Spring 2012 Newsletter
inHARMONY The Spring Edition 2012
Hope Springs Eternal
It's hard not to be impressed by Zappos' business success.
Founded in 1999, the online shoe retailer has grown to become a
great business success story. In less than ten years they reached
one billion dollars in gross merchandise sales. Tony Hseich, Zappos
CEO, attributes their success to investing time, money and
resources in three vital areas: customer service, company culture,
and employee training and development. Nothing new! Virtually every
company mission and value statement I've ever read promotes those
ideals. So how do you transfer the sentiment from a plaque on the
wall into the DNA of an organisation?
In Zappos case it commenced with creating the right culture.
Their recruitment objectives ensure that potential candidates have
the appropriate professional aptitude as well as the personality to
fit in with Zappos company culture. Apparently new Zappos
employees, after completing an intense four week induction program
are offered a bonus incentive to quit immediately. The amount is
between $2,000 and $3,000. Such is the allure of working for them
that less than 3% take the offer. Zappos cleverly weeds out new
employees, protects their brand and competitive advantage. In the
process they would save a significant amount of money on lower
staff turnover.
In 2009, Zappos debuted at number 23 in Fortune magazines' list
of Best Companies to Work For. The magazine cited numerous examples
of why employees enjoy working there, including the online
retailer's relaxed, fun-loving and close-knit family atmosphere, a
distinct lack of hierarchy or management pretence. Employees enjoy
a number of benefits from free healthcare to no-charge vending
machines. In their unique variation to the 20% doctrine, managers
at Zappos are required to spend 20% of their working hours
"goofing-off" with employees outside the office.
How does Zappos pursue their single-minded obsession of creating
"the ultimate customer experience"? By having an invested
workforce.
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