How Apple Thanks Employees

Good companies understand and appreciate their most important customers – their employees. It’s no coincidence that – time and again – good companies find new ways to reward their employees.

Apple, Inc. CEO Tim Cook sent out a memo this week thanking everyone for their part in helping the company do so well. Then he surprised them…

In recognition of your incredible efforts and achievements, I’m happy to announce that we’re extending the Thanksgiving holiday this year. We will shut down with pay on November 25, 26, and 27 so our teams can have the whole week off.

Apple is rewarding nearly every employee with the whole of Thanksgiving (in America – in other countries, Cook tells managers to find an equally appropriate holiday time) week off. He added three paid vacation days to every employee’s year. Noting that it’s one of the biggest shopping weeks of the year, he didn’t turn a blind eye to his retail and other teams who would need to work that week. In the same memo, he wrote:

Retail, AppleCare and a few other teams will need to work that week so we can continue to serve our customers, but will receive the same number of days off at an alternate time.

Everyone helped the company grow. Everyone gets rewarded. I’ve worked for companies who only rewarded the sales team, and I always wondered how management could be so dim-witted and short-sighted. Everyone worked towards Apple’s success. Everyone benefitted.

CEO Cook doesn’t see these paid holidays as an expense. He sees them as an investment. Clearly, moves like these show great return for Apple with employee satisfaction but also in recharging time for its teams. Cook is giving them all a chance to remember why they work so hard at other times of the year.

Your Turn

Give me a reason you can’t do the same for your employees. I hear you saying you can’t afford it. I’m saying maybe you can’t afford NOT to do it.

Go ahead… give me one reason.

But… but… who’s going to answer the phones?

During Thanksgiving week in my company, I am. (We are following Apple’s lead.)

So, in your company, who’s going to answer the phones?

How about you?