A few weeks ago, I talked about the problem with “Best Place to Work” lists.

Most of these lists talk about all the stuff these companies do for and give to their employees – the perks. But these perks usually have little to do with why a company rocks.

A great company is defined by it’s culture. While perks may indicate a great culture, but they don’t create one. Culture isn’t about stuff. It’s about behavior. It’s about actions.

Zappos and Culture

I just read a great article in Inc. Magazine about The Zappos Way of Managing. My favorite quote from the article:

That single-minded focus on happiness has led to plenty of accolades for the company, which routinely scores high on lists of the best places to work. But Zappos’s approach to workplace bliss differs significantly from that of other employee-friendly businesses. For one thing, Zappos pays salaries that are often below market rates – the average hourly worker makes just over $23,000 a year.

Though the company covers 100 percent of health care costs, employees are not offered perks found at many companies, such as on-site child care, tuition reimbursement, and a 401(k) match. Zappos does offer free food to its employees, but the pile of cold cuts in the small cafeteria loses its allure faster than you can say Googleplex.

Instead of buying his employees’ loyalty, Hsieh has managed to design a corporate culture that challenges our conception of that tired phrase.

Zappos has an insanely unique culture. I’m by no means suggesting that every organization’s culture should be like theirs. In fact, I’d go so far as to say no organization’s culture should be just like theirs. Their culture is designed around their business – not anyone else’s.

You can learn a lot about culture from Zappos, though. Specifically, you can learn how to build a culture that’s genuine, rich and true to your brand and your organization’s competitive strategies.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: Don’t just try to buy your employees’ loyalty and motivation. Hire, manage and fire people based on corporate values that align with your strategy. Do so consistently and fairly. No exceptions.

Read the full article here