Company culture: How does it impact the customer experience?

A tidbit from a recent entry on the Shop.org Community blog:

…Lin believes that much of this success boils down to a crystal clear corporate culture that was created and is owned by employees.

Who is Lin and why in the heck do we care about his strategy? Lin’s business, the online shoe store Zappos.com, is a wunderkind in the retail world. The company grew 20% in 2008, and is on track to make additional headway in 2009. I found it particularly intriguing that Lin attributed his success to corporate culture. Not “top-quality products” or “superior customer service.” Granted, those elements are part of the mix. But what he’s essentially saying is that his team has truly bought into those concepts. It’s more than just him talking, and the rest of his team nodding in detached, quasi-agreement.

Some of the ways Zappos creates and evaluates corporate culture make your hair stand on end. Like this:

Once a year, Zappos asks each employee to submit several paragraphs for a culture book, which is distributed company-wide. Lin said Zappos “only edits typos” and that everything is published…”the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

The company also encourages employees to discuss the company on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. (Forums where the company has little to no control over what’s being said.)

Are you cringing yet?

I’m an A-type personality, so the thought of relinquishing that much control over my brand makes me shiver. But…then you look at the result of this radical corporate culture: Employees that are vested in the business—both in practice and in theory. A team that quickly and efficiently churns out orders and makes customers happy.

I’m not advocating that you adopt the Zappos philosophy. (I just can’t. It goes against my grain.) But I would encourage you take a critical look at your company culture. What could you do to give employees a sense of ownership and investment? What benefits might result?

The blog entry on Shop.org included an additional anecdote: A Zappos employee found $150 in a wallet that a customer had purchased from the company; then returned to the retailer. The worker quickly jotted off a note, and returned the cash to the customer. She was thrilled, and told everyone about the experience.

An unwavering corporate culture meant the employee absolutely knew how to respond, Lin believes. “If you take care of your culture, things like this will happen,” he said. “People will do the right thing.”

Step back from your business and take a long look. Are you creating a culture where employees will “do the right thing”?

-- Sarah

Comments

[Jennifer Zuri]

Sarah,
I loved this post about Zappos. I clicked through to read the Shop.org Community blog to read the full story, and then I shared it with some others here at Aquascape. Zappos' company culture reminds me a lot of Aquascape's culture. It's great to see Zappos had a good year in 2008. After hearing all the bad economic news lately, this was refreshing. Thanks!

[greg sraiss]

Sorry.........the anything goes let employees do as they will eventually sinks the company.

Fun on the way up but when a company gets large enough it needs professional management to survive.

Too much of do your own thing is anarchy. When the time comes to reign in the rowdies the company loses their innocence and the rowdies refuse to grow up and either run the company into the ground or they leave.

For example: Yahoo....the founder relegated to wandering the halls like a high school gradaute who does not want to leave but is no longer welcome in class.

Google: Has become so elitist that trying to bid on ad-words has become so aggrivating as to be useless. As well try and place an ad and get through the gestapo "you cannot use that word, say that about your product" police.

Facebook: already devalued by 75% after being bought up. And the founder????? Looks like his mother still makes his bed.

And look what has happened to Home DePot!

As for the comment on Aquascape.....dig back into old posts on Open Register about what employees had to say about their party being over. Culture? Culture shock more like it!

Greg Draiss