into new countries, partnering with organizations in international locations and offshoring business processes. This session features FedEx Corporation, a company that works multi-nationally and boasts a strong corporate culture while respecting local cultures to allow for local ownership and successful cross-cultural collaboration.
- William G. Margaritis
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Communications & Investor Relations, FedEx Corporation
Maintaining Trust under Challenging Circumstances: When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies
Even companies with the best of workplace cultures, high levels of trust among employees and management and strong performance records experience challenging circumstances. When market conditions drastically shift, as they did for the retail mortgage industry in 2006, what actions can leadership at great workplaces take to both maintain performance and demonstrate respect for the company's people? For the first time in HomeBanc Mortgage's history, they found it necessary to institute layoffs in 2006. In this session, Ike Reighard will discuss how HomeBanc navigated this situation using a ten step process that helped maintain trust and respect across the company.
Workplace Transformation Story
Join this session to hear a turnaround story in progress from leaders at Firelands Regional Medical Center. First, you’ll hear from a long-tenured leader about the company’s previous culture of discontent. Next, hear about the company’s transformation strategy and implementation from Chuck Stark, who joined Firelands several years ago as the new CEO. You’ll also hear from the new VP of HR about the measurable impact this transformation has had on both business and employee metrics. Learn how Firelands continues to measure its successes and about its vision for the future.
- Tami Jackson
Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Firelands Regional Medical Center
- Jim Sennish
Vice President of Human Resources, Firelands Regional Medical Center
- Charles (Chuck) Stark
President and CEO, Firelands Regional Medical Center
Best Practices for Conveying Respect
Conveying respect to employees requires supporting professional development and showing appreciation, collaborating with employees on relevant decisions, and caring for employees as individuals with personal lives. The 2007 Great Place to Work® Award for Respect is awarded to Lincoln Plating in recognition for outstanding practices in employee wellness. In this working session, you will learn directly from Dan Krick, VP of People Resources, how these practices were developed, and have a facilitated discussion about how to apply these concepts to your own organization.
- Dan Krick
Vice President - People Resources, Lincoln Plating
12:25 - 1:50 PM
Awards Ceremony and Luncheon
Please join us to celebrate the 2007 winners of the Great Place to Work® awards. Speakers from this year's award-winning companies will also be presenting best practice breakout sessions throughout the conference.
2:00 - 3:00 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Confronting Poor Culture Fit
Maintaining a great workplace requires commitment from every member of the organization. Inevitably, however, leaders and managers will encounter situations in which the beliefs or actions of certain employees conflict with the organization\\\'s goals. You will hear how two Best Companies have addressed the issue of poor culture fit and their processes for navigating these difficult decisions.
Managing Sites with a Multicultural, Multilingual Workforce
Rare is the organization without a need to factor incorporating diverse cultures and languages into its strategy for creating a great workplace, whether or not the company has global locations. In this session, Valerie Murzl of Station Casinos will share lessons learned and best practices for building strong relationships and addressing the needs of employees across cultural and lingual divides.
- Valerie Murzl
Corporate Vice President of Human Resources and Training, Station Casinos
Best Practices for Ensuring Fairness
Ensuring fairness in an organization requires balanced treatment for all in terms of rewards, the absence of favoritism in hiring and promotions, a lack of discrimination and a strong process for appeals. The 2007 Great Place to Work® Award for Fairness goes to Arnold & Porter LLP in recognition for outstanding practices in the area of workplace diversity. In this working session, you will learn directly from William Cook, Jr., Chair of the Diversity Committee, how these and other practices were developed, and have a facilitated discussion about how to apply these concepts to your own organization.
Engendering Pride in the Organization through Corporate Social Responsibility
An important element of employee pride in the organization involves the company’s standing in the wider community. Business leaders are paying more attention to the role their organizations play in the wider community and the difference (both positive and negative) their actions can have on society and the environment. In this session you will learn how Timberland, one of Business Ethics’ 100 Best Corporate Citizens, along with being one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for”®, inspires employee, customer and community pride in the business through various social responsibility programs.
- Gordon Peterson
Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Timberland
3:00 - 3:30 PM
Refreshment and Networking Break
3:30 - 4:30 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Supporting Leaders at all Levels: How Managers across the Organization Contribute to Building a Great Workplace
Credibility of management is a critical element in the workplace of every Best Company - something leaders and managers at all levels of the organization must demonstrate, up to and including the CEO. In this session, you'll learn how leaders at the Best Companies empower mid-level managers to be great leaders by demonstrating communication, competence and integrity, and hold them accountable to this. Learn how First Horizon's unique "Firstpower" culture enables managers at all levels to create a great workplace. This session includes a brief overview of Great Place to Work® research and a case study from First Horizon.
- John Daniel
Executive Vice President, Employee Services, First Horizon National Corporation
Integrating and Communicating Corporate Values
Targeted corporate values are key to leadership credibility and effectiveness, both externally and internally. This session will help you to think through how your unique corporate values align with efforts to create a better place to work. You'll learn how CDW's values were utilized to help define employees’ experiences of the workplace, and have an opportunity to interact with other leaders for peer coaching on steps you can take upon your return.
- Dennis Berger
Vice President of Coworker Services and Executive Committee Member, CDW
Best Practices for Building Pride
The best workplaces are characterized by an incredible sense of pride -- in people's personal jobs and individual contributions, in the work produced by teams, and in the organization's products and standing in the community. The 2007 Great Place to Work® Award for Pride goes to REI in recognition for outstanding practices in supporting organizational pride through environmental stewardship. In this working session, you will learn directly from a leader at this company how these and other practices were developed, and have a facilitated discussion about how to apply these concepts to your own organization.
