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Employees First
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Intelligent Optimist (formerly Ode Magazine)
Posted: August 28th, 2012
http://theoptimist.com/employees-first/
In 2006, after a less than illustrious career in the restaurant business, 31-year-old Ben Zempel got a job with wholesaler Costco. That wouldnt be remarkable in itself, but Zempel has Down syndrome. Since he got the job, hes happier than ever, according to his mom, Jane. Its not just employees with a disabilityall 163,000 people on Costcos payroll around the world can count on extraordinary amounts of attention. Theyre better paid than competitors staff, management solicits their input on store strategy, and full- and part-time workers alike enjoy complete health insurance coverage. It all adds up to low turnover: Just 6 percent of employees decide to leave the company after more than a year. In fact, after 20 Costco staff from Melville, New York, won a $200 million lottery prize last year, only one of them quitnot because of the unexpected fortune but because at 73, he figured it was time to retire. More and more businesses are beginning to realize, as Costco has, that it pays to invest in people. Strikingly, its companies that put staff at the top of the list that seem to be doing best. Costco ended 2010 and 2011tough years for most companieswith hefty profits.
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