By Kate Quackenbush
Through special arrangement, we present these opportunities to discuss the subjects of Convenience Store Decisions magazine's monthly stories.
Ask any retailer in the industry what sets them apart - what's their most valuable asset - and almost everyone will say "our people." But for Valero Energy Corp., it's more than just lip service.
Led by Chairman Bill Greehey, Valero has created a corporate culture that makes employees feel like they're doing more than a job. It's crafted an atmosphere where every employee feels like they're part of something bigger than themselves.
Valero maintains a no-layoff policy, a dress code for managers and a no-tolerance drug policy. Executives have been fired for being condescending or using profanity when addressing subordinates, and anyone who willfully violates a safety rule is immediately thrown out.
Paying the Bills and Then Some
Valero believes in rewarding its employees and recognizing the work they do as evidenced when it began its company-wide bonus program.
If bonuses aren't enough, Valero also offers stock options for exempt employees. Mr. Greehey feels it's a great morale booster that makes employees feel more like a part of the company. It's an even better morale booster when the stock is doing well. The company has affectionately coined the term "Valero-naires," which are employees who have made $1 million or more with their Valero stock.
Culture, Not Policy
Like any refinery in a hurricane zone, Valero's St. Charles facility has a disaster plan. The scope of that plan and the way it was carried out when storms hit offers insights into the Valero way.
"Our employees came first in our minds. Not only for Katrina, but the same for Port Arthur when Rita hit," said Mr. Greehey.
After the storm passed, Valero began dispatching supplies to employees whose homes were destroyed. Trucks from the company's retail distribution center arrived carrying food, water, chain saws, shovels, Nextel phones (the only cell system that worked) and small generators. The company set up air conditioned tents at the refinery with cooks flown in to make three meals a day for anyone who needed to eat.
Mr. Greehey was at the refinery just eight days after the hurricane hit. The company airlifted barbecues in while the floodwaters were still in place. It also flew in portable showers, which got the loudest hoots and hollers from grateful employees. Valero also went to a nearby Wal-Mart and bought it out of basic supplies—shoes, pants, soap - and offered the load up to the refinery so its people could take whatever they needed.
"The president of the union at the Port Arthur refinery said he had never experienced anything like the Valero sharing spirit and what we did for them as a company," said Mr. Greehey.
Because crisis and tragedy can hit at anytime the company created the Safe Fund, a grant to give workers up to $10,000 based upon need.
Through Hurricane Katrina, the company helped 102 employees with $545,000 from the Safe Fund. For Hurricane Rita, $714,000 was spent, helping 228 employees, for a total of $1.26 million.
"We empower our people. They appreciate the trust and freedom, and we appreciate their initiative," said Mr. Greehey. "I think this hurricane, while tragic and difficult, was our finest hour."
Discussion Questions: Is the type of commitment Valero makes to its employees' wellbeing practical or even desirable for other retail companies? Is there something unique about their situation or can everyone learn by their example?