Thumbs down to Joie de Vivre CEO Chip Conley for trying to make every other boss in America look bad. For years I’ve been telling executives that employees should be seen and not heard, and providing them with tips www.dolyttle.com on how to reduce salaries and administrative costs.The comes along Mr. Goody-Goody, Chip Conley, who throws years of conventional thinking out the window, and claims that he wants to keep his employees happy—even if it costs him money. Well, he doesn’t actually say this, he says he saves money by having happy employees. NOT TRUE, I scream, this is a recipe for disaster.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Joie de Vivre gave each of the 15 housekeepers their own vacuum cleaner when the company took over the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. While this may increase productivity and keep the staff happy—buying them NEW machines is ridiculous and a waste of money. But Mr. Conley has money to burn—he buys every housekeeper a new machine EVERY year—so they can suck ALL the dirt out of the carpet. No other hotel in America gets all the dirt out. And who cares if the staff have to work harder to do their jobs—that’s what they’re paid to do.
While I’ve never met Mr. Conley, I’m sure he subscribes to the reports produced by MarketMetrix, which say that it’s important to keep hourly workers happy. Why? The firm claims that each staff departure costs a midrange hotel $5,000 in lost productivity, training and recruiting. Rubbish, I say. Where do they get their information? I say, what training? How long does it take to show a worker how to hold a vacuum, make a bed and clean a toilet?
Dr. Young’s theory is that each staff departure SAVES a company money. Face facts, the longer a worker stays with you, the more you have to pay them. Workers claim that because their expenses go up each year—they need to earn more. While this may be true, it’s important to remember that workers problems are not your problems. The less you have to do with your employees, the happier you are.
But Conley is a sucker for punishment. And by punishment, I mean what he does to his unhappy shareholders. Not only does he throw out perfectly serviceable equipment—he also pays for his staff to attend retreats, presents them with awards and encourages them to improve themselves by taking courses such as Excel and ESL.
While this may look good in the short term, long-term this is a recipe for disaster. Well-educated employees earn more money—even for menial jobs. I know, Conley claims that the courses encourage the staff to stay and this saves the company money—but it’s not true. Long-term staff get paid extra, earn paid vacations and leave when they’re offered a better position—increasing the odds of the country going into a recession. I call upon Mr. Conley to think about the real cost of his actions.
Just look at front-desk worker Emelie Dela Cruz, who earns $14.58 an hour—well above the minimum wage. She claims that she stays at the hotel because of the family atmosphere, but she really stays there because she’s well paid. I would wager any amount of money that Joie de Vivre pays overtime—even though it doesn’t have to.
According to Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA, workers who are bona fide administrative professionals are exempt from overtime as long as they earn more than $455 per week—that’s $11.57 an hour for a 40 hour week—or 31.2 hours at $14.58 an hour. If Conley cares about his shareholders like he cares about his workers, he’ll take immediate action in this area.
I’m challenging Conley to take back belongs to him—if not for his sake, for the sake of his shareholders—and our country. The only way America can prosper is by standing up for the rights of business, regardless of how much it costs. Now is the time to reduce wages, increase hours and take a stand against China by refusing to buy lead-infested equipment made with child labor.
To stay one step in front of the competition, check out my latest book: Dr. Young’s Guide to Demotivating Employees at Dolyttle & Seamore.
While I don’t really have any interest in hearing what you have to say about anything, if you have a burning desire to get something off your chest, email me: dryoung@demotivationist.com.