- David Jayo
Corporate Giving Manager, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
Turning Challenge into Opportunity
Faced with significant challenges in its business environment, KPMG benefited enormously from the strong bond it had with its partners and employees-a bond that began several years earlier with the firm’s efforts to transform itself to an employer of choice and improve the work environment and career opportunities for all its people.
Learn about what KPMG has done over the last several years to enhance employee trust and how it leveraged that trust to overcome challenges and become one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For® for the first time in 2007.
- Bruce Pfau
Vice Chair of Human Resources, KPMG, LLP
4:40 - 5:25 PM
Keynote: Google - the Best Company to Work for in 2007
As a company, Google focuses on using innovation to serve its mission of organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful. Google’s approach to human resources echoes this ideal, striving to innovate to help Googlers better address the challenging problems they take on each day to help users and advertising clients find what they need. Google's perks and benefits programs are designed to create a work environment that fuels collaboration and allows each of its employees the ability to create a lifestyle that works for them. Googlers are a remarkable, diverse group of people and the company’s people programs work together to provide them with the support, tools, and, most importantly, freedom to meet their goals and build on the company's success.
6:30 - 10:00 PM
Los Angeles Dine Around
Friday, April 20, 2007
7:30 - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30 AM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
The Role of Trust in Confronting Disaster: Stories of Survival
Disaster preparation is increasingly considered a priority by business leaders. In this session you will hear stories from Valero and Ernst & Young, two organizations that responded to Hurricane Katrina by putting employees first - and how those employees responded by getting the business back on track. You’ll learn the inspiring difference that strong trust-based relationships with employees can make, especially in the worst of circumstances.
- Scott Halliday
Managing Partner, Ernst & Young
- Ruth Piña
Director of Staffing and Employee Services, Valero Energy Corporation
Conducting Fair Performance Reviews
The performance review process is an opportunity not only to evaluate employees on past performance, but also to promote employees’ continual professional development. In the best workplaces, performance reviews are seen as being fair across the board, and there is a clear and transparent process throughout the organization. PricewaterhouseCoopers has developed a Performance, Coaching and Development process that focuses feedback on developmental opportunities to ensure people learn, progress and continue to develop their competencies. In this session, you’ll learn how this process has initiated a culture change in the organization by promoting fairness and transparency around individual performance.
- Michael Fenlon
People Strategy Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Barbara Kraft
Partner in charge of Human Capital Communications, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Communicating your Workplace Strengths to Attract and Retain Great Employees
Potential employees are attracted to companies reputed to be great workplaces, and voluntary turnover rates at Best Companies are significantly lower than comparable industry averages. Every company has unique workplace strengths to offer and which can be communicated to help attract and retain talented people who thrive in your corporate culture. In this session, you’ll hear from the CEO of AGI, this year's Best Medium-sized Company to Work for, about communicating authentic workplace strengths to build pride within the organization and attract future employees.
Best Practices for Supporting Camaraderie
In great workplaces, there is a palpable sense of camaraderie among employees at all levels of the organization. Employees are able to be themselves, there is a socially friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and a strong sense of family or team. The 2007 Great Place to Work® Award for Camaraderie goes to David Weekley Homes in recognition for outstanding practices in welcoming new employees. In this working session, you will learn directly from a leader at this company how these and other practices were developed, and have a facilitated discussion about how to apply these concepts to your own organization.
- Mike Brezina
Vice President of Human Resources, David Weekley Homes
9:30 - 9:55 AM
Refreshment and Networking Break
9:55 - 10:40 AM
Keynote: Voice of the Crew - Vanguard Listens to its Employees
The Vanguard Group has long been known in the money management industry for its low-cost investments, disciplined mutual fund offerings, and superior client service. Over its 30-year history, Vanguard has grown to become one of the largest investment firms in the world, recently crossing the $1 trillion mark in U.S. mutual fund assets under its aegis. The belief at Vanguard is that “even one person can make a difference” and all employees are considered valued crew members, denoting camaraderie, partnership, and cooperation. Candidates are not hired for jobs, but for careers, and the development of crew members is supported through numerous self-study and professional development programs. In this keynote presentation, William McNabb will discuss how Vanguard utilizes feedback from its crew members to make the company a better place to work and a better place to invest.
10:40 - 11:25 AM
Keynote: Collaborative Leadership - How NetApp’s Executive Team Fosters a Great Workplace and a Great Company
Dan Warmenhoven is the CEO of Network Appliance, Inc., a leader in enterprise data management and networked storage solutions with over 6,000 employees worldwide. Warmenhoven believes that being “the best company to work for is a function of the great people one works with.” In his keynote, Warmenhoven will address a unique aspect of the company that contributes to both trust in the workplace and overall financial performance: its top-notch, collaborative executive team. Warmenhoven and members of his team will describe how they work together to create an exceptional experience for both employees and shareholders.
Network Appliance has been ranked as one of the “100 Best” for five years.
- Dave Hitz
Founder and Executive Vice President, Network Appliance
- James Lau
Founder, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer, Network Appliance
- Dan Warmenhoven
CEO, Network Appliance, Inc.
11:25 - 11:55 AM
Closing Keynote
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