It is said that customer Satisfaction is a Reflection of Employee Satisfaction ( Reichheld , 2000 ). This is seemingly true when looking at a company such as Wegmans . Wegmans was founded in 1916 , by brothers Walter and Jack Wegman , as a small family-owned food store in Rochester , New York State . It was initially called the Rochester Food and Vegetable Company and operated out of the Wegmans ' house . In the early 1920s , the Wegmans moved the store to a new location and expanded the product range to make it a full-fledged grocery store selling fresh produce , bakery goods , and canned goods . The store also had a small cafeteria ( Wegmans , 2017 ).
In the early 1930s , the Wegmans changed the format of their store , introducing the self-service concept . The new store was incorporated as Wegmans Food Markets Inc . and was very popular in the New York region . Wegmans featured a lot of things that were considered innovative at that time , such as refrigerated food displays , a kiosk selling homemade candy , and a large cafeteria with a seating capacity of 300 . Robert Wegman , son of Walter Wegman , became the president of the company in 1950 . Under his leadership , Wegmans diversified into related businesses , acquiring an egg farm , developing an on-site meat processing center , and setting up a central bakery . The company also set up a subsidiary called Wegmans Enterprises Inc . to manage real estate development , leasing , and property management . In 1969 , Robert Wegman became the chairman and CEO of Wegmans . Wegmans expanded in the 1960s by opening stores at different locations in New York State ( Wegmans , 2017 ). The culture at Wegmans is popular among job seekers . It is a part of the reason why Wegmans had one of the best retention rates in the retail industry in the US . Reportedly , the average length of employment for full-time employees at the company was more than 10 years , and the average tenure even for part-time employees exceeded five years . According to analysts , potential employees were attracted to Wegmans because they knew that they would be treated well at the company , and be encouraged to play an active role in creating value for customers . Wegmans ' culture was articulated in its philosophy employees first , customers second , which some considered rather unusual in an environment where companies invested heavily in trying to win favor with customers . However , in spite of its expressed preference for employees over customers , Wegmans was known for its high level of customer service and had been identified by business week , another leading business magazine , as one of its customer service champs . This seemed to justify Wegmans ' belief that if the employees were happy , the customers would be too .
One of the keys to Wegmans success in keeping its culture strong and consistent was the company ' s slow pace of expansion . Wegmans typically opened only two or three new stores every year . This allowed it enough time for preparation , and employee training . Wegmans never opened a new store until it was fully prepared . Wegmans is not as popular as other companies such as Twitter or google but being ranked number seven on the fortune 100 best companies to work for , the primary factors that made Wegmans popular with employees were its high pay and generous benefits . The company was also known for its strong work culture , which served to create a high level of employee engagement ( Fortune , 2016 ). Have you ever heard of a grocery store where everyone loves to come to work and is friendly ? Yes , Wegmans has been named one the best stores that provide good customer service and make you feel at home .
According to the business insider , Wegmans is also ranked number twelve one of the most enjoyable business to work for , an example of their great corporate culture is Wegmans ' scholarship program launched in 1984 . Since then , more than 26,500 employees have been awarded scholarships totaling $ 85 million , the company says . Hornell , an employee in the meat department stated that " The Company has good values and goals and does a good job of living by them " ( Bort , 2014 ).
According to the Northeast Human Resource Association ( NEHRA ), a major HR association operating in the New England region of the US , the reason behind Wegmans ' success in retaining employees was that employees felt " intense job satisfaction achieved by meaningful interaction with both customers and management ". Because of the family-oriented environment in the company , Wegmans ' will continue to yield good customeremployee reviews .
References 1 . Bort , J . ( 2014 ). The 25 Most Enjoyable Companies To Work For . Business Insider . Retrieved 17
February 2017 , from http :// www . businessinsider . com / 25-best-corporate-cultures-2014-8