There are four factors that have the strongest influence over work behaviors: job performance, organizational citizenship, absenteeism, and turnover. Every company manages all these factors one way or another, but SAS Institute is a great example of how to maximize the effects of positive factors and minimize the effects of the negative ones.
If you ask what is special about SAS, the answer will probably be: “people enjoy working there”. This answer already explains why their performance is good, why they choose to be good citizens in the workplace, why there are no problems with the absenteeism, and why the turnover rate is so low. But if you dig deeper, the explanation is not as simple as it seems to be.
First of all, let’s think about why poor job performance usually happens. Naturally, all people want to succeed, so what might possibly go wrong? In fact, willing to do a good job is the only thing that depends on the employee. The most frequent reason for poor performance is misunderstanding and unclear instructions, and here the good management system saves the day! Managers from SAS are expected to regularly give constructive feedback and support the employees. They also make sure that workers have all the needed resources to do their job – lack of resources often leads to poor performance but only managers can solve this problem, not employees. Finally, the salaries are always competitive and people in SAS feel that they are valuable and they really make the difference. Everybody wants to be special and needed, even those who will never admit it.
Although being a good citizen in the workplace is better for employees, not all of them choose to be “good”. This choice makes a huge difference and directly affects job performance: sharing information and lending a hand when needed can often help to avoid mistakes and finish projects on time. People in SAS are valuable, they feel comfortable to ask for help or advice, they share new and interesting ideas – in fact, these exact ideas make this organization work. Employees know that they are trusted and can decide, when they can have a break or when it is time to work more. It makes them more loyal and productive: all people are different, some can work several hours without a break and finish the task fast to be able to spend more time using other campus facilities (like a swimming pool or a gym), others need to have short breaks every 30 minutes – some mental rest helps them to concentrate later. Knowing, that you can rest when you need makes you feel comfortable and you actually want to pay back by being a “good citizen”.
Absenteeism might become a real problem for a company if employees feel too stressed, bored, or tired. First of all, stress and exhaustion can lead to health problems. Another issue is that if the employees have these feelings, they will perform poorly, try to find as many excuses for absence as they can, and soon decide to change their job (or get fired). SAS has a very good and clear attendance policy: 35 hours a week, freedom, unlimited sick leave, childcare, and many others. Managers often perform surveys to understand, if the employees are satisfied with their job and how to make a workplace even more comfortable and stress-free. In one of the interviews, Mr. Goodnight mentioned that if he had a chance to change something about his past, he would not work as much as he used to and would spend more time with his kids. This leads to another important statement: “People want a life with money, not money without life” (Crowley, 2013).
The facts say, that every time you need to hire a new worker, you lose not only time but also money and an already trained employee. That is why a high rate of turnover can become a real problem for any company. Nobody wants to lose money, so there are several techniques to lessen the employees’ turnover; though SAS brought it to a new level – employees simply are not willing to leave the company! Stress is one of the most common reasons for the high turnover. Managers from SAS are trying to get rid of any stress that could possibly appear at work. Some other people leave their jobs because they can’t stand their co-workers or even managers… and this situation has incredibly small chances to happen – SAS is famous for its friendly atmosphere, managers are always there to lend a hand if employees feel tired or stressed they always can have some time in a break room or somewhere else in the campus. “I’m never gonna leave SAS, just bury me here. I’m just gonna stay here forever!” (Dyck, Neubert, 2009, p. 356).
References
Bruno Dyck, Mitchell Neubert. (2009). Management: Current Practices and New Directions. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2010). Management Principles, v. 1.1. Retrieved from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/management-principles-v1.1/s06-02-personality-and-values.html
DrRickHoefer. (2012, May 20). How To Decrease Staff Turnover. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQqhsNsfWmc
Gil Press. (2017). The Ultimate Entrepreneur: Jim Goodnight, SAS. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2017/09/27/the-ultimate-entrepreneur-jim-goodnight-sas/#10f76988662a
HR AHC. (2018, February 6). Managing Employee Absenteeism. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_-5uRPm7o
iQmetrixCorp. (2012, February 7). Reducing Employee Turnover Rate. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORXxnuRie34
Leigh Buchanan. (2011). How SAS Continues to Grow. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/magazine/201109/inc-500-james-goodnight-sas.html
Mark C. Crowley. (2013). How SAS Became The World’s Best Place To Work. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3004953/how-sas-became-worlds-best-place-work
Patrick Schwerdtfeger. (2014, March 23). Management Skills: How to Improve Employee Performance. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEWYVhMRNn8
TEDx Talks. (2013, June 10). Citizenship at Work: Bret Simmons at TEDxReno. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhPsKcuTkLs