Managing One-to-One

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PROBLEM SOLVED
Rick Sapio wouldn't dream of characterizing his business as an employee utopia. "We're a very intense, fast-growth company," says Sapio, CEO of 37-employee Mutuals.com, a New York City mutual-fund advisory firm that twists the traditional model by charging a flat fee for most of its services. "Turnover is high -- 36% -- although it's dropping. Most of that turnover happens in the first month: people sign up and they don't realize what the pace is going to be like. We do so many innovative things, there's a lot of stress -- a lot of pressure."

In that environment Sapio can't spare much time to inquire whether an employee has managed to snag tickets to The Producers or wants to use the CEO's parking space while he's out of town. But Sapio concerns himself deeply with employees' ability to labor unencumbered by flawed processes, inadequate supplies, or pockets of ignorance and confusion. To keep his company's organizational arteries clear, last year Sapio introduced Hassles, an E-mail box where employees can vent their concerns. Problems are dealt with -- or at least acknowledged -- within the same week.

"If something takes up more than two minutes of your day, and it's not part of your ordinary job, then that's a hassle," says Sapio. Every month the E-mail box is hammered with about 100 such missives, ranging from petty irritations to thoughtful suggestions. The CEO reels off some recent submissions: "When we get a lead, why can't it be automatically added to the database without my having to retype it?" "Why do I need to fill out a form to request a vacation day?" "I have to constantly walk to the printer, and it's too far away from my desk."

Hassles is the ward of chief financial officer Stefanie Nall, who each week corrals two employees to tear through the list and solve as many problems as possible. (Managers must sign off on all the decisions.) Nall then runs down some of the faits accomplis at the company's Monday-morning staff meetings. "The goal is 100%, but some of these are very substantial problems that require, for example, rewriting the software for our database," says Sapio. "Within a month we probably get 75% solved."

Hassles gripes are public gripes: they live in an unprotected section of the company's intranet, and their resolution is brandished before the entire staff. Some employees, however, prefer that their grievances be kept on the q.t. For them, Sapio espouses an open-door policy, but not with the sort of vague "drop by anytime" invitation guaranteed to keep anyone lowlier than a vice-president at bay. Instead, every Friday morning the CEO sends out a companywide E-mail announcing his presence in the back conference room from 11 a.m. to noon. (Sometimes the company's president sits in instead.) For that hour Sapio does nothing but listen to employees' concerns. "You can tell people your door is open all you want, and they'll still think, 'No, he's the CEO. He's too busy," says Sapio. "But if you're sitting with nothing in front of you in a room with no more than a table, the message is 'I'm not busy. I am waiting here to talk to you.' And people come."

GET OUTTA HERE
All work (even work made palatable by customized benefits, processes, and environments) and no play (of the I-am-having-so-much-fun-I-can't-remember-what-I-do-for-a-living variety) burns out even the most dedicated employees. Summer picnics and Halloween parties are fine, but gossiping with colleagues over plastic plates groaning with olive loaf and coleslaw is few people's sweet dream of relaxation. Practitioners of one-to-one management give employees not only what they want at work but also the means and incentive to enjoy life outside the office.

"We want people to be passion ate about life and hobbies and outside pursuits, because we want passionate people."

Three years ago Metzger Associates Inc., a $4.1-million technology public-relations company in Boulder, Colo., was having trouble recruiting and keeping senior staff. CEO and founder John Metzger examined the bait being dangled by the rest of his industry and decided to try something different. "We looked at the benefits other PR agencies were putting forth, and we found they typically involved keeping people in the office as long as possible so they would be billable," says Metzger. "A concierge service. 'We'll buy you pizza after 7 p.m.' 'Bring your dog to work.'

"Our benefits are all based on getting people out of the office," says Metzger. "We want them to refresh and rejuvenate."

Like any good one-to-one manager, Metzger left the design of the company's "Live Long and Prosper" benefit to his 30-plus employees. They devised a package of activities in four categories for which all staff members are reimbursed: $600 for physical fitness (gym memberships, a stationary bicycle), $500 for outdoor living (ski passes, sailing classes), $600 for relaxation (guitar instruction, vacations), and $1,000 for education (classes at community colleges and universities). In the program's first 18 months, employees used their funds for everything from bikini waxes and personal-trainer fees to fly-fishing lessons and a bachelorette party in Las Vegas. Turnover, meanwhile, went from around 15% down to 2% last year.

"We've never denied anything that I'm aware of," says Metzger. "We're open to individuals' telling us whatever they need to be balanced in their lives. We want people to be passionate about life and hobbies and outside pursuits, because we want passionate people."

Leigh Buchanan is a senior editor at Inc.

Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

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Leigh Buchanan

Leigh Buchanan is an editor at large for Inc. Magazine. A former editor at Harvard Business Review and founding editor of WebMaster magazine, she writes regular columns on leadership and workplace culture, and she contributes Inc.'s capsule book reviews, "A Skimmer's Guide to the Latest Business Books."

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