Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, was determined to build Zappos with the belief that if you get the culture right, most everything else will fall into place. The culture that he builtis a unique one. Imagine working in an environment where employees are recruited and trained for the culture, employees from top to bottom are encouraged to have fun, work hard, and support one another, and there is a sense of family, friends, and community at work. Also imagine an environment where employees are focused and productive, but also enjoy a relaxed environment with free lunch, snacks, and ice cream, the freedom to decorate their work stations in creative ways, and there are parades and numerous other forms of celebrations. Add the fact that employees are empowered to make creative decisions and to ‘‘wow’’ customers by going the extra mile and you have a glimpse of the Zappos culture. The Zappos culture might sound interesting and a little zany, but not practical, except that Zappos has grown at an exceptional rate from $8 million to over $1 Billion in sales in just 8 years. Employee turnover has been at about 7% in an industry where turnover averages over 150%. Over 75% of orders are from repeat customers. Fortune Magazine has consistently ranked Zappos in the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Because of its reputation, Zappos receives hundreds of applications for every open position. For example, in the call center, the applications are capped at 200 which often occurs within a few hours of the job posting.
