Winning Workplaces

This spring Winning Workplaces staff selected 35 Finalist organizations from the over 300 that applied for Top Small Workplaces 2009, an annual recognition project we co-sponsor with The Wall Street Journal.

Since the Winners were chosen by our panel of judges in late June, the Journal has been busy going inside these organizations to dig in to their bottom line-enhancing workplace team building strategies – all for your benefit when these small firms are revealed in the September 28 Journal Report on Small Business.

Until then, I thought you would find value in learning about what the 35 Finalists are doing when it comes to building teams in the workplace and making them highly productive. Check out this list of best practices:

A financial services firm runs a Team Leader Development Program in addition to a Self Directed Loan Officer Program.
At one firm there is only one position (the Team Leader) between the 180 front-line salespeople and the President of the company (a "flat" organizational design).
At another company, the dining room is set up like a team building space, to meet and chat, with families invited to join.
"Ideas Unlimited": Any employee may present any idea – big, small, or off-the-wall – to the leadership team. All presentations are reviewed and ideas that are selected for immediate action are transformed into personal or company-wide initiatives.
One organization funds a charity bike team with company matches.
In an ESOP company, the E3 team (ESOP, Education, Enthusiasm) actively works to encourage everything ESOP.
Employee recognition example: the ACE award, reinforcing core values of Attitude, Commitment and Excellence.
At one firm the CEO does 6-hour leadership training sessions for all team leaders and supervisors.
At one company field staff votes on team leaders, who then run monthly technical meetings and teach classes for cross-training purposes.
Employee communication example: a weekly newsletter, whose title is a take on the company name, shows financial status and team accomplishments.

As I mentioned, you can learn a lot more about the workforce effectiveness of these great small firms in The Wall Street Journal on September 28. We will also be honoring them at our annual conference on October 1-2. Join us for this event in Chicago and save $100 on your registration.