All Best Practices
The 'Pre-Kool Aid' Interview
by Chris Morris Monday Jan 11, 2010In the highly competitive world of video game makers, CEO Mike Capps (pictured right) knows that his ideas for employee retention aren’t enough to keep rival developers from cherry picking his top talent. That's why he picks the brains of prospective and new employees: to learn about and adopt the best management practices used by other development studios. As a result, Epic's voluntary turnover has been less than 1% over the past seven years.
The One-Hour Board Meeting
by Kim Girard Wednesday Dec 9, 2009As the CEO of a small but growing business, Benjamin Wayne has his hands full. To get the most out of his four-member board of directors, Wayne limits each meeting to a one-hour discussion of one or two strategic challenges facing the company. The result: He gets the expertise he needs from his directors to help run his business.
The $100K Referral Bonus
by Kim Girard Tuesday Dec 1, 2009Most companies skimp on employee referral bonuses — despite research that shows retention rates are much higher when referrals come from a trusted source, such as an employee, friend or business acquaintance. ghSmart pays a whopping $100,000 referral bonus — deferred over nine years — that has dramatically boosted talent and retention rates.
Always-On Customer Feedback
by Kim Girard Monday Nov 30, 2009The company has 42-inch displays in its lobby and break room that flash real-time data on sales, searches, and customer surveys and ratings. The system has helped 4Imprint CEO Kevin Lyons-Tarr improve service daily and boost customer loyalty annually.
The Succession Coach
by Kim Girard Tuesday Nov 24, 2009When founder Michael Powell decided several years ago that his just-out-of-college daughter, Emily, would succeed him in running the company, he brought in Mark Green, former director of Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program, to bring her up to speed — but with sufficient time to develop the skills and earn the respect
The No-B.S. CEO Bonus
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009A simple and strict executive pay policy. CEO William Hickey takes home cash bonuses only when he hits a variety of important financial benchmarks, not just sales or share price. In 2007, Hickey received a performance-based bonus of $460,000. In 2008, when the economy tanked, he got zilch.
The ‘Daily Download’
by Jeff Davis Friday Nov 13, 2009Each morning before the opening shift at most Apple Retail Stores, store managers call staffers together for a short, all-hands briefing called the “Daily Download.” Managers call out highlights and star performers from the previous day, and hand out new assignments to mobilize staff around key goals.
The Employee ‘Birthday Breakfast’
by Susanna Hamner Friday Nov 13, 2009Who hasn’t been dragged from their cube or office to go wolf down a piece of bad cake for the obligatory office birthday party? At Cisco, CEO John Chambers makes employee birthdays actually worth celebrating. Once a month, Chambers hosts an hour-long breakfast attended by as many as 1,000 employees born that month. The agenda: an open-ended Q&A session with Chambers. Since Chambers started these 13 years ago, the breakfasts have become the primary means through which employees stay in close touch with the top boss — and a great feedback channel for Chambers.
The Talent Dashboard
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009Project managers and engineers at Aldridge are the rock stars who make or break the business. But when turnover among its top performers became a big problem, the company overhauled the way it spots and rewards its best employees. It now combines evaluation software and tools with peer and performance rankings to identify the keepers — and weed out laggards.
A Smart Start for New Hires
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009Training new employees consumes time and money. For DDI, the investment in its new managers and salespeople was taking as long as three years to pay off. So the company implemented a six-week orientation and training program that teaches fresh recruits not only the necessary jobs skills but also the networking skills to help them advance in their own careers. The company is on track for new hires to become fully productive within 18 months.
