I WANT TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY
(CBS) If there is a heaven on earth on the job, it is at SAS Institute -- a design for living and working the good life. Morley Safer reports.
It all began 26 years ago, when SAS started distributing free M&M's every Wednesday. Those M&M's grew into a collection of perks so vast that even longtime employees like Mark Britt are slightly astonished.
“Obviously, when you've talked to people who've worked in other places, it's really hard for us to complain. And we catch ourselves sometimes complaining. Then we go, ‘I can't believe I said that,’ says Britt, laughing.
To atone for the M&M's, SAS provides a 50,000 square foot state-of-the art fitness center, where the software programmers and assorted techies can burn fat, pump iron, and shoot pool -- even during working hours.
It's all free, and all designed to keep the SAS workforce happy. Britt, a software developer, has been at the company since 1989.
“I just can't imagine leaving SAS, and I've felt that way for a very long time,” says Britt. “If somebody offered to double my salary, I wouldn't even think about it.”
Like his colleagues, Mark works a flexible schedule. The company encourages people to get their work done in a 35-hour week. Mark adheres strictly to the SAS dress code, which is no code. Laid back is the unofficial posture here, and convenience the motto – along with other perks such as onsite car detailing, a putting green, and, of course, the masseur.
The author of all this pampering is Jim Goodnight, a lanky, laconic billionaire, the co-founder and CEO of SAS.
“What’s wrong with treating your people good?” asks Goodnight. “All I can say is it's worked for us.”
Indeed it has. SAS has never had a losing year and never laid off a single employee. Last year they sold $1 billion worth of their analytical software to America's biggest corporations. This software is sophisticated stuff that helps everyone from Victoria's Secret to the U.S. military work more efficiently, by turning raw data into useful information.
The armies of programmers who churn out the product are paid a competitive wage, but are not offered stock options, because there is no stock. Still, by offering extraordinary perks, SAS keeps turnover low, and a happy, experienced workforce -- 9,000 strong -- keeps customers coming back year after year.
'If the employees are happy, they make the customers happy,” says Goodnight, addresses employees. “If they make the customers happy, they make me happy.'
This simple approach has made Goodnight the wealthiest man in North Carolina. As the founder of a privately held company, he answers to no one -- no shareholders, no board of directors, no clutch of Wall Street analysts.
That hasn't stopped investment bankers from coming to call, wanting him to take his company public. So far, Goodnight has told them, 'Good night.'
“There is no trust anymore in public companies,” says Goodnight. “I think it's an excellent time to be private.”
“You have to have the commitment of the CEO to stick with it. You can't just have a weak quarter and then all of a sudden start bailing out and cutting things. I am basically my own board. So, I don't have to worry about pressure from the board or being fired if I don't improve earnings.”
Goodnight says it's pressure from Wall Street to please shareholders by delivering rising quarterly earnings that has poisoned the corporate well.
“There's no possible way I can tell you what my earnings are going to be to the penny each quarter,” he says. “There's only one way to get there to the penny -- you have to cook the books.”
And walk the walk. The millionaire perpetrator walks can be found all over the evening news. Two WorldCom executives were arrested and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. Meanwhile, the company laid off 26,000 workers.
There’s top brass, like Kenneth Lay of Enron, who’s now tarnished brass.
And there's Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco, John Rigas of Adelphia --- both indicted, both accused of outright theft.
“Given the stuff that's going on right now in corporate America, I don't want to be labeled as a public CEO,” says Goodnight to his employees. “I want people to know I don't have to cheat and lie and all that stuff.”
His style of management flies in the face of a culture of corporate greed. While benefits are shrinking at most corporations, Goodnight offers the kind of perks that working parents dream of. There are SAS Montessori daycare programs that accommodate 850 SAS kids. And the cost is about a third of what it would be in the real world. And in the real world, daycare is not right next door.
And a short walk away is a company cafeteria unlike any other. There’s a little Gershwin to help with digestion, and calm the kids. Somehow, the words to the song 'Someone To Watch Over Me' seems a little redundant.
“Having the children here, it helps ease the stress of juggling everything,” says employee Beverly Dudley. She, along with her husband and daughters, are looked after by the SAS medical staff – including doctors, nurses, and physical therapists -- absolutely free. When a specialist is required, SAS picks up 80 percent of the tab.
But are these perks as altruistic as they appear to be?
“No, we're not altruistic by any stretch of the imagination. This is a for-profit business and we do all these things because it makes good business sense,” says Jeff Chambers, director of human resources at SAS.
Saving from perks like the on-site health care also far exceed the costs.
“The average office visit in our area is probably two hours, door-to-door. We've got data that says we can see somebody and get them back to work in 30 minutes,” adds Chambers. “So we're saving an hour and a half of staff time.”
That's not the only savings. The SAS culture keeps employees content, and keeps them from leaving. On average, software companies turn over more than 20 percent of their employees each year.
