Keeping Employees the SAS Way

Video Case Keeping Employees the SAS Way If you treat employees as if they make a difference to the company, they will make a difference to the company. Satisfied employees create satisfied customers. That’s been the employee-focused corporate culture at SAS (http://www.sas.com), the world’s largest privately held software company and leader in e-business solutions since the company was founded in 1976. With employee turnover consistently and significantly below the industry average, SAS reaps the benefits of the most talented minds in the software business. What would it take to keep you happy on the job? A 35-hour work week? A health and recreation center with Olympic-size pool, gym with personal trainers, basketball court, dance and yoga studio, pool and ping-pong tables? How about an on-site masseuse and free daily laundering of your workout clothes? Or a pianist in the atrium-style dining room where employees enjoy subsidized lunches with their children, picked up from the company’s on- site day-care facility? Or unlimited sick days, free comprehensive health insurance, and access to on-site health care at a company-run clinic? Your own private office, a fully stocked break room, discounted membership to the local country club, a week off between Christmas and New Year, even free M & M’s on Wednesdays? And of course there are the usual financial rewards of a competitive salary, bonus, and profit sharing plan. Insanity Inc.? “It’s been called worse,” says James H. Goodnight, CEO, of the company he helped cofound. “If you treat people right they will make a difference. What we do here makes good business sense.” Thanks to an employee defection rate of less than 4 percent, SAS saves $50 to $70 million annually, rewarding its employees by creating a work environment that no one wants to leave. SAS employs nearly 10,000 people in more than 300 offices spanning the globe, and every day is a dress-down day for the 4,100 people working at the company’s 200-acre campus located in Cary, North Carolina. SAS “hires hard and manages easy.” It makes sure employees have the technical and intellectual skills for the job and then lets them get on with it. It does not micromanage employees. “We are not into ‘face time’ here,” says Goodnight, “if you need to leave at 4:00 pm on Wednesday to watch your child’s soccer game, we trust that you will get your work done.” SAS believes in the importance of a life outside work, that people need to recharge their batteries. And developing its employees’ intellectual prowess makes them increasingly valuable to the company. “SAS is in the intellectual property business and our employees work on cutting-edge products. It is not a disgrace to fail, as long as they learn something from it and share the information so we can all learn,” says Goodnight. “Our people are our assets and we believe in taking good care of our assets.” This approach has earned SAS many accolades, including eight consecutive years on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, recognized 13 times by Working Mother as one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, and featured as the Best Place to Work on the Oprah show.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What type of management skills does Jim Goodnight exhibit? 2. How does the corporate culture at SAS differ from that of other companies?

3. Would a company like SAS appeal to you as a prospective employee? Why or why not?

Sources: Adapted from material in the video, “Work Hard, Play Hard, and Have a Nice Lunch: Corporate Culture at SAS,” company Web site http://www.sas.com December 29, 2005; 100 Best Companies to Work For 2005, Fortune, http://www.fortune.com December 31, 2005; “SAS’ Dr. James Goodnight Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 In Technology Category,” Ernst & Young, http://www.ey.com, December 31, 2005.