Employee Retention of Harley-Davidson : Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG, formerly HDI[3]), often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression.[4] Harley-Davidson also survived a period of poor quality control and competition from Japanese manufacturers.[5]
The company sells heavyweight (over 750 cc) motorcycles designed for cruising on the highway. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as "Harleys") have a distinctive design and exhaust note. They are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper style of motorcycle.[6] Except for the modern VRSC model family, current Harley-Davidson motorcycles reflect the styles of classic Harley designs. Harley-Davidson's attempts to establish itself in the light motorcycle market have met with limited success and have largely been abandoned since the 1978 sale of its Italian Aermacchi subsidiary.
Harley-Davidson sustains a loyal brand community which keeps active through clubs, events, and a museum. Licensing of the Harley-Davidson logo accounts for almost 5% of the company's net revenue.
Since it was founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson—its product and customer culture—have become worldwide icons. The company's "down to earth" spirit is blended with an extremely high artisan appreciation for beauty and quality. Harley culture also values an independent spirit—riding and living on one's own terms. To be identified with the family of 'HOG' owners really means something in the world of motorcycle riders.
Employees tend to share customers' passion for the product, and have a satisfying sense of pride for their part in creating it. What's more, company leaders, employees, dealers, and suppliers alike are "living the legend"—the Harley values that unite them in an almost familial bond. In such a strong, familial-type organizational culture, it is important to develop an especially customized means to help the newbie adapt to it.
Three years ago, Harley-Davidson's company-wide climate survey, Fuel Our Future, revealed that existing onboarding for HR wasn't working as well as it needed to. After some additional probing through interviews of survey respondents, key HR leaders found that many of their new hires felt they didn't belong at Harley—that they didn't fit into the company culture. The world's most recognized motorcycle brand sought to ease new hires' transition into their unique culture by creatively utilizing that culture and brand to help make working at Harley-Davidson really mean something to them.
It was imperative that they dive down into their embedded culture and come up with a concise learning program. This imperative sparked a very challenging and rewarding adventure.
Pinpointing the Destination
Two Harley-Davidson HR leaders, Jim Brolley, Director of Learning and Development, and Dan Menden, Manager of Management Development, were tasked with generating a new onboarding program expressly for HR and envisioned that it might then be replicated across the organization. Their goal for the initiative is to ensure that all HR employees feel connected to the company and their work, through gaining an understanding and appreciation for the company's products, history, and culture—early on in their career. In addition, Harley's HR leaders envisioned a consistent program that they could deliver to one employee at a time, and that would look the same to every person, no matter where they were. They also wanted it to be a "sunrise to sunset" development program, one that would start at the beginning of employment and continue throughout an employee's career. Finally, they wanted the program to be innovative and engaging: to facilitate learning by being easy to access and fun to use.
For it to work in the Harley context, the program had to be custom-built for the needs of Harley new-hires. It also had to be infused with Harley-Davidson culture to be a Harley-branded program, and to really get results within the Harley context. To attain this high level of Harley branding, as well as the level of creative innovation they desired, would require the help of a "thought partner." A thought partner is professional developer who acts as an objective adjunct to the organization, and who brings subject matter expertise to an initiative and readily adapts that expertise to the particularities of the organization's needs.
A Beautiful Trip
The HR EDGE initiative has yielded its first fruit: the deployment of Let's Ride, the onboarding portion of the program. It has been highly successful. The right information is getting delivered at the right time, and new hires are being successfully onboarded and retained. The mile-post metrics establishing the success of the Let's Ride component come mostly from a participant survey, which Lore embedded in the Round Up meeting activities.
82% of Let's Ride participants felt that the program was timely, relevant, and helpful in acclimating to HR at Harley-Davidson.
A strong 82% agreed that the Poker Run was a fair evaluation of the knowledge gained.
96% of program participants found the Poker Run game easy to access and use.
89% said that their computer was able to access and run the Let's Ride program components with minimal help from Tech Support.
The learning curve for new employees has been reduced from 6 to 9 or 12 months to 30 days or less, and the onboarding process accelerated. New employees have expanded their networks and built relationships critical to success at Harley.
The cost for the program came to approximately $250 per employee, a cost Jim and Dan affirm is very reasonable, because the program has been so effective and because it can be easily replicated and customized for any function.
