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THE MAN OF THE MONTH
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top executives and six years ago placed at the head of Sears as president a man who years ago started work as an order filler. More important, it operates at the lower levels — -with work heads, foremen and managers — as evidenced by the fact that 65 per cent of the employees of the Kansas City plant with fifteen years' service or more are employed in some executive capacity.
"Employees who seek advancement may study the mail'order business hy mail through Sears Extension Insti' tute, in a free home-study course available to any regular full-time or 'regular-extra' employee of Sears, Roebuck 6s? Co., or of a wholly-owned factory or source. This plan enables employees, by using some of their spare time for study, to keep learning while still holding down a full-time job. Employee-students can go as fast or as slow 35 they wish with the lessons; they are strictly on their own. This helps strengthen their initiative. And, if a student fails, or drops a course, there is no black mark against him. The employee's performance is a strict secret between himself and the Extension Institute. His grade goes on his personal record only if he as\s that it be entered there. Usually, successful completion of the course through an investment of time and effort by the student pays him dividends in the form of increased opportunities for a better job, with attendant raises in pay.
CCCUPPLEMENTING these emO ployee relations policies are a number of employee benefit plans which in sum total make long service attractive and worthwhile.
"The best known is, of course, the Employees' Savings and Profit Shar ' ing Fund, which is owned entirely by the employees. 19? 1 figures on employees' investments in the Fund are not yet available. However, at the end of our last fiscal year, January 31, 1951, the employees of the Kansas City mail order plant owned 103,000 shares of the company stock, which together with cash holdings in the Fund gives them a total investment of $6,543,000. All employees are eligible to invest in the Fund after one year's service. To the employees' dollars Sears adds a portion of each year's j profits and the total is invested in the \ capital stock of the company. Once a ; year each employee receives a statement showing the amount of cash and number of shares of stock owned. \ Upon retirement, the employee's investment is available to him, either in company stock or in cash at the market value of his holdings.
"There are, of course, other benefits. A discount on all employee purchases is allowed. Illness allowance and a non-profit hospitalization plan provide financial help in the event of illness or accident. Group life insurance, paid in part by the company, provides low cost protection. Annual paid vacations start after one year's service and provide a maximum of four weeks for employees who have completed 25 years service.
"Culminating the employee's service, retirement at age 60 or 65 brings its reward of profit sharing, a service allowance, free group life insurance and lifetime employee discount privileges."
Reno points out that the value of