Zappos Final Report

Running head: ZAPPOS TRAINS EMPLOYEES ON CULTURE 1

ZAPPOS TRAINS EMPLOYEES ON CULTURE 4

Zappos Trains Employees on Culture

Author Note

This paper is being submitted on June 5, 2016, for Applied Management Principles course.

Zappos is a company that values culture more than anything else. According to the company’s CEO if the culture of the organization is right then other things like good customer service or building a long-term brand would happen naturally on their own. The company has a culture that emphasizes happiness to employees and customers. When the company hires employees, two sets of interviews are done. The first one involves checking the standard fit which is carried out by the hiring manager to determine relevant experience, technical ability and others. The HR department then follows to do another interview which is aimed at determining the culture fit. The culture of the business is defined by ten core values. The company looks for people who have personal values that match the corporate values of the organization.

The company requires that everyone that is hired to go through the training regardless of his/her position. One can be an accountant, lawyer and any other position but they need to go through the same training as any other person. The training program lasts for four weeks where they are placed on phones to take calls from customers.

When the new hires are through with the first week of training, they are given an offer that the company is willing to pay them for the time they have spent in the company and an additional 2000 dollars to quit and leave the company in that instance. Paying new hires to leave the company is illogical, but it makes sense for the company as it is intended to weed out employees who are in the company only for a paycheck. This step helps to ensure that the culture of the company is valued more than any amount of cash. The step also serves to encourage workers to be themselves and to give them permission to do what they feel is right. According to the company’s CEO a company’s culture needs a physical place, and that is why Zappos is located in Vegas. Culture requires a company to have a physical presence and that is why the company is physical and not virtual. It is easy to build a culture when the company is in person compared to when it is remotely by mail (Staley, 2014).

In spite of the reality that the company pays its new hires to leave they have not experienced such a thing as they have not written a check for the past year. It is clear that when employees join the organization, they are not in a hurry to leave, and that can only be attributed by the happiness culture of the organization.

According to the organization is that it is vital for employees to put their whole in their jobs and this is ensured by having a work life balance. The company is aimed at delivering happiness to its customers and employees meaning that the goals of happiness are not mutually exclusive. According to Hsieh (2010), is that happiness can only be achieved when pleasure, passion, and purpose is combined in a person’s life. If this is achieved then customers, employees and investors will be happier. It is the role of managers to maintain and train employees in regards to the company’s culture. These managers, therefore, need to be conversant with all of the company’s values so that they can deliver well to the new hires. The managers also need to maintain the culture by practicing it themselves and updating it in the case and of the values is altered. Managers in the company are required to oversee the process to ensure that it goes on as the company intends.

References Hsieh, T. (2010). Delivering happiness: A path to profits, passion, and purpose. New York: Business Plus. Staley, E. (2014). Nick Swinmurn, Tony Hsieh, and Zappos.