SAS Inc.: Working the Good Life

Abstract:

The case discusses the employee-friendly policies and practices of SAS Inc. (SAS), the largest private organization selling analytical statistical software. From its inception in the mid-1970s, the company's co-founder and CEO, Jim Goodnight, had created an employee-centric corporate culture. The company always worked on the ideology that satisfied employees resulted in satisfied customers. To create a satisfied work force, SAS had always focused on two aspects of work culture - work life balance and work life benefits. Moreover, the company CEO did not want to make the company public even if that meant more profits for the company. According to Goodnight, going public would have destroyed the company's employee-focused organizational culture as it would then have to work under the pressure of shareholders.

The case discusses in detail the employee-friendly policies of SAS and the benefits and perks the employees enjoyed while working in SAS. Experts suggested that the SAS business model depicted that employee loyalty and customer satisfaction were interlinked and that this was the secret behind the company's success.

The company said that it considered employee perks as long-term investment in creative capital and not as employee retention costs. Analysts said that this philosophy had provided SAS with a competitive edge even during the economic downturn. However, critics contended that many of the work life initiatives and employee perks were unnecessary expenses.

Issues:

» Understand the importance of work life balance and employee benefits, particularly in the knowledge-based industry.

» Study the corporate culture at SAS and its employee-centric policies.

» Analyze the various work life balance and work life benefits offered by SAS to its employees and how these contribute to reduced employee turnover and job satisfaction.

» Understand how the employee-centric policies and practices contributed to the business success of SAS.

» Explore strategies that SAS could adopt in the future in the HR area.

Contents:

Key Words:

Employee benefits and perks, Employee health and wellness programs, Work/life balance, Flexi-timings, Work place environment, Organizational culture, Responsibility and accountability, Organizational health, Best Companies to Work For, Job satisfaction, Culture audit, Employee turnover, Employer brand, Creativity, Innovation, SAS

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