This August, Jim Sinegal, the CEO and co-founder of the major international wholesale company Costco, announced that he would be stepping down from the nation's third-largest retailer. The news was greeted by many business experts and employees with a hint of sadness, as Sinegal had been widely viewed as a model business executive who understood how to properly treat his workers.
Some of the intangibles that made Sinegal successful included his accessibility. Carol Tice, who wrote a recent piece about the business owner in Entrepreneur Magazine noted that his office door was always open and that he was receptive to any employee that wanted to make suggestions. In addition, Sinegal always wore his company's products as a way of demonstrating his commitment to the businesses' cause.
Another aspect that separated Sinegal from the pack according to Tice was the way he treated employees. While other business owners in his tier cut benefits and payroll, he offered competitive pay that encouraged employees to stick around the office and spread positive word-of-mouth to friends and family.
One way business owners can follow Sinegal's example is by investing in new technologies that can make workers' lives a bit easier. For example, many business employees struggle with cumbersome internal and external communications, and phone systems that don't allow them to make use of new resources such as cloud computing solutions or easy-to-access voicemail.
By installing high quality business phone systems in their office, business owners can show their thanks to employees. In addition to these benefits, however, VoIP telephony services have been proven to help businesses lower their communications costs, making the switch a win-win for both parties.
