Building Trust at Great Place to Work

THE INNOVATION:

Helping startups and existing companies to create great workplace cultures – with Trust at their centers -- which can drive exceptional business results.  

Susan Lucas-Conwell, CEO

Great Place to Work Institute

www.greatplacetowork.net

Watch the video introduction:

Listen to the full interview:

EXCERPTS:

• I like to say that we are the Wizard of Oz behind the "Fortune List [of Best Companies]"....We have a great social mission, able to change people’s lives...with a great name, [but] with little branding recognition.
• We help companies benchmark against [Great Place] “Olympic athletes”... Where are you on the journey to become a great workplace culture? ... It's like being a company coach, with all the stats in mind... There’s lots and lots of data.
• Robert Leverin was asked by "Fortune" [magazine] to write a book about great workplaces, to which he said "There aren't any".  .... So he on his coauthor went on journey to interview companies....
• What were the key ingredients?  What distinguished a great company?  Trust came out.
• [We conduct] a quantitative study, then the culture audit, the qualitative piece.
• In many cases we have stories of wonderful companies. They come out on top of their industries, because of what they created and installed.  It is the soft stuff that is the tough stuff.
• Today the theme of Trust has become mainstream.   What if it were truly mainstream? and every place was a great workplace?
• Advice: Stop and listen to the people -- your people.... In Silicon Valley, we are very good about thinking about the technology, and not thinking about the people.... Life isn't about a line of code.  It's about the people.