What follows is an excerpt from one of RetailWire's recent online discussions featuring commentary from its "BrainTrust" panel of retail industry experts.
Fortune magazine recently released its annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list and, no surprise, Wegmans ranked number one among retailers and number three overall.
The editors at Fortune said Wegmans shows it cares about the well-being of its workers as much as its customers. In 2010, 11,000 employees took part in a challenge to eat five cups of fruit and vegetables a day and walk up to 10,000 steps a day for eight weeks. Another 8,000 took advantage of health screenings that included a flu shot and H1N1 vaccine -- all covered by Wegmans.
The second highest ranked retailer was Zappos, coming in at number six. The magazine said its "quirky, happy culture remains" despite its sale to Amazon.com. Free lunches and vending machines and a company commitment to "create fun and a little weirdness" are among Zappos' guiding principles.
Story continues below...
Coming in third among retailers was REI. Employees receive 50 to 75 percent discounts on full-price REI branded merchandise, free skis and kayaks rentals, and an annual gift of REI gear. After 15 years with the company, employees are entitled to a four-week paid sabbatical, After that, they can take one every five years.
Other retailers landing on the list included:
Stew Leonard's (18): This family-owned supermarket doesn't give special treatment to relatives. The "13 third-generation members" who work at Stew's had to find employment with other companies after college before returning to the family business. Their first job? Working the register.
Container Store (21): The focus here is on training. First-year, full-time employees need to log a minimum of 263 training hours. The chain is also credited for its comparatively high pay with full-time sales clerk salaries averaging $44,000.
Whole Foods Market (24): Company employees get behind the chain's goal of promoting healthier lifestyles. New hires get a 20 percent discount off all items in the store and those meeting the goals of the company's healthy-living challenge get up to 30 percent.
Build-A-Bear Workshop (48): Part-timers get health, dental, and vision benefits, while HQ staff enjoy on-site yoga and Zumba workout classes.
Nordstrom (74): The upscale department store, according to Fortune, "continues to live by its one-sentence doctrine: 'Use good judgment in all situations.'"
Aéropostale (94): With four out of five employees at the teen apparel chain under 25, Fortune reports that the company can "harness their energy for good with paid time off to volunteer."
What comes first: great retailers or great employers? The answer is that they absolutely go together. At the end of the day, people make the difference in any business but especially in retail, where the service experience is dependent on an employee cashing shoppers out quickly, rotating dairy so the products are fresh, constantly rearranging produce or apparel so it looks good, filling prescriptions swiftly and with competent advice ... the list goes on. Retailers who start with a company mantra of hiring well, investing in training, and paying fairly with benefits are better positioned for long-term employee -- and shopper -- loyalty. - Alison Chaltas, Principal, Interscope
People want good pay, but more than that they need to be inspired to want to go to work each day. Making retail fun for employees isn't always easy, but the top retailers in this list found great ways to do just that. The perks and exciting atmosphere is what makes an employee feel like they are part of a team and something more than just a number at a company.
Back in the early years of the H.J Heinz Company, the company offered employees several perks including a swimming pool, free manicures for women in the canning factory, roof-top patios, music at lunch, free medical clinic onsite, and much, much more.
Building a culture takes more than offering the highest pay. That is easy to match and tough to stay ahead of.
Consider the cost of hiring and training a new employee. Then calculate your turnover rate. Take 70% - 80% of that cost and you have a rough budget for building perks and exciting programs into your company. - John Boccuzzi, Jr., Managing Partner, Boccuzzi, LLC
I buy what Alison writes above, and I also believe that employees also revel when people say "Oh, you work for a great company!" ... and customers revel when they hear someone say, "you shop at a great store." That makes one's sense of pride silently soar. Everyone enjoys being associated with a widely respected winner.
And why do people say it is a "great company?" Because it does or allows for those things that make the majority of both employees and customers in the store's area feel happy to be involved, whether it's because of concern for the well being of its employees, discounts, a happy environment, or whatever. That's what Wegmans has accomplished for its employees and customer families most everywhere it has stores. Bottom line: You must be sincerely responsive to the wants and needs of all of your stakeholders. - Gene Hoffman, President, Corporate Strategies International
Someone once said to me that "a company value is only truly a value if the company is willing to pay for it." Nowhere is this more true than in being a great employer.
So many companies tout themselves as employee centric but it's nothing more than meaningless rhetoric. Great companies actually do great things for people. Things that cost them time, money, and attention. They don't just say they care--they show they care. It's not a mantra, it's an action.
And a company has to be willing to sustain these beliefs through the toughest of times. If you throw your people under the bus at the first sign of trouble, you're not a great place to work and probably never were. - Doug Stephens, President, Retail Prophet
Happy employees tend to make happy customers. Happy employees also stay longer which lowers turnover and reduces ramp-up and training costs. It's not just the right thing to do, it's good business. Congrats to the companies listed. - Fabien Tiburce, President, Compliantia, Retail Audits & Task Management
(Photo by Spencer Hickman.)
Excerpted from Top retailers make employee health, happiness a priority | RetailCustomerExperience.com
http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/article/179357/Top-retailers-make-employee-health-happiness-a-priority
Readability — An Arc90 Laboratory Experiment http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability
Follow us on Twitter »Readability version 1.7.1
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário