by Aron Ain (Author)
Axiom Business Book Award Silver Medalist in Leadership - Soundview Best Business Book
A "Highest Rated CEO" who has transformed his organization into a billion-dollar company and a "Top Place to Work" shows leaders how truly prioritizing employees isn't just good for employees―it's good for business.
Imagine a company where everyone loves to work, where employees feel not just "satisfied" but truly cared for, respected, and energized. Think of the impact this would have on recruitment, retention, customer satisfaction, innovation, and overall performance. Aron Ain, the award-winning CEO of Kronos, a global provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions, believes that anything is possible when people are inspired. By embracing employee development and engagement as a growth strategy, Ain transformed his company's culture and built a billion-dollar business. This book takes leaders and managers inside Kronos's highly admired WorkInspired culture, showing them the surprisingly simple rules they can follow to replicate that success.
This inspiring guide reveals the best practices that have earned Kronos distinctions on coveted lists, such as Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work, Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For, Forbes's America's Best Employers, and the Boston Globe's Top Places to Work. These best practices include:
-overcommunicating and truth-telling-trusting your people (again and again) and keeping them safe-holding managers accountable for being great at what they do-allowing employees flexible schedules and open vacation time-challenging your people to put the company out of business with innovative products -welcoming back boomerang employees-empowering the next generation workforce
Many executives talk about how "their people are their greatest asset." Ain challenges leaders to "walk the talk" and put people first, whether they oversee a team of five or an organization of 500,000. When they do, employees won't be the only ones who thank them. Customers and shareholders will, too.
This is what it means to WorkInspired.
Back Jacket
[Ain] outlines the importance of communication, kindness, and encouraging the next generation.--Boston Globe
"Kronos is a consistent and powerful growth engine. Now we learn its secret: putting people first, both because it's the right thing to do and because it's the path to long-term success. I deeply admire Aron Ain's philosophy, and others will, too."--Deval Patrick, Managing Director, Bain Capital, and former Governor of Massachusetts
"Employees want to work for companies that cherish values such as family, ethics, hard work, and philanthropy. When they find these organizations, employees feel inspired to deliver high levels of performance. Aron Ain takes you on a tour of a values-based corporate culture that you can develop within your own organization." --Robert Kraft, Chairman and CEO, The Kraft Group "Aron Ain's WorkInspired is a valuable resource for any leader looking to build an organization rooted in employee engagement and a shared value system."--Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder, Blackstone
"Many companies claim that 'our people are our most valuable assets.' But no business leader I know has done more to turn that old cliché into a strategic source for growth than Aron Ain of Kronos. In WorkInspired, Aron takes readers step-by-step through principles and practices that have helped Kronos win and grow--mainly by inspiring its own workers to realize their full potential and having each other's backs. Kronos's bottom-line success is proof positive that Ain's commitment to creating a satisfying, challenging--and kind--work environment is a very hard-nosed business strategy indeed. WorkInspired shows us all how to execute it."--Robert L. Reynolds, President and CEO, Putnam Investments and Great-West Financial
"Aron Ain's WorkInspired describes how Kronos has continued to reinvent itself by focusing on culture and mobilizing the power of its people. Ain succeeds in breaking down his approach to a series of powerful policies, programs, and leadership behaviors that many companies have overlooked. Required reading for anyone seeking to build a thriving and sustainable business in the digital economy."--Shira Goodman, former CEO, Staples
"Kronos has mastered 'workforce innovation that works.' Here, its inventive and imaginative CEO describes how he created one of the 100 best places to work, and shares the principles that leaders and managers need to create a high-functioning culture built on trust, transparency, collaboration, and innovation."--David Wippman, President, Hamilton College
Author Biography
Aron Ain is the CEO of Kronos, a global provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions, which are used by more than 40 million people every day within more than 35,000 organizations in more than 100 countries. Ain has spent his entire career at Kronos, playing a role in nearly every functional department. He has received a significant amount of recognition for his leadership. He is a multiyear recipient of Glassdoor's Highest Rated CEO honor, and has earned Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, the Mass Technology Leadership Council's CEO of the Year award, and the inaugural Ray Stata Leadership and Innovation award by the Massachusetts High Technology Council. During his tenure as CEO, Kronos has been recognized for its innovative product offerings, and has been named a "Top Place to Work" in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India, and China. Ain speaks often on engagement and people strategy, as well as on entrepreneurship and leading global organizations.