Delivering Happiness – Building a Committed Team
through Loyalty
Hollie Delaney
Human Resources Director
hdelaney@zappos.com
Twitter.com/hollied
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A little about me…
• Joined Zappos in
2006
• 14 years in Human
Resources in a
variety of
industries.
• Currently oversee
the major HR
Functions
Recruiting
HR Admin
Benefits
HR
Employee
Relations
ZCON
PEACE
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How we built a committed team.
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Step 1: Defining Our Values
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
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Step 2: Committing to our Values
Recruiting
Onboarding
Employee Relations
Hire slowly, fire quickly
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What are we looking for?
Technical fit
– Do you have the technical skills to do the job?
– Skills & Experience assessments
Culture fit
– Do you have the same values we do?
– Culture assessments
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Cultural Assessment #1:
The Core Values Interview
Deliver Wow Through Service: Can you roll the way
Zappos does?
Be Adventurous, Creative and Open Minded: Do
you feel lucky!?
Be Fun and a Little Weird: You gotta be, but don’t
get crazy…
Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit:Workin’ 9 to
5?
http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values
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Cultural Assessment #2:
Shake ‘em up before you sit ‘em
down!
“A Three Hour Tour”
What’s your theme song?
New York City or Cher’s
dressing room?
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Cultural Assessment #4:
It never stops!
New Hire Training
• 4 hours vs. 4 weeks
• Extension of our
screening process
• Pay to Quit
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Employee Relations:
Zappos Style
We act as true advisors and
explain the risk around
situations.
HR is NOT the
FINAL SAY
The manager is free to take or
NOT take our advice.
Regardless of their decision, we
will support them in the
execution of that decision.
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How do we get away with it?
Build relationships
with each
department
Spend part of our
time sitting with
the teams we
support
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There through the good
and the bad
•Regular lunches with
Managers
•Sponsored shots at
quarterly recognition happy
hours
•Organize team building
events
•Work with Pipeline team to
create and teach
management development
classes
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What performance reviews?
NO
standardized/
scheduled/
homogenized &
pasteurized
Performance
Appraisals
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Cultural Assessment
•Yearly
assessment
•Conducted by
manager
•Based on our
Core Values
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Please refer to our written policies
and procedures….
•Collaborate across different
departments
•Solicit employee feedback
•Build from the ground up
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Employee Handbook: Zappos Style!
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Employee Handbook: Zappos Style!
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Step 3: Making Culture Everyone’s
Job
Performance
Reviews: 100%
based on culture
fit.
Everyone’s job is to
embrace and drive
the culture.
Took the red tape
and turned it into a
green light.
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Step 4: Trust and Transparency
•
•
•
•
•
•
Employee Surveys
Culture Book
OCM Notes
Sales Reports
Ask Anything
Media
• Twitter
• Distribution Lists
• Create policies
around the rule not
the exception.
“Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly,
and they will show themselves great.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Step 5: Creating a Vision
Motivation vs. Inspiration
Questions we asked ourselves:
Does our vision have
meaning?
What is the greater
purpose for our
employees outside of
just money and
profits?
How do we inspire
our team instead of
just motivating them?
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Evolution of the Zappos Vision
Best
Customer
Service
Best
Selection
of Shoes
Best
Place to
Work
Delivering Happiness
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Step 6: Infusing
culture and fun
into our
workplace.
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Fun-ctional Work Spaces
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Events
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P.E.A.C.E.
Programs
Engagement
Events
P.E.A.C.E.
Charity
Activities
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Programs
Core Value
Co-Worker Bonus
Zollar Store
Anniversary
Wishez
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Step 8: Know your Team/Build
Relationships
Managers spend 10-20% of their time with
employees.
ZCN Clubs
Committees
Team Building
Happy Hours
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Commitment in Action
“What is truer than truth? The story.”
Jewish Proverb
Want to learn more?
Experience Zappos firsthand
with Zappos Insights
•Request a tour of our
Nevada office
•Get a complimentary
Culture Book
•Sign up for Boot Camp
hdelaney@zappos.com
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Legal and Financial Disclaimer
P.S. You might be wondering why we need to have a legal and financial disclaimer in this presentation, but you are still
reading, so our lawyers, auditors and accountants would really like to make sure we make the following clarifications.
Although an audit was underway and almost done, the financial information presented in this slide show was unaudited. We
made every effort to present the best information we had at the time.
Gross merchandise sales is a non-GAAP metric. We use it to express the total demand across all of our web sites and stores.
This number measures the dollar value of the orders placed in the year before accruing for certain items such as returns, and it
ignores certain timing cut-offs that are required by GAAP for revenue recognition purposes. If we were a public company, we
would have to reconcile gross merchandise sales to the nearest GAAP metric (net sales), but we are currently a private
company so the gross merchandise sales number should be viewed just as an interesting number that we want to share with
our friends.
This presentation contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they
ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements and assumptions. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of
economic slowdown, the risk of over or underbuying, the risk of consumers not shopping online or at our web site at the rate
we expected, the risk of supplier shortages, the risk of new or growing competition, the risk of a natural or some other type of
disaster affecting our fulfillment operations or web servers, and the risk of the world generally coming to an end. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements,
including statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Zappos.com
assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Congratulations on making it through all the fine print. If you enjoy fine print, look for openings on our legal and finance team
at jobs.zappos.com.
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