Culture at SAS Institute - The World’s Largest Private Software Company

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EXCERPTS

Thus, right at the time SAS Inc. was set up, Goodnight designed a work culture which was unique and worthy of appreciation. As the company grew, he kept adding benefits and perks for the employees. Free Mars & Murrie candies, fresh fruits, drinks, parties, and picnics were all part of the attractive benefits that the employees were offered in addition to a balanced work-life culture. The employees were free to innovate and explore their ideas and creativity to come up with new ideas; they were not monitored or controlled. The culture at SAS was all pervasive, and there were no specific manuals about it....

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SAS valued the family life of its employees and realized its impact on their work performance. The company believed that the productivity of people was affected when they found it difficult to balance family related responsibilities with those of the workplace. Hence, SAS had provided an environment in which the employees were able to maintain a work-life balance...

The recruitment process at SAS was believed to be one of the key factors responsible for the success of the organization. A lot of importance was paid to the hiring process. Very strict selection criteria were used and only the best talent got hired. The hiring sometimes took several months to finalize. The hiring process was designed to ensure that the prospective employee could fit in with the culture of the organization...

The idea of creating a Hub was conceived during a discussion related to internal communication. Karen Lee, (Senior Director of Internal Communications at SAS), stated, “When we looked at the big picture, we had a lot of communications channels. Employees even said we have too much out there resulting in the need to search for information in 3 or 4 places. Then it dawned on me – ‘we need a Facebook for SAS.’ After realizing the importance and benefits of an internal social platform, Karen Lee along with her team started working on the executing the plan...

Even during the 2008 recession period, SAS, unlike other software companies, did not announce any layoffs or any reduction in the benefit packages offered to employees. Goodnight, however, urged his employees to be careful about the spending so as to control costs. With job security during the recession period being assured, the committed employees put in their best efforts to make a remarkable profit in 2009, keeping the 33- year record of profit making at SAS intact. The solution for cost control came in a different way – there were no recruitments done during that slowdown period. Also, meetings were conducted through video conferencing, which led to a reduction in travel expenditure...

Exhibit I:Fortune - Best Companies to Work for - 2014

Exhibit II:SAS Ranking on Fortune’s list

Exhibit III:SAS – Perks provided to Employees