PART 2 IN NEXT POST
It all began 26 years ago, when SAS started distributing free M&M's every Wednesday. Those M&M's grew into a collection of perks so vast that even longtime employees like Mark Britt are slightly astonished.
“Obviously, when you've talked to people who've worked in other places, it's really hard for us to complain. And we catch ourselves sometimes complaining. Then we go, ‘I can't believe I said that,’ says Britt, laughing.
To atone for the M&M's, SAS provides a 50,000 square foot state-of-the art fitness center, where the software programmers and assorted techies can burn fat, pump iron, and shoot pool -- even during working hours.
It's all free, and all designed to keep the SAS workforce happy. Britt, a software developer, has been at the company since 1989.
“I just can't imagine leaving SAS, and I've felt that way for a very long time,” says Britt. “If somebody offered to double my salary, I wouldn't even think about it.”
Like his colleagues, Mark works a flexible schedule. The company encourages people to get their work done in a 35-hour week. Mark adheres strictly to the SAS dress code, which is no code. Laid back is the unofficial posture here, and convenience the motto – along with other perks such as onsite car detailing, a putting green, and, of course, the masseur.
The author of all this pampering is Jim Goodnight, a lanky, laconic billionaire, the co-founder and CEO of SAS.
“What’s wrong with treating your people good?” asks Goodnight. “All I can say is it's worked for us.”
Indeed it has. SAS has never had a losing year and never laid off a single employee. Last year they sold $1 billion worth of their analytical software to America's biggest corporations. This software is sophisticated stuff that helps everyone from Victoria's Secret to the U.S. military work more efficiently, by turning raw data into useful information.
The armies of programmers who churn out the product are paid a competitive wage, but are not offered stock options, because there is no stock. Still, by offering extraordinary perks, SAS keeps turnover low, and a happy, experienced workforce -- 9,000 strong -- keeps customers coming back year after year.
'If the employees are happy, they make the customers happy,” says Goodnight, addresses employees. “If they make the customers happy, they make me happy.'
This simple approach has made Goodnight the wealthiest man in North Carolina. As the founder of a privately held company, he answers to no one -- no shareholders, no board of directors, no clutch of Wall Street analysts.
That hasn't stopped investment bankers from coming to call, wanting him to take his company public. So far, Goodnight has told them, 'Good night.'
“There is no trust anymore in public companies,” says Goodnight. “I think it's an excellent time to be private.”
“You have to have the commitment of the CEO to stick with it. You can't just have a weak quarter and then all of a sudden start bailing out and cutting things. I am basically my own board. So, I don't have to worry about pressure from the board or being fired if I don't improve earnings.”
Goodnight says it's pressure from Wall Street to please shareholders by delivering rising quarterly earnings that has poisoned the corporate well.
“There's no possible way I can tell you what my earnings are going to be to the penny each quarter,” he says. “There's only one way to get there to the penny -- you have to cook the books.”
And walk the walk. The millionaire perpetrator walks can be found all over the evening news. Two WorldCom executives were arrested and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. Meanwhile, the company laid off 26,000 workers.
There’s top brass, like Kenneth Lay of Enron, who’s now tarnished brass.
And there's Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco, John Rigas of Adelphia --- both indicted, both accused of outright theft.
“Given the stuff that's going on right now in corporate America, I don't want to be labeled as a public CEO,” says Goodnight to his employees. “I want people to know I don't have to cheat and lie and all that stuff.”
His style of management flies in the face of a culture of corporate greed. While benefits are shrinking at most corporations, Goodnight offers the kind of perks that working parents dream of. There are SAS Montessori daycare programs that accommodate 850 SAS kids. And the cost is about a third of what it would be in the real world. And in the real world, daycare is not right next door.
And a short walk away is a company cafeteria unlike any other. There’s a little Gershwin to help with digestion, and calm the kids. Somehow, the words to the song 'Someone To Watch Over Me' seems a little redundant.
“Having the children here, it helps ease the stress of juggling everything,” says employee Beverly Dudley. She, along with her husband and daughters, are looked after by the SAS medical staff – including doctors, nurses, and physical therapists -- absolutely free. When a specialist is required, SAS picks up 80 percent of the tab.
But are these perks as altruistic as they appear to be?
“No, we're not altruistic by any stretch of the imagination. This is a for-profit business and we do all these things because it makes good business sense,” says Jeff Chambers, director of human resources at SAS.
Saving from perks like the on-site health care also far exceed the costs.
“The average office visit in our area is probably two hours, door-to-door. We've got data that says we can see somebody and get them back to work in 30 minutes,” adds Chambers. “So we're saving an hour and a half of staff time.”
That's not the only savings. The SAS culture keeps employees content, and keeps them from leaving. On average, software companies turn over more than 20 percent of their employees each year.
PART 2 IN NEXT POST
