Last night, @AlanSMurray and the Fortune Magazine editors and journalists revealed for the twentieth time their annually curated list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For in America.” The list is special to me, for two reasons.
First, my most significant employment experience prior to branching out on my own was at an early stage FedEx. Our HR team, took considerable pride in seeing to it that the company earned a high position on the early lists, and then took advantage of the reputational tailwind in our recruiting efforts. The source of the cover photo for this piece proudly occupies space in my office.
Second, and as importantly, since leaving FedEx, the most significant part of my work has centered on helping others appreciate just how profoundly the behaviors that make a company a great place to work impact the bottom line. Indeed, we’ve written four books on this very topic. I can’t tell you how proud I am to see companies that we’ve written about and bragged on in speeches and seminars across the globe continuing to earn this distinction, and indeed moving up the list. We’ve made many of them our own vendors of choice because they are just that good. Companies like Kimpton Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, Delta Air Lines, Mayo Clinic, David Weekley Homes, Publix, Google…
The list was just released last night so I haven’t run the numbers yet, but I’ll bet the ranch that these companies are generally outgrowing and out-earning both their competitors and market averages by a wide margin. And that’s the part that I’d like to emphasize for you. This isn’t just a feel good exercise. Earning a reputation as an employer of choice, or, on a smaller scale a leader of choice brings serious competitive advantage. That is highly relevant in today’s tightening labor market.
Broadly speaking, there are three things you must do to capitalize on this:
- Get (and keep) people Committed (capital ‘C’ intentional)
- Enable them to do their very best work
- Let them know you care
If you would like to take this topic to a different level in a one-on-one coaching session, keynote speech, or seminar, we would love to hear from you.
P.S. To my friends at FedEx, what’s this #99 stuff? 🙂
