Corporate America going AWOL

[NorthSideSox72]

Fascinating stuff. First two grafs:

 

One afternoon last year, Chap Achen, who oversees online orders at Best Buy Co., shut down his computer, stood up from his desk, and announced that he was leaving for the day. It was around 2 p.m., and most of Achen's staff were slumped over their keyboards, deep in a post-lunch, LCD-lit trance. "See you tomorrow," said Achen. "I'm going to a matinee."

 

Under normal circumstances, an early-afternoon departure would have been totally un-Achen. After all, this was a 37-year-old corporate comer whose wife laughs in his face when he utters the words "work-life balance." But at Best Buy's Minneapolis headquarters, similar incidents of strangeness were breaking out all over the ultramodern campus. In employee relations, Steve Hance had suddenly started going hunting on workdays, a Remington 12-gauge in one hand, a Verizon LG in the other. In the retail training department, e-learning specialist Mark Wells was spending his days bombing around the country following rocker Dave Matthews. Single mother Kelly McDevitt, an online promotions manager, started leaving at 2:30 p.m. to pick up her 11-year-old son Calvin from school. Scott Jauman, a Six Sigma black belt, began spending a third of his time at his Northwoods cabin.

 

And my fave excerpt:

 

It seems to be working. Since the program's implementation, average voluntary turnover has fallen drastically, CultureRx says. Meanwhile, Best Buy notes that productivity is up an average 35% in departments that have switched to ROWE. Employee engagement, which measures employee satisfaction and is often a barometer for retention, is way up too, according to the Gallup Organization, which audits corporate cultures.

 

Looks like its working, at least for now. I am sure that this type of thing has limitations and downsides, and will only work well for certain environments. Nevertheless, pretty darn cool.

[southsider2k5]

Soft perks are such a simple and inexpensive way to do business, and I have no idea why companies don't use more of these techniques in recruiting and retention of employees. You don't necesarily have to pay people a lot of money, if they think you care about them in the little ways.

[Thedeepsea]

I think more business should focus on the needs of the employees. People will work better if they are given more perks or days off.

[sox4lifeinPA]

I think more business should focus on the needs of the employees. People will work better if they are given more perks or days off.

 

 

That's an interesting thought...next annual review ask for 2-3 more days off rather than a pay raise.

 

someone making 35k a year and 3% raise would earn 1050 the next year. That's nice but if they only get 2 weeks vacation, certainly adding 2-3 day (which equates to ~135 a day, or 405 for the sum of the days off)

 

I'd do it in a heart beat.

[EvilMonkey]

Since cash is always tight in my business during December/January, I give out extra vacation days for a holiday bonus. They are REALLY nice for my part time people, who have none. Depending on how long they have been here, and how good a job I think they have done, 1 to 3 days off is not bad, especially since they all make well above minimum.

[bmags]

wow, when the article first started i thought the guy was gonna disappear and the new trend was corporate employees just vanishing for real

[HuskyCaucasian]

I think more business should focus on the needs of the employees. People will work better if they are given more perks or days off.

My mother-in-law works at the University of Iowa and she has an Amazing boss. He had some personal issues with his family a while back (I think someone got very sick) and since then he has told her that family comes first. Basically, as long as she does her work, she can leave early or take a day off for family reasons. This stratagy builds loyalty.

[sox4lifeinPA]

My mother-in-law works at the University of Iowa and she has an Amazing boss. He had some personal issues with his family a while back (I think someone got very sick) and since then he has told her that family comes first. Basically, as long as she does her work, she can leave early or take a day off for family reasons. This stratagy builds loyalty.

 

 

and in fields like banking, for instance, where customers constantly complain about employee turnover, employee retention because of loyalty, leads to customer retention for the very same reasons.

 

Happy employees = happy customers = happy revenue = happy bosses = happy employees = (repeat)

[Jenksismyhero]

We sorta have this at my work. We can't necessarily take off at 2pm any time we want because everyone in my office sorta depends on each other to get things done. That said, if you give people a little notice and you're able to be contaced if something comes up (nearly all of use have a palm treo or pocketpc so its not a problem usually) then it's fine. There's not a rigid 8-5 day.

