Designing Exceptional Organizational Cultures: How to Develop Companies Where Employees Thrive (Paperback or Softback)

Designing Exceptional Organizational Cultures is a practical guide for HR and OD professionals which explains how to proactively design, build and foster a culture that creates employee and business success.

For a company to outperform the competition and achieve sustainable business growth, it needs a high performing, engaged and committed workforce with the skills the business needs both now and in the future. Attracting, motivating and retaining top talent can't be done simply by attaching individual benefits to specific job roles. To be effective, companies need to build an exceptional company culture where people want to work and that allows them to develop and perform to their full potential.

Designing Exceptional Organizational Cultures provides guidance on all elements of building a top performing culture including how to identify and define core company values and embed them throughout policies, processes and behaviours as well as how to create an organizational structure that leverages employees' strengths for optimum performance. It also covers how to assess what roles the business needs, how to recruit for future success and make the most of non-traditional hires as well as covering employee engagement, motivation, reward, diversity and Learning and Development (L&D). With practical examples, tips and advice throughout, this is crucial reading for anyone needing to build a culture that attracts the very best talent and achieve sustainable business growth.

HR executive and expert Jamie Latiano Jacobs has spent over twenty years specializing in people and culture for organizations that have ranged from independent startup to global Fortune 50, funneling her expertise into companies undergoing rapid organizational growth, transformation, and building best-in-class teams that have created opportunities for winning in the marketplace.

With a B.A. in History and Political Science from University of California, San Diego, and an M.B.A. from Chapman University, Jamie Jacobs built a stellar career as an HR executive across a diverse array of industries-from technology and financial services to luxury hospitality. A recognized leader in the HR community, Jamie Jacobs has served as president of the National Human Resources Association, as well as on multiple boards of directors, and is a professor at University of Southern California's Bovard College Masters in Human Resources Management Program.

Building and overseeing dynamic HR teams at companies like Ingram Micro, Thales, Ingersoll Rand, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, and Renovate America, while continuing to galvanize her own professional ethos, Jamie Jacobs earned a special reputation for leading organizations through periods of change and transformation. While serving as Senior Vice President of People and Culture at Renovate America, for example, her keen strategies scaled business growth dramatically in just over a year, and the company was singled out by Fortune Magazine as one of the "best places to work."

Despite her personal triumphs and professional success, Jamie Jacobs recalls a specific moment when she realized the opportunity to more align with her passion and purpose. She undertook a personal journey to examine how we all "show up," as she phrases it-not only to the workplace, but to family and community as well. She wanted to harness her own courage to make choices that aligned with her values, design her own life, and to follow her instinct without sacrificing her logic. Jamie discovered that while many prospective choices seemed risky, they were empowering, and would lead to massive results for both companies she worked for, and, finally, her own.

This journey led Jamie Jacobs to harness her acumen and experience and co-found the management consulting firm High Performanceology. Partnering with enterprising organizations, Jamie and her team help build new organizational cultures, or transform existing ones, with the singular goal of creating resilient industry leaders. Spearheading a team of HR and talent consulting professionals, Jamie Jacobs lives the philosophy of life she helps every one of her clients work toward: finding the "Hell Yes!" in their life.

Since its inception, High Performanceology has helped numerous high-profile and multi-faceted organizations implement transformational strategies in environment and culture to enhance team dynamics and leadership effectiveness, continually producing top-line results and leading to competitive marketplace advantages. Jamie also co-founded Gig Talent, a modern talent agency that provides HR solutions by tapping into the on-demand talent economy to augment existing internal teams. Gig Talent focuses on connecting HR coaches and consultants with organizations that could benefit from their expertise.

In addition to her remarkable career track record, Jamie Jacobs has been recognized with numerous accolades, including as "HR Superstar" by HRO Today, and the recipient of the Women Who Mean Business Award by the San Diego Business Journal, amongst other regional and national awards. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources by the Human Resources Certification Institute, and a Professional Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation. Jamie Jacobs is also a sought-after speaker and panelist concerning topics of culture, leadership, and work innovation. She lives in California, USA.

Named a 2020 40 Under 40 Top Business Leader by the San Diego Business Journal, Hema Crockett is an entrepreneur, business leader and military spouse who built a career as a business and HR executive spanning almost 20 years. During this time, Hema Crockett led award-winning HR teams and developed business cultures in industries ranging from biotech to financial services, with her acutely cultivated creative and forward-looking consulting strategies, helping transform both public and private organizations into places where people want to work.

After earning a B.A. in Psychology and Business from the University of Arizona, and an M.B.A. in Global Management, Hema Crockett went on to amass a distinct and considerable resume in business and HR management in both the private sector and government, at home and abroad. She is an integral part of the business and HR Community, and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources by the Human Resources Certification Institute.

During her expansive career as an executive, at companies such as LPL Financial, NuVasive, and Renovate America, Hema consistently produced driving results in innovation and profitability by leading HR teams with her holistic approach and transforming the organizational infrastructure. With a focus on employee engagement, talent management and team alignment with business goals and core values, she was instrumental in building professional environments wherein employees of all levels and backgrounds felt a connection to a common mission and purpose.

It was these observations that ultimately laid the foundation for what would become her professional philosophy.

Inspired by her time with the U.S. State Department developing diplomacy culture, as well as her experience as a military spouse, Hema recognized the importance of the orientation of leadership and culture with individuals and organizations, and the balance necessary to produce maximum results. She traveled the world-particularly Kathmandu, Nepal, where she trekked to the famed Mt. Everest Base Camp and discovered what she has described as her "choice to live," when she felt compelled to make a decision on how she wanted to experience the world by focusing on what she wanted and committing to working with an organization aligned with her values. This guiding tenet would become one of her fundamental principles.

Leveraging all of her strengths and experience, Hema Crockett returned to the U.S. and co-founded High Performanceology, a management advisory firm that coaches organizations in performance optimization by creating environments where employees can grow and thrive. The challenge of entrepreneurship put into practice what Hema Crockett had truly come to believe about life: we spend so much time at work, we better love what we do!

Since its inception, High Performanceology has helped numerous high-profile and multifaceted organizations to implement transformational strategies in leadership and culture to enhance team dynamics and leadership effectiveness, continually producing top-line results and leading to competitive marketplace advantages. With her team, Hema also co-founded Gig Talent, a modern talent agency that provides HR and leadership coaching solutions by tapping into the on-demand talent economy to augment existing internal teams. Gig Talent focuses on connecting HR coaches and consultants with organizations that could benefit from their expertise.

An esteemed and seasoned executive coach, Hema Crockett believes that the path to high performance begins with self-awareness. She believes that we all have a choice and in order to change, we need to take a chance. She imbeds this philosophy in all she does and helps her clients gain valuable insight through personal reflection and inquiry. Hema Crockett is a highly sought-after speaker on a range of topics in entrepreneurship, leadership, executive and talent management. She has been published in Forbes and Thrive Global, among other publications. She lives in San Diego, USA with her husband.