March 2, 2016
Zappos employees Leap (Day) for joy
Apple used to tell people to “Think different.” Zappos.com may have taken inspiration from that because pretty much everything the company does seems to be different. The latest case in point is the decision by the company to close down on Feb. 29 (AKA Leap Day) to allow its employees to “do something big, something they’ve always wanted to do.” It also started a petition on Change.org to make Leap Day a federal holiday. (23,000+ have signed on so far.)
There will be some who say Zappos’ actions were intended as a public relations ploy and nothing else. If so, congratulations — mission accomplished. But the fact that the company closed its call center operations for a full day, something it reportedly has never done before, suggests the action was also intended as an employee morale building exercise, as well.
Numerous reports have been published about grumbling within Zappos over the company’s Holocracy organizational structure. Quartz reported in January that 18 percent of employees accepted a buyout offer and left the company rather than stay and work within the new model, which seeks to eliminate all workplace hierarchy.
Somewhat hidden in all the other Zappos Leap Day news was the announcement that the company extended its 365-day return policy (for a 24-hour period starting on Feb. 29) to 1,461 days. The company offered the concession to customers who may have felt inconvenienced by its decision to close its call center on Leap Day.
“Giving our leap year customers 1,461 days to return, or more simply put, four years, seemed like a great way to celebrate Leap Year,” said Matt Burchard, senior director of marketing for Zappos, in a statement. “It also felt like the right thing to do given that our standard return policy goes by date of purchase.”
Editor’s Postscript: Keeping with its being-different mantra, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh officiated at the wedding of two of the company’s employees on Leap Day.
- Zappos.com celebrates Leap Year; Extends 365-day return policy – Zappos.com
- Make Leap Day a federal holiday! – Change.org
- Zappos.com gives employees paid day off for Leap Day – WMAR
- This Company is Shutting Down for Leap Day – Fortune
- Not everyone at Zappos loves Holocracy – RetailWire
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com – Photo: Zappos.com
BrainTrust
Shep Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
Patricia Vekich Waldron
Contributing Editor, RetailWire; Founder and CEO, Vision First
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What does Zappos’ decision to close for Leap Day say to its employees? What can other retailers learn from Zappos’ actions in breaking from the norm?
Poll
Closing for Leap Day is consistent with Zappos’ culture of doing it differently. Giving employees a day off to do something big speaks to Zappos’ interest in their employees and something bigger than just business profits.
Other retailers can learn from the cultural impact that changes like this can have on the employees and customers. Additionally, these actions to break the norm have also generated a great deal of PR that can be helpful for any business.
Breaking from the norm builds corporate culture and reputation. These are much needed in most retail businesses.
I wrote an article years ago titled “Looking for Best Practice Isn’t the Best Practice.” You don’t need to read the article to know what was in it, and the point seems to apply here.
As Joy notes above, the Leap Day thing was a manifestation of the Zappos culture. Mechanistically copying the idea when it’s not a natural expression of one’s corporate culture would be a foolish decision and would backfire. What you “do” has to be a congruent expression of who you “are.”
Furthermore, I think the “holocracy” model is how nature would design an organizational structure. It is how nature works and, actually, it’s how the internet works as well. The problem IMHO, lay in the implementation. Imposing holocracy is an oxymoron. It has to evolve out of the people and slowly. When people plan the battle, they don’t battle the plan. All of us were raised to be obedient to the hierarchies of our lives and when someone comes along to free us we don’t quite know what to do. A bunch of Zappos employees couldn’t handle the freedom. Most people can’t handle the freedom. The sad thing is that is how we are meant to live and it’s the only way to fulfill our highest possibilities. It’s the role of leadership to show the way. At least Zappos’ leadership tried.
What’s the lesson for other retailers? Take a hard look at what your current culture actually and naturally produces. What energy and innovation do you see? If there is little to see, the problem can’t be solved by looking around for another company’s Best Practice.
In the same way that REI “owned” Black Friday online by closing stores, Zappos turned a calendar anomaly into a great employee morale booster, and demonstrated consistent company brand messaging. Big respect to Tony Hsieh for keeping it fun even after the holocratic-haters have picked on him for months.
