At Zappos, "Skip Meetings" are held twice a year in which everyone has the opportunity to interact with their manager's manager. Such efforts helped the online giant land on WorldBlu's sixth annual "List of Most Democratic Workplaces."
According to a press release from WorldBlu, described as a global network of organizations committed to workplace democracy, the Zappos meetings enable employees and their boss's boss to "share ideas, feedback and solutions, providing a direct voice-of-the-people perspective on how to drive positive change in their departments."
There are a number of other current examples of democracy in action within business:
- Achievers, the maker of social employee recognition software based in San Francisco and Toronto, has its "MasterPlan" vision document reviewed and updated annually by employees, the board of directors, and even clients. It is posted in part on its giant MasterPlan board. An internal committee of old and new employees called "Culture Up The Office" was formed recently to spearhead scaling up the culture.
- NixonMcInnes, a social media firm based in Brighton, England, has monthly "Church of Fail" meetings where all employees are invited to "share their failures — in a non-threatening and fun way and ultimately to resounding applause." An employee-elected rewards team scrutinizes and approves all pay rises, including the CEOs.
- At Valtech's offices in Copenhagen, Demark, the global digital marketing agency invites employees to pick their own manager.
- At Menlo Innovations, the software company based in Ann Arbor, MI, rather than working alone, each team member shares a computer with another team member and rotates partners weekly, increasing collective intelligence and team cohesion.
- At SAYS.com, a social media company based in Malaysia, employees are given the choice of writing their own job descriptions with team members and testing it out, resulting in "micro- innovations" and "opportunities for new talents to emerge."
The 47 organizations making the WorldBlu list ranged in size from five to 90,000 employees representing over $17 billion in combined annual revenue. The results were said to show that "giving power to the people ... is a smart business strategy that directly impacts the bottom line."
WorldBlu Founder and CEO Traci Fenton pointed to a Gallup Organization's report that found nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers are disengaged at work. The internet and the demands of generations X and Y are also said to be causing businesses to rethink their management models.
"People want freedom rather than fear in the workplace," stated Ms. Fenton.