‘Best boss’ preaches taking care of workers

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina-based tech giant SAS is world-renowned not only for its software products, but for the management strategy implemented by CEO Jim Goodnight.

The Biztech Conference & Expo served as the grand opening event for Wilmington’s new downtown convention center. The keynote speaker was Goodnight, a Wilmington native, who is known as one of the world’s best bosses.

“I think that your number one concern in running a business needs to be looking after your employees, because, if you do that, they’re happy and they’re satisfied, they will take care of their customers,” Goodnight said.

New SAS employee Matthew Magne met Dr. Goodnight for the first time at the luncheon, and said he’s excited to be part of a company that has it all.

“I feel like I’ve found the right company to work for, where they are a leader in the analytics space. They’re the largest independent software company in the world, and they treat their employees really well,” Magne said.

Hundreds of businessmen and women came to learn from the man whose 11,000-employee business has been a fixture on Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list.

Goodnight’s goal is to find the best employees and keep them, because it costs more to replace workers than to treat the ones you have right.

“It’s much better to spend the money on your employees rather than on head-hunters or recruiters,” he said.

Goodnight spends money on employee benefits, daycare, on-site fitness and wellness centers, private offices and an aesthetically-pleasing work environment.

“I think it’s a simple idea executed almost flawlessly, right. It’s all about valuing your employees, valuing them and making that not just about lip service but making amazing amounts of services that they make available to us so that we can focus on doing our jobs,” Goodnight said.

Goodnight said if you treat your employees like they make a difference, they will.

If you’re wondering, SAS is hiring. Goodnight said he’s looking to hire about 200 employees in 2011. For more information, visit http://www.sas.com/.