Mon, Feb 18, 2008
Company-Supported Winemaking Club Helps Keep Turnover Low
ANN recently reported that the
aerospace industry is having a tough time recruiting qualified
young workers to expand production and replace retirees, but that
Boeing appeared to be an exception. Industry analysts think the
Seattle area's reputation for quality of life may be one
reason.
Workplace observers now think they may have found one big reason
Boeing is known for good morale, low turnover and recruitment
success -- a company-subsidized Boeing Employees Wine and Beer
Makers Club.
Boeing spokesman Bob Jorgensen says supporting clubs for
employees' interests outside working hours is good business. "We
believe that Boeing should be concerned with its community and
encourage employees to find excellence in all they do at work and
at play," he said. "It's just good business."
The Boeing group started 30 years ago as a wine-tasting club,
and has even seen some of its members go on to success in the
winemaking industry. At least a dozen wineries in Washington state
have been started by current and former employees, reports the
International Herald Tribune.
Despite the raised eyebrows of some investors, industry analysts
say programs like the winemaking club encourage employee loyalty
and solidarity, for comparatively little cost to the employer. The
cost in time and resources to train a new employee, for example, is
far greater than the amount of money Boeing funnels to the
club.
"Companies are trying to differentiate themselves from the
competition for talent," said business consultant Steve Gross, of
Mercer Human Resource Consulting. "They're providing a social
network that transcends a paycheck."
And no jokes about Dreamliner assembly woes, please.
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