It’s no secret that SAS is a constant among Best Places to Work lists all over the world.  But, what many may not realize is the connection between creating a company employees want to work for, and creating a company customers want to work with.

Our CEO Jim Goodnight has said, “It’s an amazingly effective business practice, listening to your customers.”  The customer has been at the center of our business model since we began nearly 40 years ago.  To us, this is not only non-negotiable, it’s a no-brainer.

If you have dissatisfied employees, they're not necessarily going to elevate customer issues for management to address.  Having a truly integrated, happy customer experience strategy starts with employees.  Simply put:  Happy employees make happy customers.

SAS culture fosters creativity and innovation.  When we're able to be creative and innovative through our products, we perform at our best and exceed expectations – and, we create some pretty amazing, often life-altering, results.  As Fast Company points out, that leads to more loyal customers because products have fewer bugs, and their trusted contacts at the company rarely change.

Trust and values are at the foundation of SAS culture.  SAS Vice President of Marketing Adele Sweetwood has encouraged employees to “be authentic in all your interactions, both with your colleagues and with our customers. You will influence others to share your passion and create an environment of mutual trust, a key ingredient in building amazing customer experiences.”

While today is officially National Customer Experience Day, the video below demonstrates how this customer experience philosophy has been part of our culture – and has impacted our culture – since day 1.