From One Great Company to Another

The air is abuzz with news of Marissa Mayer’s new title: Yahoo! CEO/former Google Executive.   Some say it’s a great move, and exactly what is needed for Yahoo’s flailing brand.  Others focus more on Mayer’s pregnancy, just one of her personal characteristics that may be unprecedented among leadership in technology firms.  Regardless of what’s to come in the days and weeks to follow, this part is true: both Yahoo! and Google have been recognized on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for List®.

Of course, Yahoo was on the list from 2006-2008, peaking at #44, and Google has made the list all 6 of its eligible years for doing so: 2007-2012, claiming the #1 spot in 3 of its showings.  Nonetheless, at one time, Yahoo also showed the trust, pride, and camaraderie that is the hallmark of great workplaces, and its practices were marked by a uniqueness and flair that can only be Yahoo.

Marissa’s move, and what I know about both companies, leads to the firing of some interesting synapses in my brain. I am reminded of the many times my conversations about the best companies turns to their stark differences. Considering industry alone, the annual list includes companies competing anywhere from technology to grocery, manufacturing to healthcare.  I drive that point home by suggesting that even given similar industries, there are some companies on the list that I would clamor to work for, while others I admire from the sidelines.  While this isn’t necessarily the case with Yahoo and Google, they were, and likely remain quite different in terms of their embedded values.  Google is self-assured where Yahoo is irreverent; Google is disciplined where Yahoo is scrappy. 

My guess is that no matter how exceptional Yahoo’s defining characteristics, they are hidden under a mountain of broken trust.  I imagine Marissa’s arrival is exciting to several long time employees, but others are exhausted by the revolving door that she will be walking into.  They will likely be holding their breath until they are certain she’s not going to walk right back out.  I would also guess that for several people, the anchor experience by which they judge the health of the culture was 5-10 years ago, and it might take some time to set their sights on a vision for their future. 

Of course, I’m not an employee at Yahoo, so I could have it all wrong, but I do know that trust takes time to build – a long time if it has been extended over and over again only to be broken over and over again.  I am hopeful that Yahoo returns to its place as an organization we can all learn from, both its wild business successes and its workplace experiences.  And, I wouldn’t hope for it if it weren’t possible.  Every organization can be a great one, and they can even return to greatness after some mistakes along the way.

One Rule

By now, many people are familiar with Nordstrom’s “One Rule.”  Their proverbial one-page employee handbook, distributed at orientation reads, “Welcome to Nordstrom.  We're glad to have you with our company.  Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service.  Set both your personal and professional goals high.  We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them. So our employee handbook is very simple.  We have one rule: Use good judgment in all situations.”  Of course, Nordstrom’s “one rule” is supported by good hiring, hands-on learning, and performance feedback.  But the one rule is important because it provides a guide for decision making, a standard for measurement, and also a philosophy about customer service that makes Nordstrom the industry leader they are.

I believe the leadership behaviors needed to build great workplaces boil down to one rule too: Treat every situation as if it is an opportunity to build trust or break it down.  As I’ve said before on the blog, whether that statement is actually a truth is less important than the behaviors that come from treating it as one.  Even in situations that don’t look or feel like they’d have an impact on employee trust, the rule holds.

Determining when to take equipment down for maintenance or when to schedule a major new software update?  If you treat it as an opportunity to build trust, you will ask employees for their opinions on timing and consequences, work with them to mitigate any disruptions that may arise, and ensure that the updates being made actually help them do their jobs better.  If you don’t treat it as such, you run the risk of hindering productivity and pride (at best) or spending thousands of dollars unnecessarily (at worst.)

Partly responsible for a decision that fails to recognize employee contribution or negatively impacts their career progress?  If you treat it as an opportunity to build trust, you approach the employee directly, apologize and explain your actions, and communicate your intentions to move forward in a positive way.  If you don’t treat it as such, you may hide out, ignore it, and hope that the discomfort blows over, all the while letting unhappiness fester into frustration and ultimately disenchantment.

Even in day to day interactions, this rule helps to build a great workplace.  You have the choice every day to take a moment to say "Hello," "Thanks," or "You make a difference."  Treating that choice as an opportunity to build trust means you take the 30 seconds and do it.  Treating it as anything otherwise means you don't, and employees are left wondering if they are in the right organization, if not actively seeking out a new one.

When it comes to great workplaces, there are many paths to get there, but many can be traveled by following just one rule: Treat EVERY interaction as if it is an opportunity to build trust or break it down, and choose the path that builds trust.

You Know It When You See It

This morning, I spent some time at Snagajob’s headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.  They hosted an event for Richmond SHRM (which is a pretty fantastic group, if I do say so myself), and I had the honor of speaking with their CEO, Shawn Boyer, and their Chief People Officer, Greg Moyer in their brand new office space.  I could say many things about their culture, but they do a great job of that on their culture blog.  I could also say many things about the features in their new environment…like a slide in the foyer.  Yes, a slide.  That people slide down.  During their work day.

But, instead, I want to muse a bit on something that is very consistent across great workplaces, but also something that is rarely discussed.  Without fail, when I walk into a best company, I get a sense of who they are and what makes them great.  You truly do “feel it.”  And, whether you are visiting as a student of great workplaces or simply a customer of one of them, you know at a gut level that you’ve arrived in an environment where special things happen. 

While the reasons behind this phenomenon are way more complex than I’m able to explore in a short blog post, here are some things I notice that help to create the palpable sense of greatness.

Symbols matter.  While the slide in Snagajob’s foyer certainly makes them unique, it also says a lot about who they are – a company that believes that injecting a little fun into the hard work that makes them successful is important.  Many REI stores have photos of their employees participating in outdoor activities adorning the walls, and that’s what REI is all about – REI’s core purpose is to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship.

Words matter.  In great workplaces, words are chosen deliberately and used prominently.  Snagajob’s mission is on the wall near the employee watering hole.  Baptist Health South Florida’s receptionist has a unique title, Director of First Impressions, that appears on her nameplate.  At eBay, within each building, the conference rooms are named (and decorated with) items sold on eBay. Employees within the Jewelry building might find themselves meeting in the Ruby, Diamond, Necklace, or Moonstone conference rooms. 

Welcoming smiles matter.  Not just smiles, and not just a routine “welcome,” but welcoming smiles.  In great workplaces, people are truly glad you’ve stopped in, and they are happy to have a chance to show you where they work.  The pride employees exude is impossible to miss, and it speaks volumes about what it is like to work there.   At a couple points in our conversation today, it was helpful to remind the audience that Great Place to Work® Institute doesn’t produce lists of “perfect places to work.”  They are the best places to work, and they still have struggles and challenges, but on the whole their people are proud of the good they do in the world.  In fact, the trust  that best companies are actively working toward being even better is probably what is written all over their employees’ faces.

Alas, if we could only change the symbols and words in our work environment and mandate welcoming smiles and call our work in creating a great workplace complete.  We can’t, of course.  But, we can build the trust, pride, and camaraderie that make the symbols and words meaningful and the relationships genuine.  As if you need another reason to create your own great workplace, but here’s one more.  Don’t you want people visiting your offices to “know it when they see it?”