https://padlet.com/juhijoseph11/2l9f0yy1301ridvs Case 4 en-us 2021-08-18 16:08:56 UTC 2022-09-15 06:07:33 UTC hello@padlet.com juhijoseph11 https://padlet.com/juhijoseph11/2l9f0yy1301ridvs/wish/1684391738 Zingerman’s, a world- famous community of businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, enables employee thriving at work. Found ers Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw had a vision to make a positive diff erence to customers and the community, but also build a great place to work. They crafted a wide range of strategies, even going so far as to create their own training company, to hold them accountable for living out their mission. A visit to any Zingerman’s business clearly shows employees are thriving at work.
This living policy of employee thriving has served all well. Zingerman’s revenue has been growing, achieving $45 million in 2012. The company’s leaders credit the thriving environment they have created as a key factor in their success.

Weinzweig and Saginaw adopted the principles of open- book management. They hold regular “huddles,” which are weekly gatherings around a whiteboard at which teams track results. They “keep score” and forecast the next week’s numbers. Not only do the team members track financial per formance, but they also keep a pulse on service, food quality, and check averages. They also track “fun,” which could mean anything from weekly contests to raise customer satisfaction or generate employees’ ideas for innovation. This information transparency helps motivate employees to continually improve. 

Armed with this information, Weinzweig and Saginaw believe employees will make better decisions. Zingerman’s provides employees with decision-making discretion. They are encouraged to share ideas with top leaders and are expected to be proactive in interactions with customers, especially in the rare need for service recovery. Zingerman’s is structured to be a flexible hierarchy, allowing employees to learn and to grow continually.

Another core value is to minimize episodes of incivility, stressing that leaders need to treat employees in the same way they expect customers to be treated. Employing principles of servant leadership, they have built a civil environment where leaders set the tone and serve as role models. Managers are taught how to deal with employee issues so that conflict is resolved. At the end of each meeting, managers and others take time to express appreciation to employees. Employees are encouraged
to keep their own pulse and their group’s energy by doing regular energy assessments.

Finally, Zingerman’s provides feedback to enable employees thriving. Examples include open- book management and the creation of various “mini games,” which are short-term incentive plans involving goals, scorecards, and rewards to fix a problem or capitalize on an opportunity. For example, Zingerman’s Road house created the “greeter game” to track how long it takes for customers to be  welcomed. Other Zingerman’s businesses started similar games to improve delivery time, reduce knife injuries in the bakery (which would lower insurance costs), and keep kitchens cleaner. These games help to highlight issues and motivate employees to improve scores. Overall, they have increased frontline employees’
learning and energy.]]> 2021-08-18 16:12:44 UTC https://padlet.com/juhijoseph11/2l9f0yy1301ridvs/wish/1684391738