Through Zappos, Hsieh wanted to develop a company where the culture would be a differentiating factor and a competitive advantage. He wanted to build a team of like-minded people who would enjoy working together and also hang out together. According to Hsieh, apart from factors like salary, other aspects like role, kind of work, growth, learning, and fun were also important to keep the employees motivated and to achieve long-term commitment..

Human Resource and Organization Behavior Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations, Strategies, Business Environment, Case Studies

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CULTURE OF SERVICE

Zappos was known for the ‘insane’ and ‘fanatical’ lengths it went to please its customers. Every employee was expected to deliver ‘WOW’ service as the company believed that such a service would result in word of mouth publicity that would reach everyone associated with the business – the customers, workers, vendors, partners, and investors....

SUSTAINING THE CULTURE

The pipeline strategy at Zappos started in 2004 when the company moved to Las Vegas. The management found it challenging to move its merchandisers and buyers to the new place. Thus, a lot of vacant positions emerged. To cope with the problem, Zappos decided to start a pipeline strategy....

TIME FOR CHANGE

As the company grew bigger and bigger, the founders started deliberating on ways to sustain the culture that had been built up over the years. Zappos also found it had problems retaining talent, as several of its engineers moved to companies in Silicon Valley. Nor was it able to attract talent...

HOLACRACY AT ZAPPOS

Brian Robertson, a serial software entrepreneur, founded the Holacracy concept when he realized he was ‘more interested in how we worked together’ than in his own job. Holacracy referred to a culture that focused more on the work to be done rather the people who carried out the work. A holacractic company expected its employees to work for multiple teams called circles..

LOOKING AHEAD

Zappos, with 3000 employees, became the largest organization to implement the Holacracy model. In early 2015, Hsieh announced the creation of a new circle called ‘reinventing yourself’ to help managers assume new roles. On Holacracy at Zappos, Delaney said, “People who are accustomed to making decisions are learning to trust others to pick up authority. And people who are less accustomed to making decisions are building confidence and the ability to make and communicate decisions.”.

EXHIBITS

Exhibit I: Zappos – Core Values
Exhibit II: Holacracy Constitution