To Have Happy Customers, You Need Happy Employees. The Zappos Way.

Expodcast 35:  From Stephan Vincent and originally published at expodcast.com

A few years ago Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh boldly reshaped his company in a way that the musicians of a string quartet would find familiar. In place of the traditional manager-led structure, he embraced a flat and self-managed organizational model called holacracy. It was a radical step, and Hsieh has gotten a lot of criticism for it—in particular, that employees have become confused amid the rapid pace and complexity of the implementation. As a matter of fact, Zappos simplify by focusing on just three core responsibilities of self-management.

– Everyone is responsible for understanding their role, how it fits with the roles of others on the team, and how that changes.
– Everyone is responsible for both leading and supporting.
– Everyone is responsible for communicating clearly and efficiently.

This week my guest is Jamie Naughton, Chief of Staff at Zappos, the well known online retailer based in Las Vegas.

Today with Jamie we will talk about:
– Why Zappos moved from a traditional management structure to holacracy.
– What holacracy is really about.
– What adjustments/improvements the company made along the way.
– What it’s like to work at Zappos.
– What characteristics they look for in candidates given its unique culture.
– How Zappos bring its community engagement and purpose to life.

Note: you can follow Jamie on LinkedIn, Twitter and Zappos on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is brought to you by Fusion Alliance. Fusion Alliance delivers holistic solutions fusing together data, digital and technology to redefine customer experiences and move your ideas to execution. That’s why businesses across multiple industries have relied on Fusion’s expertise and partnership for over 25 years.

If you want to send me feedback, suggestions for future topics or guests, you can reach me at [email protected] or on Twitter @eX_Summit.

Thanks for listening.

Republished with permission from the author.

Featured Image/graphic link added by Enlivening Edge Magazine from [email protected].