The WOW! Buzz

Imagine my surprise when I was invited to become the ‘Culture Editor’ for the new blog on our company website… when most of my peers know I only just registered for a Facebook page. I don’t tweet, am barely LinkedIn and am only slightly aware there are Blogs out there. Sure I’ve read ‘em. Participate? Never.

Okay, I thought to myself, focusing on the role of ‘Editor.’ Someone must have heard about my minor in Journalism. I asked around. Nope. Only the manager who hired me nine years ago knows anything specific on my resume. So why, I wondered, would I be asked to be a Culture Editor for a medium I know next to nothing about? Maybe the keyword is Culture. Hmmm – I am a Director in the Human Resources Department. Aha! The light bulb went on.

Do I appreciate the culture at WOW? As a human resources professional for the past 20+ years, you bet your last paycheck I do. I consider working in MY field at a company like WOW! to be the gift I will never take for granted in my career. So I followed my journalism-honed instincts and decide to gather some firsthand facts.

> Fact: I was at the leadership meeting when we selected the 4 core values that would define our management approach: Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Servanthood.

> Fact: I have nine years of experience watching a company grow from 60 employees to 1300 employees and in the last 5 years I watched WOW! earn 10 J.D. Power and Associates awards for Customer Satisfaction.

> Fact: I know in my heart it is our commitment to Servanthood that drives our employees’ eagerness to create the customer experiences that earn those awards.

> Fact: We faced an incredibly tough budget process for 2009, following the economic crash at the end of 2008; we had to make some sacrifices this year that affected everyone in the company. We did not cut out the line items dedicated to rewarding and recognizing employee performance and accomplishments.

Next I wondered how employees were feeling about WOW! after three-quarters of this really tough year, and I did what every good human resources manager would do: I sent out a survey. I asked employees on a voluntary, anonymous basis this question:
“If you like working for WOW!, please let us know (in order) the reason you like working here.” I gave them six choices: Compensation, Benefits, My Boss, My Team, The Overall Company Culture and ‘Other.’

It was my guess that our overall culture would be more important to our employees than their benefits or even their compensation. The chart you see below is the result.

Almost half (204) of all responders picked Overall Culture as the #1 reason they like working here. Our employees’ responses are the ‘proof in the pudding’ that culture can drive performance. I invite you to learn more about our culture by finding your way here again next week.

You know what? I think being Culture Editor for the WOW! Blog is going to be fun.

- Sherry Zachary, Director of Human Resources, Field Operations