New HR employee retention has increased; and critical information is consistently getting to new employees, which was not the case with their previous onboarding program.
Additionally validating, the initiative has been the recipient of two industry awards. Jim Brolley and the HR EDGE initiative won the CLO 2007 Silver Award for Innovation in the area of "Learning in Practice." The "Learning in Practice" Innovation Award "recognizes learning executives who have sought out and successfully applied emerging technologies and/or methodologies to create a stimulating and engaging combination of content and modalities." The HR EDGE initiative was also a finalist for the 2007 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Strategic HR Leadership Award, which "is presented to an HR department that plays a key role in driving performance by leveraging organizational human capital and demonstrating how HR aligns with corporate strategic goals."
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company was established in 1903 by William Harley and Walter, William, and Arthur Davidson, who built their first three motorcycles in a shed in Milwaukee. In 1909, the company introduced its trademark bike; a 2 cylinder, v-twin engine (the fastest motorcycle at that time), able to reach speeds of 60 mph. However, a few years later the competition was becoming stiffer. During World War I, the demand for United States motorcycles overseas grew tremendously. As a result, Harley-Davidson became a leader in innovative engineering in the 1920's. With the introduction of the front brake and "teardrop" gas tanks, Harley was quickly developing its mystic appearance. The industry, which was thriving after World War I, was diminishing quickly as a result of the Great Depression. As one of only two remaining motorcycle companies, Harley-Davidson survived because of exports and sales to the police and military.
Representative of the World War I motorcycle market, Harley-Davidson prospered from military purchasing during World War II. Over 90,000 cycles were built for the military which elevated their production to record levels and earned them the coveted Army-Navy "E" award for excellence in war time production. After the war, Harley went from producing military to recreational bikes. Harley developed and introduced the K-model (1952), Sportster ("Superbike", 1957), and Duo-Glide (1958) motorcycles. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the last remaining major motorcycle manufacturer in the US.
Harley-Davidson was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. AMF put the company up for sale in the late 1970's due to a gross reduction in sales. The reduction in sales was representative of a poor level of quality in the Harley bike compared to their Japanese counterpart. In 1981, thirteen members of the Harley-Davidson management team purchased the company from AMF in a leveraged buy-out. But, within the first year, overall demand for motorcycles dropped dramatically and Harley's share of this market also continued to drop. This even greater reduction in sales for Harley resulted in a large inventory of unsold products. Harley was aware they would no longer be able to continue their business at their current production level and operating cost. Therefore, production was cut drastically, and more than 1,800 of the 4,000 employees were let go. In a move to help the floundering United States motorcycle industry in 1983, President Ronald Reagan increased tariffs on large Japanese motorcycles from 4.4 percent to 49.4 percent. But this increase was only effective for five years and would decline annually.
Minutes away from bankruptcy in 1985, CEO Richard Teerlink convinced lenders to accept a restructuring plan. Using management principles adopted from the Japanese, new marketing strategies, and manufacturing techniques, Harley improved quality and began the long battle to regain its market share. In 1987, one year before the tariffs on Japanese heavyweight motorcycles were scheduled to end, Harley announced they no longer needed special tariffs to compete with the Japanese motorcycle giants; showing confidence in the new system.
Employee Involvement
Successful implementation of any company program occurs when there is a commitment at all levels of the organization. Top management must not only direct but take direction from the lower level employees. In order to feel comfortable with this, top management must encourage education for employees of company objectives and develop a trust that employees will execute the right decisions. Simultaneously, employees must learn that their job stability is dependent on the overall health of the company. Their dedication must be expressed in learning techniques to continuously improve the quality of Harley's manufacturing processes. Harley has set the following nine guidelines to follow for successful employee involvement (Reid 163).
Management, through its words and actions, must demonstrate that continuous improvement of quality and efficiency is a way of life, not just another "program."
Management must be firmly committed to the people-building philosophy-that is, the belief that employees are thinking, rational human beings and therefore should be encouraged to develop and grow.
All management must be totally committed to the EI program and by demonstrating that commitment foster a mutual trust between employees and management.
Employees must be thoroughly trained in specific problem-solving and quality-control techniques.
Managers must encourage participation from everyone.
Employees must be given responsibility and authority for production, quality, preventive maintenance, and other aspects of their jobs.
Individual employees must help each other develop and grow.
Employees must attack problems, not each other-that is, there must be no finger-pointing when things go wrong.