 

I think the very end of the article brings up an interesting point though. We're going through a very succesful time here where every quarter we're increasing our revenue between 3-5%. Who knows what will happen when we start to slow down.

[Iwritecode]

At my work we are allowed to pick our starting times between 7 and 10AM. For the most part we are expected to work a typical 8-hour day but if we need to take off a couple hours early one day and make up the missed time later in the week, it's not a problem. As long as we are putting in our 40 hours a week and the work gets done, it's not a huge deal. The advantages of being paid salary I guess...

 

Just recently they decided to let us work from home 1 day a week. Which is nice because that saves me about a 1/4 of a tank of gas every week.

[Kid Gleason]

This stuff makes me cry.

[Queen Prawn]

I think more business should focus on the needs of the employees. People will work better if they are given more perks or days off.

 

So true!

 

Even though there are some issues I have with my company in terms of benefits, they were there for me last year when my father-in-law died. From 12/15 to Christmas I was only in the office for a half-day. I came in for a half day to explain to the up and ups what was going on and they were fine with me leaving right then and there. I stayed until lunch when it was confirmed a decision was to be made that afternoon.

 

I wrote an email letting them know when he had died that I wouldn't be in all week due to helping with the services and trying to get Brian, his sister, his mom and myself through it and that I understood that I had no paid time left and in-laws wasn't considered immediate family. Either they made an exception or the rules changed right at that time because when I came back they told me he was considered immediate family and I was paid for all time I missed.

[retro1983hat]

Depends on your industry. If you work in manufacturing/production, this will be very difficult.

[sox4lifeinPA]

Depends on your industry. If you work in manufacturing/production, this will be very difficult.

 

 

agreed, but the problem is that 1) The US has largely switched over to Service Providing 2) US companies are still doing HR as if we their company was still a manufacturing/production company.

 

These policies work incredibly well in service industries.

[Texsox]

The oldsters in the crowd will remember the downsizing trends of the seventies and eighties. If there is a department of ten people and someone notices is runs just fine with 7 or 8, guess what happens? So be careful what you wish for.

[sox4lifeinPA]

The oldsters in the crowd will remember the downsizing trends of the seventies and eighties. If there is a department of ten people and someone notices is runs just fine with 7 or 8, guess what happens? So be careful what you wish for.

 

6-12 months severance? hell yeah. And then back to a bank. Thank God for Demand.

[southsider2k5]

The oldsters in the crowd will remember the downsizing trends of the seventies and eighties. If there is a department of ten people and someone notices is runs just fine with 7 or 8, guess what happens? So be careful what you wish for.

 

That was also a completely different era. Effeciencies are way up now, and most offices run at bare bones levels, if not worse, with employees being a valued commodity because unemployment is at historically low levels, vs back then when it was more like 10%.

[Texsox]

That was also a completely different era. Effeciencies are way up now, and most offices run at bare bones levels, if not worse, with employees being a valued commodity because unemployment is at historically low levels, vs back then when it was more like 10%.

 

Efficiencies are way up, plus technology is replacing some workers and adding others. Many large corporations, Wal-Mart and Microsoft are classic examples, have used the 30 hour week very effectively in trimming benefit costs. Just a minor comment to balance all the sweetness.

[Iwritecode]

Efficiencies are way up, plus technology is replacing some workers and adding others. Many large corporations, Wal-Mart and Microsoft are classic examples, have used the 30 hour week very effectively in trimming benefit costs. Just a minor comment to balance all the sweetness.

 

I don't know if I'd say it's been effective when I go into Wal-Mart at 10:30 at night and there are exactly 2 registers running. Both with 20 people in line...

[sox4lifeinPA]

I don't know if I'd say it's been effective when I go into Wal-Mart at 10:30 at night and there are exactly 2 registers running. Both with 20 people in line...

 

 

I only shop at places with self-check outs.... and then I yell at the whores (it's never men) who take a cart full of one of every item in the store through the lane next to me.