Company-Supported Winemaking Club Helps Keep Turnover Low

ANN recently reported that the aerospace industry is having a tough time recruiting qualified young workers to expand production and replace retirees, but that Boeing appeared to be an exception. Industry analysts think the Seattle area's reputation for quality of life may be one reason.

Workplace observers now think they may have found one big reason Boeing is known for good morale, low turnover and recruitment success -- a company-subsidized Boeing Employees Wine and Beer Makers Club.

Boeing spokesman Bob Jorgensen says supporting clubs for employees' interests outside working hours is good business. "We believe that Boeing should be concerned with its community and encourage employees to find excellence in all they do at work and at play," he said. "It's just good business."

The Boeing group started 30 years ago as a wine-tasting club, and has even seen some of its members go on to success in the winemaking industry. At least a dozen wineries in Washington state have been started by current and former employees, reports the International Herald Tribune.

Despite the raised eyebrows of some investors, industry analysts say programs like the winemaking club encourage employee loyalty and solidarity, for comparatively little cost to the employer. The cost in time and resources to train a new employee, for example, is far greater than the amount of money Boeing funnels to the club.

"Companies are trying to differentiate themselves from the competition for talent," said business consultant Steve Gross, of Mercer Human Resource Consulting. "They're providing a social network that transcends a paycheck."

And no jokes about Dreamliner assembly woes, please.

FMI: www.bewbc.org/