Zappos' Values-Based Culture

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"I don’t think the Zappos culture can or should be cloned, but I do think the idea of being transparent and running a business based on core values and a meaningful vision that’s not just about money or profits can work for any organization. It doesn't really matter what the core values are, as long as the entire organization commits to those core values. The most important thing in any large organization is alignment (around values and vision)." ¹

- Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos, in 2009

"The Zappos call center is unlike any other I’ve seen and I’ve been in thousands. From the outside, it appears disorganized, but it is not. What holds it together is the corporate values they all have. They understand why they are in business and what it takes to keep a customer. It’s about being authentic and empathetic. As Tony Hsieh says, culture drives service. It starts with the culture, not service policies." ²

- Mary Murcott, head of Performance Transformation³ in 2010.

Zappos was founded in 1999 when there were very few online shoe retailers. The company differentiated itself from other e-retailers by providing customer friendly services like free shipping both ways and a 365-day returns policy. The service representatives at Zappos went out of their way to help the customers, and strove to delight them. The highly motivated staff was able to provide high levels of customer service due to the prevailing culture in the company, where employees were provided with a working environment which helped them realize their potential. According to Tony Hsieh (Hsieh),⁷ CEO of Zappos, "The key to superb customer service lies in the brilliant company culture of Zappos... when the company treats the employees superbly, the employees don’t want to let the company down."⁸

The culture at Zappos was defined in terms of ten core values to which the company was highly committed. The HR policies and practices were designed to reward behaviors that reflected the core values, which helped the company strengthen its unique culture. To maintain such a culture, it was important for Zappos to recruit people whose purpose was similar to that of the company. So apart from technical interviews, prospective candidates were screened based on their suitability to Zappos’ culture and values.

Delighting Customers and Employees Contd... - Next Pages >>

1] Conversations on Culture, An interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, DMI News & Views, September 2009.
2] Glenn Rifkin, "Zappos Races Ahead," Briefings on Talent and Leadership, The Korn / Ferry Institute, Q2, 2010.
3] Performance transformation LLC is a customer-experience consulting firm in Dallas, USA.
4] Research and Education arm of National Retail Federation.
5] Consumers all across the US were surveyed in the annual survey of consumers' attitudes towards customer service provided by the retailers across the country.
6] US -based global marketing information services company J D Power and Associates evaluated companies based on people, presentation, price, product, and process. Only 40 of the 800 surveyed brands made it to the list.
7] Hsieh is pronounced as "Shay"
8] "Use One of this HR Policies and it will Change your Company Fortunes", www.zhihoachen.com, December 31, 2010.

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