Page 68 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Built to Serve

Regardless of their reasons for departing, we try to
interview each team member prior to that individual’s

leaving our company. More than a decade ago, while
serving as leader of our human resources team, I
found almost all of the conversations were tied to the

company’s intangible benefits. In other words, hourly
pay, auto allowances, and bonus compensation were
rarely what people wanted to talk about—despite
their importance.
Instead, from those who were moving toward

something, such as a new career after graduation, we
regularly heard about our family-oriented culture, the
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= lifelong friendships forged at work, and the sense of

accomplishment that came from taking care of our
guests in stores. For those who were running from
something, such as disappointment in the leader or
some type of workplace personality conflict, we regu-
larly heard about a failure to connect with the vision

and the mission.
A great deal has happened around the world and
especially in America since the early 1990s, but the

leader of our human resources (now called talent man-
agement) team reminds our leaders regularly intangi-
bles cannot be underestimated because of the impact
they have on predictable behavior.