Employee Retention of Estee Lauder Companies

pratikkk

MP Guru
Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. is a US manufacturer and marketer of skin care, cosmetics, perfume and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

The company began in 1946 when Joseph Lauder and his wife Estee Lauder began producing cosmetics in New York City, New York. At first, they only had four products: Super-Rich All Purpose Creme, Creme Pack, Cleansing Oil and Skin Lotion. Two years later they established their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.

Over the next fifteen years they expanded the range and continued to sell their products in the United States. In 1960 the company started its first international account in the London department store Harrods. The following year it opened an office in Hong Kong.
In 1964 they started Aramis Inc., which produced fragrances and grooming products for men. In 1967 Estée Lauder herself was named one of ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States by business and financial editors[citation needed]. This was followed by a Spirit of Achievement Award from Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in 1968. In that year the company expanded again, opening Clinique Laboratories, Inc. Clinique was the first dermatologist guided (Dr. Norman Orentreich), allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetic brand created by Estée Lauder.
Estée Lauder's Clinique brand became the first women's cosmetic company to introduce a second line for men when, in 1976, they began a separate line called "Skin Supplies for Men". In 1981 the company's products became available in the Soviet Union.
In February 2004 the company's teen-oriented jane business was sold; in April 2006, the professional-quality Stila brand, which Estée Lauder purchased in 1999, was sold.
The company has had sometimes iconic spokesmodels, sometimes referred to simply as 'faces'. Past 'faces' for Estée Lauder include Karen Graham, Bruce Boxleitner, Shaun Casey, Willow Bay, Paulina Porizkova, Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy, Anja Rubik, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. As of 2008 the main spokesmodel for Estée Lauder is supermodel Hilary Rhoda. In 2010, the company added 2 more faces to the roster, Chinese model Liu Wen and French model Constance Jablonski. Their first campaigns will come out June 2010, and will be shot by Craig McDean.[

Based on contractual agreements between the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), bargaining unit employees have the following rights:


To be treated with courtesy and tact

To expect appropriate assistance from managers to do their job

To work in a safe and healthy working environment

To have job expectations explained to them

To receive assistance in planning self development

To develop ideas or suggestions to improve work methods

To be free to seek redress of grievances through the negotiated grievance procedure

To receive cash awards for exceeding standards under the awards program negotiated by NTEU and IRS

Opportunity to host two special events in the Museum
A complimentary private group tour for clients or employees
Free admission for all employees and up to two accompanied guests
25 Corporate Cards
25 invitations to special exhibition previews and receptions
250 Corporate Guest passes
Invitations for all employees to exclusive shopping events in the MoMA Stores and online at MoMAstore.org
Recognition of support in annual contribution listings
Invitations to annual recognition reception
Selected MoMA exhibition catalogues
Discount on group tours and lectures
Discount on corporate gifts
Discounted rate on purchase of fifty or more Individual Memberships


In the Sunday New York Times (March 27, 2011), Natasha Singer has an article on The Estée Lauder Companies, What Would Estée Do? The article features a photograph of Estée Lauder’s office (Estée Lauder died in 2004), where her desk is “still polished to a glorious sheen.” The article describes how company consultants from around the world were recently in New York and paying a visit to Mrs. Lauder’s corner office, “where ‘Mrs. Estée’ worked her magic,” and taking each other’s photographs.

It reminded me of when I visited The Freud Museum, in London, England. It’s the house where Freud and his family lived after they escaped Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. It’s filled with the Freud family furniture. Freud’s study is preserved intact, including one very famous piece of furniture, the famous “Couch,” where Freud’s patients reclined and said, “what comes to mind.” The couch was roped off, but I was interested to see that a number of visitors (whom I assumed were therapists) were keen to have their photo taken, standing next to it. The reason I thought they were therapists was because the men were all wearing tweed jackets and cardigans, and the women all had longish skirts, shawls and really great earrings, and they all had a slightly detached air about them (of course, I may have seen one too many Woody Allen films...). At any rate, they would nip behind the rope for a quick pix — giving new meaning to the phrase, “stretching boundaries.” (BTW, the museum has one of the nicest museum gift shops I’ve ever been in.)

Singer’s article focuses on the challenge the Estée Lauder Companies face “to strike a balance between the heritage of their matriarch and the relentless demands of the global marketplace.” One of the questions the company’s leadership ask themselves is “What would Estée Lauder do? Am I upholding her vision and values?” (Jane Hertzmark Hudis, global brand president of Estée Lauder).

The question, “What would Estée Lauder do?” reminded me of one of my first jobs. When I was first working, I had a string of jobs with “assistant” as part of the title (Administrative Assistant, Project Assistant, Executive Assistant). My last “EA” job was working for a woman who was a real pioneer — the first woman to work in several different occupations and to achieve the most senior levels on the executive food chain. She was a smart, personable and shrewd woman, who dressed dramatically and was a wonderful mentor to me. “Carol” was “smart,” in all kinds of ways — she was technically and managerially strong, and she knew how to get ahead. (One of Carol’s truisms was, “Always say ‘yes’ if someone asks you to do something. You can always send your regrets later.” – I’m not saying that’s right or wrong. I’m just reporting...).

Eventually, I moved on to a job where I had direct responsibility and accountability for the work, and an assistant. Sometimes, if I was facing a particular complex problem, I’d step back and ask myself, “What would Carol do?” Thinking back on how Carol had approached a management challenge really helped me find my way around some tricky problems. Eventually, I realized that I had internalized what I’d learned from Carol, and others, and from my own experience as a manager. I got more confident in my own ability to analyze management situations, and provide leadership on management problems. However, thinking back to what I’d learned from my former boss was a great bridge to finding my own management style. At the same time, I hope that I’ve continued to learn from people I’ve worked for and with, and that includes people from a whole range of occupations and job levels, not just “the boss.”

Whatever the size of our organization, staying true to our vision and values is essential. My consulting practice is approaching its 21st anniversary. Lately, I’ve been revisiting books that were important to me when I first began my consulting practice. One was Marsha Sinetar’s, Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow, which helped give me the confidence to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur. Another two were Geoff Bellman’s, The Consultant’s Calling and Paul Hawken’s Growing a Business, both of which conveyed values that really spoke to me.

I was interested to read in Singer’s NYT article that, what was seen to be “the core of Mrs. Lauder’s success was her insistence on reaching out and touching every customer, a practice she later instilled in her sales staff.” Any woman who has bought cosmetics will recognize that sales technique. In a recent post, Celebrating Unusual Mementos and Random Act of Kindness, I wrote about our need for “the human.” Literally or figuratively, we need “the human” of people who “speak to us” — through their leadership, how they do their job, or in what they write or say — in ways that resonate for who we are, or who we want to be — whether it’s Estée Lauder, Sigmund Freud, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey or Ethel Merman.
 
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