Our Value Proposition

Boards of Directors should make it a top priority for their organizations do whatever it takes to land on Fortune magazine's list of The 100 Best Companies to Work For.

No, I'm not having an altruistic episode. It's all about ensuring profitability, marketplace dominance and longevity, and that is the fundamental job of the Board of Directors. Even if companies don't make the elite list of 100, they'll benefit from the journey.

If you had invested in the S&P 500 ten years ago you would have earned a 12% return. If you invested in the publicly traded members of the Fortune 100 Best Companies, you would have netted close to 19%.

There are lots of interrelated reasons for this. One of which is the fact that great places to work minimize one of the huge hidden costs of doing business: employee turnover. By the time an organization adds up the direct cost, the indirect cost and the lost opportunity associated with replacing employees it can equal anywhere from one-half to two-times the employee's annual salary. (By the way, do you know the employee replacement cost at your company?) Multiply the replacement cost times the number of employees that leave a company in a year, and a very large number disappears from the bottom line. Lower turnover means lower costs.

It's an understatement that great places to work can easily recruit. The fact is that top talent beats their door down. Because of their reputation these companies are deluged with applicants, and naturally they take only the best. The importance of having top-flight talent cannot be overstated. I wish I had a nickel for every article written in the last ten years about the importance of having great leaders, decision makers, trend spotters, thought leaders, innovators and scientists. Winners gravitate toward winning companies, and in doing so, perpetuate the organization's upward spiral. It has become axiomatic that the companies with the best people win.

It's worth noting that great places to work tend to get the right people in the right seats, meaning they align a person's talents and motivations with the work to be done. Such alignment releases tremendous bursts of productivity, and reduces stress.

Then there is the well documented link between the way a company treats employees and the way employees treat customers. Great places to work tend to offer superior customer service, generating loyal repeat customers.

A seldom-recognized benefit of treating employees well is longevity. Here's a quote from the January 23, 2006 issue of Fortune: "The average American business lasts less than 20 years before it fails or gets bought. The 100 Best companies, on average, are an incredible 85 years old. Bottom line: Being a great place to work pays."

Higher profits, innovation, superior customer service, longevity, top talent beating your door down - sounds like The Manager's Dream to me. If you're wondering how to get there, call us. We have roadmaps.