preview

Sas Hr Policy

Better Essays

Founded in 1976 by Dr. James Goodnight and Dr. John Sall, both professors at North Carolina State University, SAS Institute, Inc. provides business intelligence (BI) software and services at more than 40,000 customer sites worldwide, including 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. SAS, which stands for “statistical analysis software,” is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest privately held software company, having over 100 offices worldwide with approximately 10,000 employees. With an unbroken record of growth and profitability, SAS had revenue of $1.18 billion in 2002 and invested about 25 percent of revenues into research and development. (1) The phenomenal success story of SAS is, in no small part, due to …show more content…

Satisfied employees make for satisfied customers, and satisfied customers make for an ongoing stream of revenue and profits for SAS. SAS’s leaders recognize both the benefits and costs associated with keeping employees satisfied. One of the most significant benefits for SAS is a very low annual turnover rate. The company’s turnover rate is less than four percent, as compared to approximately 25 percent for the industry as a whole. This low turnover saves the company about $70 million annually in employee replacement costs. (14) On the cost side, of course, is the company’s monetary outlay for the various programs. David Russo, the human resources director, argues that the employee replacement cost savings more than pays for the company’s generous benefits. “That’s the beauty of it,” says Russo. “There’s no way I could spend all the money we save.” (15) Perhaps of more concern on the “cost side” is the potential for employees failing to perform. In commenting on the company’s performance expectations for employees, Goodnight says: “I like to be around happy people, but if they don’t get that next release out, they’re not going to be very happy.” (16) Pondering the likelihood that SAS employees would take advantage of the company’s relaxed atmosphere, John Sall, co-owner of SAS, observes: “I can’t imagine that playing Ping-Pong would be more interesting than work.” (17) David Russo adds

Get Access