Employee Pledge Contributes to Success Factor at One Company [CIO Decisions, July 2007]

Why "Jerk" Is a Four-Letter Word - (staffing)

When Jeremy Bauer went to work as VP of IT at the San Mateo, Calif.-based talent management software company SuccessFactors Inc., he had to sign a rather unusual pledge.

"I will be a good person to work with," the statement reads. "I will not be an a--hole." CEO Lars Dalgaard, who founded the company in 2001, created the pledge, which all employees must sign. Dalgaard seized on the idea that unpleasant people can have a significant negative impact on the bottom line. That's what

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Robert Sutton, author of The No A--hole Rule, calls "TCA" -- the total cost of a--holes -- which is a profane spin on the old TCO formula.

In a list of founding principles on the company's Web site, SuccessFactors uses more toned-down language. "No jerks!" it says with cheer. "Our organization will consist only of people that absolutely love what we do, with a white-hot passion. We will have utmost respect for the individual in a collaborative, egalitarian, and meritocratic environment -- no blind copying, no politics, no parochialism, no silos, no games, no cynicism, no arrogance -- just being good!"

Bauer adds, "Being a jerk is counterproductive. I get only positive responses to the policy." So far, Bauer says he hasn't hired any, um, jerks. "I've seen people change their behavior very quickly if they start showing those characteristics," he says. "You either change your behavior or self-opt out."

Michael Ybarra is a contributing writer for SearchCIO-Midmarket.com. Write to him at editor@ciodecisions.com.

This was first published in July 2007