Similar to what REI did on Black Friday, Zappos has given Leap Year an employee-focused spin. This sends a positive message to employees. It emphasizes the Zappos culture.
One thing I would consider, as not to inconvenience employees, would be to have an outside firm answer the phone or respond when a customer wanted to connect. I can see a message that says that Zappos is closed for the day but has outside support. If the customer needs immediate attention, there is backup. If the customer can wait, they can interact with a Zappos employee the next day.
Zappos’ message is, “we believe in you and want you to know how important you are to us.” Zappos is what Donald Trump has become to politics. No, I do not support him at all. But his message is resonating to those looking for something the party has not been able to deliver. In this case, Zappos is showing retailers a new way to exhibit loyalty to their employees. Because it is a thought outside the box, other retailers will “pooh pooh” it as a ludicrous idea and continue with the tried-and-true past method of hire: don’t train, give nothing and then re-hire after they leave.
This move was designed to delight Zappos’ associates, just like they delight their customers. Savvy, smart and unique — staying true to their brand promise.
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Closing for Leap Day is consistent with Zappos’ culture of doing it differently. Giving employees a day off to do something big speaks to Zappos’ interest in their employees and something bigger than just business profits.
Other retailers can learn from the cultural impact that changes like this can have on the employees and customers. Additionally, these actions to break the norm have also generated a great deal of PR that can be helpful for any business.
Breaking from the norm builds corporate culture and reputation. These are much needed in most retail businesses.
I wrote an article years ago titled “Looking for Best Practice Isn’t the Best Practice.” You don’t need to read the article to know what was in it, and the point seems to apply here.
As Joy notes above, the Leap Day thing was a manifestation of the Zappos culture. Mechanistically copying the idea when it’s not a natural expression of one’s corporate culture would be a foolish decision and would backfire. What you “do” has to be a congruent expression of who you “are.”
Furthermore, I think the “holocracy” model is how nature would design an organizational structure. It is how nature works and, actually, it’s how the internet works as well. The problem IMHO, lay in the implementation. Imposing holocracy is an oxymoron. It has to evolve out of the people and slowly. When people plan the battle, they don’t battle the plan. All of us were raised to be obedient to the hierarchies of our lives and when someone comes along to free us we don’t quite know what to do. A bunch of Zappos employees couldn’t handle the freedom. Most people can’t handle the freedom. The sad thing is that is how we are meant to live and it’s the only way to fulfill our highest possibilities. It’s the role of leadership to show the way. At least Zappos’ leadership tried.
What’s the lesson for other retailers? Take a hard look at what your current culture actually and naturally produces. What energy and innovation do you see? If there is little to see, the problem can’t be solved by looking around for another company’s Best Practice.
In the same way that REI “owned” Black Friday online by closing stores, Zappos turned a calendar anomaly into a great employee morale booster, and demonstrated consistent company brand messaging. Big respect to Tony Hsieh for keeping it fun even after the holocratic-haters have picked on him for months.
Similar to what REI did on Black Friday, Zappos has given Leap Year an employee-focused spin. This sends a positive message to employees. It emphasizes the Zappos culture.
One thing I would consider, as not to inconvenience employees, would be to have an outside firm answer the phone or respond when a customer wanted to connect. I can see a message that says that Zappos is closed for the day but has outside support. If the customer needs immediate attention, there is backup. If the customer can wait, they can interact with a Zappos employee the next day.
Zappos’ message is, “we believe in you and want you to know how important you are to us.” Zappos is what Donald Trump has become to politics. No, I do not support him at all. But his message is resonating to those looking for something the party has not been able to deliver. In this case, Zappos is showing retailers a new way to exhibit loyalty to their employees. Because it is a thought outside the box, other retailers will “pooh pooh” it as a ludicrous idea and continue with the tried-and-true past method of hire: don’t train, give nothing and then re-hire after they leave.
This move was designed to delight Zappos’ associates, just like they delight their customers. Savvy, smart and unique — staying true to their brand promise.