Employee Satisfaction and a Winning Culture

Employees are the important assets of your company. But how many companies really look into this matter seriously? May be I should asked in another way round, how satisfy is your staffs about your company?

Employees come and go, the supervisors and CEO of retailing industry are headache because the turnover staffs of retailing industry is very high. The shortage of talents is one of the major challenges faced by all retailers. HR and supervisors always busy looking for people to fill in the frontline job. The unfilled hour will then be replaced by the existing staffs. To avoid continue in this loop (unsatisfied on working overtime), the existing staffs will choose to work in 9 to 5 job which the working time is more stable or job hopping to other retailing companies. End up, the problem is unsolved and it creates other problems. 

Today young generation doesn’t believe on “work harder” philosophy like our ancestor. They prefer more on “play hard and work smart” concept. One of the reasons retailing industry fail to recruit talented youth is because young generation always perceived retailing career as last choice due to long working hour and lower wages. Some even rejected it because of their bad experiences gained during their part time job (Broadbridge, 2003). 

Before recruiting new talents which I believe the same things will happen, I think it is better for the management to think about how to create your company’s employee satisfaction and a winning culture in retailing industry. I remember reading the “Business Stripped Bare” book by Richard Branson, the first section he put in his book is People and then follow Brand, Delivery, Learning from Mistakes and Setbacks… One of the stories shared by Richard Branson when acquired Euro Belgian Airlines. He turned it into Virgin Express with aims to create a cheap, cheerful, go-getting budget airline. Although faced with fierce competition and debilitating European Regulations. One of the major challengers he mentioned is on people issue which best described as follows:

‘Almost for the first time in my life I can’t sleep at night. Fighting the outside world is easy. Trying to make peace among one’s own staff is hell. We must never allow another company to get into this mess.’

The existing staffs are cynical about the business, no fun, no camaraderie, no real sense of ownership… which make the whole business progress slow down and difficult to manage. Luckily, he got Neil Burrows as the CEO who able to turn the business around with great hard work and great leadership.

The ‘primary attitudes’ of Virgin’s group shared by Richard Branson is as follows which I think is worth of sharing:
1. Employees are number on. The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customer.
2. Think small to grow big
3. Manage in good times for the bad times
4. Irreverence is Ok
5. Have fun at work
6. Take the competition seriously, but not yourself
7. Think o the company as a service organization that happens to be in the airline business
8. Do whatever it takes
9. Always practice the Golden Rule, internally and externally