No Layoffs ... Ever!

15 of the 100 Top Companies to work for according to Fortune Magazine have never had a layoff. Never! How do they do it? How can they possibly stay in business?

You can read the whole article here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/pf/jobs/1101/gallery.no_layoffs.fortune/index.html , but if you'd rather get just some tidbits and commentary, read on.

• SAS instituted hiring freezes in all but growth positions to save money. Hmm! Lots of other companies instituted hiring freezes, period.
• Wegman's Foods has never had a layoff even when they have closed a store. Instead, it has kept the employees and retrained them for other positions. Management says that they would rather retain trained staff than have to invest in new hires later.
• Nugget Market offered more hours rather than hiring additional associates during the recession. They promote from within. Now, there's a concept.
• At Scottrade, the CEO says, "Scottrade is committed to sharing its profits with associates and, of course, keeping them employed and providing opportunities for advancement.
• Stew Leonard's finds work internally for employees who are no longer needed, even if it is as offbeat as painting old machinery so that it will look better. Management cites the workforce as having come up with many of the ideas for cost containment.
• The Container Store faced a difficult business decision where the solution for most companies would have been layoffs. According to CEO Kip Tindell: "While conventional wisdom may tell us downsizing automatically drives a company's stock price higher and increases productivity, it actually doesn't. Layoffs take a huge lasting toll on morale and productivity in the workplace. Laying off people is not the best way, it's the easy [emphasis added] way."

There are almost ten more stories about these companies. All are successful. All keep their employees happy. And, none have done layoffs. EVER!

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