Water Cooler Conversations

I am sure that you will agree that the CAVS’ season and post season successes on the court have been thrilling.  It has been a wonderful ride and one that I would like to see last for some time.  What a great experience watching this team, which includes the basketball players, front office and coaching staff.  Their organization is where we all should be – players to management all on the same page.  They are all in sync – from a business perspective, this is simply poetry in motion. 

They preach and teach a singular focus on excellence.  They are goal oriented and understand that acquiring and retaining top talent at every organizational level is critical to winning their league’s championship.  Yep, this team is something special and they represent our region well.

Beyond rooting for the CAVS, we can show our support by following their lead.  It’s the same stuff we see over and over again with NorthCoast 99 organizations.  Top talent acquisition and retention rules! 

My hope is that by watching the CAVS, many CEOs in our region will take note of what it takes to be an organizational winner. Perhaps the end of the CAVS season (after their championship) will signal a new “season” for our region’s businesses.  Maybe the CAVS success will light some fires in our collective business bellies.  It will be our turn to RISE UP.  Once the CAVS accomplish their goal, it will be our turn to take it up a notch and nail a few “three pointers” of our own.

Thanks CAVS for a fun season, a great post season and for leading by example. Swoosh!

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

Last week ERC recognized the NorthCoast 99 winners (www.northcoast99.org) at the annual awards dinner.  The 2008 winners represented organizations and industries throughout our region and share a common focus of attracting and retaining top performers. The theme of our event was Workplace Revolutions.  We believe that this past year and all previous 9 years that ERC has recognized great workplaces that winners revolutionize their workplaces – making small and large scale changes that differentiate their organization and most importantly make a difference in the lives of their employees.

We looked back over the past ten years of celebrating
Northeast Ohio workplaces and recognize that much has been accomplished by these extraordinary organizations.  To put things in perspective, our NorthCoast 99 winners have made the following impact to our region:

• ten years of better than average salary increases for thousands of employees throughout Northeast Ohio.
• ten years of increasingly robust career development, mentorship, and safety programs for those employees.  
• ten years of enhanced employee benefits including wellness, financial, and retirement planning education; onsite convenience services, and support programs.  
• ten years of expanding workplace flexibility, telecommuting options, compressed workweeks, and the slow but steady extinction of traditional and punitive policies.  
• ten years of increasingly open communication about company and individual performance and greater opportunities for employees to provide input into how to make those companies more successful.  
• ten years of leaders taking more active roles in interacting with all employees, recognizing performance, and participating in and promoting service and social responsibility efforts, and  
• ten years of an ever sharpening focus on the importance of attracting and retaining top talent in Northeast Ohio.

It means increasing opportunity.  It means showcasing our region as a great place to live and work.  It means new jobs – well over 100,000 – and that’s just in the last 5 years.

There is no better way to lead, than to lead by example.  NorthCoast 99 winners are doing just that.  Their ideas and actions in many ways are revolutionary.  It takes guts, innovation and a belief that creating great workplaces for top performers is the catalyst for organizational success. 

This is one revolution against the status quo that is worth fighting.

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

Recently we were informed of an opportunity with Cleveland’s local newspaper to be promoted as a “World Class” organization.  At first glance I thought this to be a real nice opportunity for ERC to receive some positive press about our organization.  Unfortunately, we found that there was a $7,500 advertising fee involved.  Unreal.

So here we go again.  Our American standard of pride once again bows to the almighty dollar.  Is nothing sacred? 

I am not sure whether to shame the organizations that bite at this program or the newspaper for charging companies $7,500 to be labeled “World Class”.  Incidentally, you receive a full-page ad in the newspaper about your “World Class” organization and some promotions on the internet through their dot com affiliate.  It’s a pretty good deal in terms of advertising dollars as full-page ads are almost double the price in their newspaper.

I have a better idea - have the newspaper provide these types of advertising discounts only to organizations that have actually been recognized as a NorthCoast 99 organization, NEO Success Award organization or any of the other credible business recognitions awarded in Northeast Ohio.  Now, there would be a real deal, for organizations that are truly “World Class” and constantly working to improve.

We have great success stories in this region.  Rather than have companies pay to have their story told, maybe the newspaper might start thinking about actually reporting good news for awhile.  With advertising dollars sinking to new lows and the newspaper consolidating operations (and staff) you think that they would finally get the point that bad news just doesn’t sell anymore.

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

Ten years. Whew.

This will be ERC’s 10^th year hosting the NorthCoast 99 program.  As we approach this modest milestone, we can’t help but continue to be impressed by the multitude of extraordinary employers in our region.

Organizations that apply for NorthCoast 99 highlight their innovative programs, policies and employee benefits all designed to attract and retain above average performers.  These organizations truly understand that the core of business success is driven top performing employees.  It’s not “people are our most important asset” anymore.  The new credo is “extraordinary performers are our most important asset”.  If you don’t believe and live the new business credo, then sit right back and watch your competition whiz by you over the next few years.

Even if you’re not sure your organization can win a 2008 NorthCoast 99 award, we encourage you to apply at http://www.northcoast99.org/.  There is NO COST to applying and you will recieve a complimentary NorthCoast 99 Assessment Report.  So, you have nothing to lose.  Invest a little time and see how you stack up against some of Northeast Ohio’s best employers.

Winning NorthCoast 99 award is not easy.  Heck - there are Northeast Ohio organizations that have been recognized as a Fortune 100 Best Place to Work that applied for NorthCoast 99 and did not win.  Now that’s tough competition.

The NorthCoast 99 Assessment Report is produced by ERC once all the results are tabulated and is customized to highlight your organization’s application responses to those of the NorthCoast 99 winners. 

Bottom line - your organization wins either way by applying for NorthCoast 99.  Good luck to all of this year’s applicants!

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC    

The NorthCoast 99 winners were recognized this week at a sold out gala of 850 attendees.  The program was conducted at LaCentre in Westlake with the winners of the program and sponsors celebrating the successes a great workplace brings to an organization.

ERC has hosted the program for nine years and I never cease to be amazed at the quality of companies that comprise the NorthCoast 99. Despite the negative news that the Northeast Ohio mainstream media seems to embrace, it is clear by looking at NorthCoast 99 organizations that the region’s future is bright.  Their focus remains on developing and maintaining great workplaces for top performers.  Their employment policies compensation structures, benefits programs, health and safety programs, communication efforts, community service and training programs are different and innovative.  They are designed to attract top talent and remove those employees that just don’t get it.

Their focus is on the workplaces as they understand that profitability, cost controls, productivity enhancements, customer service and quality programs are all improved by swelling their workforce with above average workers.  Study after study shows that organizations focused on the development and maintenance of a great workplace significantly outperform those organizations traditionally managed.  So the statistics are there and the “proof is in the pudding”.  So why doesn’t every CEO focus on the attraction and retention of top talent?  I wish I knew.

So much of our region’s issue would dissolve if our Northeast Ohio leaders started with their organizations first before worrying about the regional plight. There is an old saying; “Don’t worry about your neighbor’s lawn until yours is weed free”.  Imagine if just for one year, every Northeast Ohio organization (private, public, government, academic, etc.) made a commitment to developing a better workplace. Imagine if the leaders of these organizations spent their time improving the quality of their own workplace rather than on committees focused on improving the region.  I would bet that at the end of the year, the results of developing better workplaces to attract and retain top performers would have a much greater impact on the region than all of the many (and sometime duplicative) economic development initiatives.

At ERC we continue to encourage top leaders to accept our regional challenge of the great workplace. 

How do we elevate the business and living conditions of Northeast Ohio? 

We know the answer.