At the annual 2015 Great Place to Work® Conference in Dallas, Texas, leaders of companies from across the U.S. gathered to exchange valuable insights and strategies for building and leveraging a great workplace culture. Presented here are ten key takeaways from the conference, from leaders of Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® such as Twitter, The Cheesecake Factory, Salesforce.com, and more. Conference sessions covered the most current HR, Communications and Leadership practices and perspectives among top leaders of these outstanding workplaces. Visit http://www.greatplacetowork.com to learn more about upcoming events and how to achieve an outstanding company culture.

1. April 22-23, 2015 | Dallas, TX
Top 10 Takeaways from the
2015 Great Place to Work® Conference

2. On a Mission
1,080 Professionals representing
406 Organizations from
20 Industries with
1 Objective…
To Build a Better Society by
Creating Great Workplaces
At this year’s Great Place to Work® Conference, leaders gathered to
exchange valuable insights and strategies for building and leveraging a
great workplace culture.
Leaders who, against a backdrop of high disengagement levels across
corporate America, are determined to buck the norm and change the
game within their own companies.
Presented here are ten key takeaways that surfaced and resurfaced
over the two days. Sessions covered the most current practices and
perspectives among top leaders of outstanding workplaces, who are
consistently achieving greatness through their strong, trust-based
company cultures.

3. TAKEAWAY #1:
It’s Personal, Not “Perk”-onal

4. “The real core of a Great
Place to Work® are the
relationships that people
have with each other.
Google is a great example of
this. Virtually every perk
they offer is matched by
some one else in Silicon
Valley. What’s distinctive
about Google is the great
relationships they have with
employees.”
– Robert Levering, Co-Founder of
Great Place to Work®

5. TAKEAWAY #2:
Your employees are an invaluable source of
information. Listen to them.

6. “Our nurses could be nurses
anywhere. So could all of
our other people. So we ask
them…we know you love
your work. What could we
do to make you love it
even more?”
– Donna Hyland, President & CEO,
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

7. TAKEAWAY #3:
More than enabling “work-life balance,” great workplaces
actively support employees as whole people.

8. “The question is not: ‘How
well do we divide our work
life and our personal life?’
The question is: ‘How do
we stay whole, as
people?’…This is something
that we need to help solve
for our employees, as
employers.”
– Kevin Cleary, CEO, Clif Bar & Co.

9. “Being a great place to work
is about great people
working, not just about
being a workplace where
we’re great when people
show up. Work and life are
integrated. They’re not
balanced, and it’s a false
equivalency to think that
they ever really are.”
– Danroy Henry Sr., Chief Human
Resources Officer, Bright Horizons
Family Solutions

10. TAKEAWAY #4:
Be as transparent as possible.

11. “We communicate the good
and the bad. We don’t hold
anything back. You can’t
‘spin’ people in an
environment of high trust.
We share financial
information with our staff;
they know our strategic
plan, and how they fit into
it.”
– Jim Proppe, Group Managing Partner,
Plante Moran
“You have to constantly
work to ensure that
everyone understands what
you understand, and the
context for the decisions
you’ve made. When people
have the context for the
decisions you’ve made, they
may not agree with them,
but at least they’ll have the
information they need to
execute against them.”
– Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter

12. TAKEAWAY #5:
Many great workplaces are using HR Analytics to
become even better workplaces.

13. “SAS uses data in everything
we do. Workforce analytics
helps us better understand
our people - from hiring to
engaging to building
leaders.”
– Jenn Mann, Vice President,
Human Resources, SAS
“Analytics are another game
changer, to make smarter
talent decisions. We do all
of this work to understand
our customers. What about
our employees?”
– Jennifer Johnston, Senior Director of
#dreamjob Marketing,
Communications and Events,
Salesforce.com

14. TAKEAWAY #6:
Inspired products and services come from inspired people.
Connect your employees to a sense of purpose at work.

15. “Purpose is not incremental
to your company’s core
business. It IS your
company’s core business.”
– Kevin Cleary, CEO, Clif Bar & Co.
“The pursuit of excellence
hinges on how well we
inspire our people, on a
deeply personal level, to
want to deliver excellence.”
– David M. Gordon, President,
The Cheesecake Factory

16. TAKEAWAY #7:
Leadership commitment to a strong culture is critical
to creating a great workplace.

17. “[I spend] a good one-third
of my time or more on
internal culture building….
How is it possible not to?
Every child, every employer,
every family that we serve is
affected every day by a
human being that works for
Bright Horizons. Ultimately,
our reputation, our success,
turns on every individual
experience we have.”
– David Lissy, CEO,
Bright Horizons Family Solutions

18. TAKEAWAY #8:
Embracing diversity will serve your culture
as well as your business.

19. “With 4,000 diverse
people across the globe,
I’m not going to have all
of the great ideas.
They’re going to come
from all over the
company, and the more
diverse that group of
4,000 is, the better
selection of ideas you’re
going to have.”
– Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter

20. TAKEAWAY #9:
A strong company culture is a
key strategic differentiator.

21. “I firmly believe the most
leverageable asset we have
is our culture. It’s our
competitive edge.”
– David Lissy, CEO,
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
“Culture is your company’s
secret sauce. It’s what
makes you YOU.”
– Francine Katsoudas, Senior Vice
President and Chief Human
Resources Officer, Cisco

22. TAKEAWAY #10:
People who are building great workplaces
are changing the game.

23. Changing the Game
“ The Game Changers are the people who change the way things are
done, thought about, or made.
You dream the possibilities and run fast into the challenges.
You challenge the status quo.
You take risks for the sake of making something great happen!
You are the optimist in the midst of pessimists.
You are persistent among some who might otherwise be complacent.
You turn transactional into gift-like; Crazy Town into Whoville.
When you’re handed lemons, you make Limoncello…or is that just
me?
Bottom line…
You make what seems impossible possible.
But best of all …You give people hope! You’re the game changers!
Thank you for making a difference in the world!
We at Great Place to Work ®, applaud you!”
– Marisa Stoltzfus, Consultant, Great Place to Work®

24. April 7-8, 2016 |San Diego, CA
www.greatplacetowork.com/2016-conference
What was your top takeaway from the
Great Place to Work® Conference?
Tell us at #gptwConf, and don’t forget to mark
your calendar for 2016!