Creativity must continuously be encouraged through a free, non-threatening atmosphere.
The company sells heavyweight (over 750 cc) motorcycles designed for cruising on the highway. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as "Harleys") have a distinctive design and exhaust note. They are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper style of motorcycle.[6] Except for the modern VRSC model family, current Harley-Davidson motorcycles reflect the styles of classic Harley designs. Harley-Davidson's attempts to establish itself in the light motorcycle market have met with limited success and have largely been abandoned since the 1978 sale of its Italian Aermacchi subsidiary.
Harley-Davidson sustains a loyal brand community which keeps active through clubs, events, and a museum. Licensing of the Harley-Davidson logo accounts for almost 5% of the company's net revenue.
Since it was founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson—its product and customer culture—have become worldwide icons. The company's "down to earth" spirit is blended with an extremely high artisan appreciation for beauty and quality. Harley culture also values an independent spirit—riding and living on one's own terms. To be identified with the family of 'HOG' owners really means something in the world of motorcycle riders.
Employees tend to share customers' passion for the product, and have a satisfying sense of pride for their part in creating it. What's more, company leaders, employees, dealers, and suppliers alike are "living the legend"—the Harley values that unite them in an almost familial bond. In such a strong, familial-type organizational culture, it is important to develop an especially customized means to help the newbie adapt to it.
Three years ago, Harley-Davidson's company-wide climate survey, Fuel Our Future, revealed that existing onboarding for HR wasn't working as well as it needed to. After some additional probing through interviews of survey respondents, key HR leaders found that many of their new hires felt they didn't belong at Harley—that they didn't fit into the company culture. The world's most recognized motorcycle brand sought to ease new hires' transition into their unique culture by creatively utilizing that culture and brand to help make working at Harley-Davidson really mean something to them.
It was imperative that they dive down into their embedded culture and come up with a concise learning program. This imperative sparked a very challenging and rewarding adventure.
Pinpointing the Destination
Two Harley-Davidson HR leaders, Jim Brolley, Director of Learning and Development, and Dan Menden, Manager of Management Development, were tasked with generating a new onboarding program expressly for HR and envisioned that it might then be replicated across the organization. Their goal for the initiative is to ensure that all HR employees feel connected to the company and their work, through gaining an understanding and appreciation for the company's products, history, and culture—early on in their career. In addition, Harley's HR leaders envisioned a consistent program that they could deliver to one employee at a time, and that would look the same to every person, no matter where they were. They also wanted it to be a "sunrise to sunset" development program, one that would start at the beginning of employment and continue throughout an employee's career. Finally, they wanted the program to be innovative and engaging: to facilitate learning by being easy to access and fun to use.
For it to work in the Harley context, the program had to be custom-built for the needs of Harley new-hires. It also had to be infused with Harley-Davidson culture to be a Harley-branded program, and to really get results within the Harley context. To attain this high level of Harley branding, as well as the level of creative innovation they desired, would require the help of a "thought partner." A thought partner is professional developer who acts as an objective adjunct to the organization, and who brings subject matter expertise to an initiative and readily adapts that expertise to the particularities of the organization's needs.
A Beautiful Trip
The HR EDGE initiative has yielded its first fruit: the deployment of Let's Ride, the onboarding portion of the program. It has been highly successful. The right information is getting delivered at the right time, and new hires are being successfully onboarded and retained. The mile-post metrics establishing the success of the Let's Ride component come mostly from a participant survey, which Lore embedded in the Round Up meeting activities.
82% of Let's Ride participants felt that the program was timely, relevant, and helpful in acclimating to HR at Harley-Davidson.
A strong 82% agreed that the Poker Run was a fair evaluation of the knowledge gained.
96% of program participants found the Poker Run game easy to access and use.
89% said that their computer was able to access and run the Let's Ride program components with minimal help from Tech Support.
The learning curve for new employees has been reduced from 6 to 9 or 12 months to 30 days or less, and the onboarding process accelerated. New employees have expanded their networks and built relationships critical to success at Harley.
The cost for the program came to approximately $250 per employee, a cost Jim and Dan affirm is very reasonable, because the program has been so effective and because it can be easily replicated and customized for any function.
New HR employee retention has increased; and critical information is consistently getting to new employees, which was not the case with their previous onboarding program.
