How Thick is Your Handbook?

What really blew me away was when someone told me about the Nordstrom employee handbook. I am a skeptic about employee handbooks for the most part, believing that they are rarely read. I often ask members of my audiences whether their company has an employee handbook and, if so, how long it is and whether they know its contents. Most respond to these questions with “Thick” and “No,” respectively.

I “Googled” the Nordstrom employee handbook and received 9,170 reference points. What I found was both incredible and easily verified.

Each Nordstrom employee receives the employee handbook. It consists of one page and reads as follows:

Welcome to Nordstrom. We’re glad to have you with our company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them. Nordstrom rules: Rule #1—Use your good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules. Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager or division general manager any question at any time.

That is it—that is the whole thing! What this leads to is a group of highly empowered employees at Nordstrom who are free to make decisions based upon their own judgment as to the best way to serve their customers.

The more I talked about Nordstrom, the more intrigued I became. I began to mention it during talks I gave, and the nodding heads in my audiences (especially the women) always got my attention.

When I said how much I enjoyed the Nordstrom jingle, I would notice the looks of puzzlement on my audience. (That’s because it doesn’t have one.) I would mention that I like the Nordstrom slogan (again, it doesn’t have one), and my audience would try to remember it. When I spoke about the Nordstrom logo (once again, there is no such thing), nobody knew what it looked like. All Nordstrom has for advertising is a reputation for world-class service.