Use Your Website to Highlight Your Company Culture

• April 14, 2020

Learn from Zappos

Zappos is one of my favorite companies. Their products are excellent, and their customer service ranks among the best I’ve received. I once exchanged a pair of shoes three months after I’d purchased them, and in the process got invaluable advice about what size would fit me best.

I wasn’t surprised to discover that Zappos has a thriving and employee-centric company culture. Their approach stems from a practical perspective. “Stress-related health care and missed work cost employers nearly $300 billion annually.”

In the area of amenities, Zappos has a relaxed dress code, team building, an office library, relaxation rooms, and other perks. In addition, they have “fungineers,” who organize regular parties, entertainment, and other entertaining group activities.

Innovative as their programs are, they take their approach even a step further.

They Publicize Their Company Culture

If you go to the “About” Heading, you will find out how clever this company’s approach is. (My one complaint is that you have to go to the bottom of the page. Make it easy to find, Zappos.)

They open in an impressive way with their mission statement.

“We aim to inspire the world by showing it’s possible to simultaneously deliver happiness to customers, employees, vendors, shareholders, and the community in a long-term, sustainable way.”

Further down on the page are links to their 10 core company values, why company culture matters, and how they work, among other topics.

On the navigation page at the top of the About page, you will see Zappos Stories. Now it really gets interesting. There are several pages of stories. I highlight a small selection.

Tails of Our Furry Friends: Alex & Opie

A man working at a Zappos distribution center befriends and eventually adopts a stray dog. The story is complete with an accompanying video.

These are the Books Zappos Wants Its Employees (And You) To Read

This page briefly describes eight books, each of which embodies a Zappos core value.

Zappos Nap Room Has Employees Sleeping with the Fishes

It’s really not possible to describe this. You need to take a look, and—as is frequent with Zappos stories, you can view a video.

Those who like the idea of this kind of nap room are encouraged at the end of the article to search open positions at Zappos.

Living Her Best Life

Again with a video, this short article describes a Zappos employee’s victory over breast cancer.

Both the index and the individual pages have beautiful photographs, and the articles I sampled were well-written and to the point.

Anyone who runs a company blog can benefit from seeing what Zappos does.

And if you leave the Zappos site thinking that maybe your company culture could use an overhaul, Zappos can help you with that, too.

At Zappos Insights you can find out how Zappos trainers can get your business into shape.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, Zappos already had won me as a loyal customer. Now that I’ve explored their web site beyond the retail pages, I’m a convert. I will be recommending the business widely and hoping for its long-term success.

Those are the kinds of words any good company wants to hear.

Pat Iyer is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Contributors. She serves business leaders as a ghostwriter and editor. Connect with her at patiyer.com.