Employee Satisfaction Secrets You Can Learn From Patagonia
I've known of Patagonia, the outdoor outfitter for over 20 years, when I worked my way through college at a ski store that sold the Patagonia brand.
The stuff Patagonia made was [and is] legendary for its quality. The fact that a portion of the store's sales goes to environmental causes was history in the making for a retail supplier.
A New York Times article called Working Life (High and Low) featured two very different companies and their cultures, how they treat their employees, and the level of employee satisfaction. The article was adapted from The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker, by Steven Greenhouse, a Times reporter.
Patagonia operates like many people in other parts of the world—the people who work there work to live. Contrast that with most of us here in the United States, where we live to work.
Patagonia knows that the better it treats their employees, the happier and more productive those employees will be. Mid-day surfing and biking, onsite child care so parents can have lunch with their kids, lunchtime yoga and pilates sessions, and two-month paid internships with environment organizations each year are just some of the job perks that result in high levels of employee satisfaction.
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Patagonia's founder Yvon Chouinard has a simple philosophy that he says ensures employees don't abuse their flextime. " you trust, people who are passionate about their job, passionate about what they're doing. Just leave them alone, and they'll get the job done."
Real-world retailing takeaway
People are your greatest asset and the only true differentiator in retail today. We all know how rare it is to walk into a store and have an attentive employee who is smart and helpful. But those experiences that we remember are usually pervasive throughout the store because it's part of the DNA of the store.
Disney's theme parks offer a similar experience because new employees get indoctrinated into the Disney philosophy. Doing things any way other than what's acceptable under the Disney philosophy is met with disapproval. While not as friendly as Patagonia, it does preserve the Disney experience because the employees who work at the parks are so passionate about the brand—one thing the company has in common with Patagonia.
It's especially difficult for small retailers to provide the perks of a bigger company (Patagonia is a $275M company with 1,300 workers). But we can do our part. All employees in retail really want is a place they like to work, and many say the people they interact with each day are the No. 1 reason they like their job.
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The creation of a specific type of culture has to come from the top. The leader always sets the tone, which can positively impact the organization. And those able leaders then hire the right people—the type of people Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard would hire.
Employee satisfaction secrets
Enthusiasm is contagious, and sometimes the leader just needs to offer more insight into the business so employees truly feel like they're part of the team. That alone can make employees more productive and happier.
So lead with enthusiasm. Show employees they're special. Take an employee out to lunch one day to pick their brain about what's working and not working, then do something about it. Take the entire crew out to dinner one night to thank them. Take an employee to a trade show, or out for a few hours to check out the competition together.
While you may not be able to allow employees to take off for two hours to go surfing in the middle of the day, these types of employee team-building events will go a long way to connecting with your employees and making them happy to be a part of your business.