Additionally validating, the initiative has been the recipient of two industry awards. Jim Brolley and the HR EDGE initiative won the CLO 2007 Silver Award for Innovation in the area of "Learning in Practice." The "Learning in Practice" Innovation Award "recognizes learning executives who have sought out and successfully applied emerging technologies and/or methodologies to create a stimulating and engaging combination of content and modalities." The HR EDGE initiative was also a finalist for the 2007 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Strategic HR Leadership Award, which "is presented to an HR department that plays a key role in driving performance by leveraging organizational human capital and demonstrating how HR aligns with corporate strategic goals."
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company was established in 1903 by William Harley and Walter, William, and Arthur Davidson, who built their first three motorcycles in a shed in Milwaukee. In 1909, the company introduced its trademark bike; a 2 cylinder, v-twin engine (the fastest motorcycle at that time), able to reach speeds of 60 mph. However, a few years later the competition was becoming stiffer. During World War I, the demand for United States motorcycles overseas grew tremendously. As a result, Harley-Davidson became a leader in innovative engineering in the 1920's. With the introduction of the front brake and "teardrop" gas tanks, Harley was quickly developing its mystic appearance. The industry, which was thriving after World War I, was diminishing quickly as a result of the Great Depression. As one of only two remaining motorcycle companies, Harley-Davidson survived because of exports and sales to the police and military.
Representative of the World War I motorcycle market, Harley-Davidson prospered from military purchasing during World War II. Over 90,000 cycles were built for the military which elevated their production to record levels and earned them the coveted Army-Navy "E" award for excellence in war time production. After the war, Harley went from producing military to recreational bikes. Harley developed and introduced the K-model (1952), Sportster ("Superbike", 1957), and Duo-Glide (1958) motorcycles. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the last remaining major motorcycle manufacturer in the US.
Harley-Davidson was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. AMF put the company up for sale in the late 1970's due to a gross reduction in sales. The reduction in sales was representative of a poor level of quality in the Harley bike compared to their Japanese counterpart. In 1981, thirteen members of the Harley-Davidson management team purchased the company from AMF in a leveraged buy-out. But, within the first year, overall demand for motorcycles dropped dramatically and Harley's share of this market also continued to drop. This even greater reduction in sales for Harley resulted in a large inventory of unsold products. Harley was aware they would no longer be able to continue their business at their current production level and operating cost. Therefore, production was cut drastically, and more than 1,800 of the 4,000 employees were let go. In a move to help the floundering United States motorcycle industry in 1983, President Ronald Reagan increased tariffs on large Japanese motorcycles from 4.4 percent to 49.4 percent. But this increase was only effective for five years and would decline annually.
Minutes away from bankruptcy in 1985, CEO Richard Teerlink convinced lenders to accept a restructuring plan. Using management principles adopted from the Japanese, new marketing strategies, and manufacturing techniques, Harley improved quality and began the long battle to regain its market share. In 1987, one year before the tariffs on Japanese heavyweight motorcycles were scheduled to end, Harley announced they no longer needed special tariffs to compete with the Japanese motorcycle giants; showing confidence in the new system.
Employee Involvement
Successful implementation of any company program occurs when there is a commitment at all levels of the organization. Top management must not only direct but take direction from the lower level employees. In order to feel comfortable with this, top management must encourage education for employees of company objectives and develop a trust that employees will execute the right decisions. Simultaneously, employees must learn that their job stability is dependent on the overall health of the company. Their dedication must be expressed in learning techniques to continuously improve the quality of Harley's manufacturing processes. Harley has set the following nine guidelines to follow for successful employee involvement (Reid 163).
Management, through its words and actions, must demonstrate that continuous improvement of quality and efficiency is a way of life, not just another "program."
Management must be firmly committed to the people-building philosophy-that is, the belief that employees are thinking, rational human beings and therefore should be encouraged to develop and grow.
All management must be totally committed to the EI program and by demonstrating that commitment foster a mutual trust between employees and management.
Employees must be thoroughly trained in specific problem-solving and quality-control techniques.
Managers must encourage participation from everyone.
Employees must be given responsibility and authority for production, quality, preventive maintenance, and other aspects of their jobs.
Individual employees must help each other develop and grow.
Employees must attack problems, not each other-that is, there must be no finger-pointing when things go wrong.
Creativity must continuously be encouraged through a free, non-threatening atmosphere.
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