Hasbro: An Excellent Employer

Hasbro has been rated one of Fortune’s top 100 companies to work for in 2011. “This honor puts the focus on our organization’s greatest assets – our people, our culture, and our commitment to innovating in everything we do,” said Hasbro President and CEO Brian Goldner. “FORTUNE’s “100 Best” selection of Hasbro is a great honor and it is particularly gratifying to see and hear about the tremendous pride employees feel about working at Hasbro” ("Hasbro recognized as," 2011). According to the company’s website, some of their employees’ benefits include: “half-day Fridays all year long, tuition reimbursement, discount toys and games at in-house stores, adoption and foster-care assistance, employee assistance program (EAP), health an dependent-care flexible spending accounts, auto-insurance and home-insurance discounts, Hasbro Employees Federal Credit Union, and Team Hasbro Employee Volunteer Program” ("Making you smile:," ). “Hasbro has long been a leader in toys and games and its transformation into a branded play company has been attributed to the company’s ability to innovate and re-invent, re-imagine and re-ignite its world-class portfolio of brands” ("Hasbro recognized as," 2011).
“Hasbro was founded in 1923 by Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld. The company originally sold textile remnants. It soon moved into manufacturing pencils and other school supplies; the first toy manufactured by the company was Mr. Potato Head in the late 1940s. Today, a number of well-known game publishers are owned by Hasbro, including Avalon Hill, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and Wizards of the Coast” (Arneson). According to its financial statements (attached), Hasbro has been able to consistently increase its net revenues, even throughout the recession. Its net earnings rose from $3,837,557 in 2007 to $4,067,947 in 2009. It has also been able to increase its earnings per share of common stock. However, its net earnings did drop in 2008, but picked right back up in 2009. It has also been able to increase its total assets. Hasbro is in competition with other major toy and game companies, such as Mattel Inc., which ranked 69th on Fortune’s Top 100 Companies to Work For. Competition consists of offering quality products that meet the entertainment preferences of the consumers. Hasbro is a household name for many American families and around the world because of its diverse entertainment offerings. The company is continuing its growth by attracting a broad consumer base. They have created games for children and adults alike. They have been able to continue their innovation to bring in new products while keeping up with a growing demand for technology. For example, they have taken the traditional game of Monopoly, which was first introduced in 1935,and now the “Electronic Banking Edition”. They have also created many other electronic games in order to keep up with the demand of modern technology. They are focused on keeping their costs low by selling directly to retailers, one of their major customers being Wal-Mart. They have also taken a position in the community by giving back by starting the Hasbro’s Children’s Fund.
Offering half-day Fridays allows employees to utilize that time to handle their personal affairs without interfering with work. It allots time for personal appointments and other burdens that need to be taken care of that may otherwise require employees to take time off during the week. It also allows the employees to not feel overworked. Allowing employees to leave early on Fridays allows them to feel appreciated, and also does not create additional costs to the company. In fact, in some situations, it actually allows the company to be able to cut some of their costs down just a little bit. This benefit does not apply for shift workers. This company policy is good for its own goodwill, as well as for the employees overall morale.
Tuition reimbursement is something many people seek in a potential career. Many people have a great desire to further their education, but the financial commitment tends to hold them back. Tuition reimbursement is also a great motivator not only to go back to school, but to work hard to make the grades. It is also a good investment from the company. It allows the employees a chance gain knowledge that could ultimately bring forth leading-edge ideas and growth. In a company like Hasbro that is moving towards more technology-based products, there are many obvious reasons and motivational points for the employer to be willing to invest in an employees continued education. They must be able to keep up with technology, and therefore certain fields, such as information technology, require constant training and education to keep up with the latest trends.
Auto-insurance and home-insurance discounts are a very attractive benefit. Both are major expenses for so many American families. As the price of gas rises, the costs of owning a car has increased exponentially. Insurance is not something that is taken lightly; however, many have been forced to drop to liability only in order to cut costs. Also, home-insurance is such a high priority for homeowners. People have a desire to protect their families and their property, which means spending the extra money to have extensive homeowners insurance. Offering a discount on something that is such a high prioritywill always be a very attractive benefit for potential and current employees.
In a society where globalization has slowly been becoming the norm, it is no surprise to discover that Hasbro has moved much of its manufacturing overseas. However, many of its employees in its facilities in the United States have been with the company for an extensive amount of time. “In a world of ruthless outsourcing -- and in fact more Hasbro games are made in South China than in the U.S. -- the Western Massachusetts plant is an anachronism. It used to be owned by Milton Bradley, which became part of Hasbro in 1984, and it still has the feel of a familial operation. Many employees have never known another job; some spouses both call Hasbro home; sons worked where fathers once did. Average seniority is 21 years. Even after downsizing and union concessions, employees speak with affection about a company they realize could well have given up on them, rather than committed $40 million in factory capital upgrades over five years. It's all part of the reason Hasbro is on Fortune's 2011 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For”(Kaplan, 2011). Employee morale seems to become more and more difficult to maintain is today’s quick-paced society, but it seems as though Hasbro has it all figured out. Also, employee (and employer) loyalty for most companies has dropped significantly over the years, so it is quite impressive that Hasbro has not only gained loyalty from its employees, but their families as well.
It is hard to imagine a work environment consisting of creating and producing games being anything but exciting. Most people would imagine a room full of adults surrounded by toys and discussing what they could do to bring an old product into modern times. This is indeed somewhat factual for a few employees, including Rob Daviau. “He specializes in board games -- Risk, Trouble, Trivial Pursuit -- and snickers at the idea that a board game is just a board game. "A game is about storytelling," he says. When you modify the rules, add or subtract dice, you "change the dynamics of a conflict." The game of Risk, for example, is "fundamentally about revenge: You did it to me, so I'm going to do it to you." He, of course, spent his childhood doing it to his two younger brothers” (Kaplan, 2011). Although not all employees have as exciting of jobs, it seems as though all 3,100 employees that work for Hasbro see their jobs as enjoyable, even those who work on assembly lines making sure each game gets all of the game pieces needed.
In the game of life (pun intended), career decisions are some of biggest and most life-altering decisions a person can make. It seems like those who made the decision to go to work for Hasbro are not looking back on that decision with any regret. With so many extra employee benefits and such an upbeat work environment, it seems as though it would be hard to go wrong with this company. How well a company treats its employees can often times be reflected in its employee turnover rate. It seems as though Hasbro has been able to gain and retain employees up until they are ready for retirement. In a society where people are willing to quit a job for a new one that may offer just a fraction more in salary, this speaks a lot for the company that their employees are so loyal. The company’s website also states that employees are given a holiday for their birthday each year. It is these little extras that make employees feel valued. “Every new employee gets a Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head” (Kaplan, 2011). Although it may not seem like much, these little things all add up. Even if the new employee could not be less interested in the children’s toy, everyone has a child, grandchild, niece/nephew, neighbor, etc. they could give it to. “There's a company store with deep discounts on merchandise and, in return for an extra four hours of work between Monday and Thursday, everybody but shift workers gets Friday afternoons off. These two widely loved policies -- which cost the company relatively little -- earn enormous goodwill from the workforce. So does the Edy's frozen-yogurt machine in the cafeteria requisitioned by the CEO” (Kaplan, 2011). People like to be recognized for hard work and this company’s Human Resources department has clearly been hard at work for many years to make sure they were able to achieve this goal.

References
Arneson, E. (n.d.). Hasbro- brief history. Retrieved fromhttp://boardgames.about.com/od/companies/a/hasbro_history.htm
Hasbro recognized as one of fortune's 2011 'best companies to work for'. (2011, January 20). Retrieved fromhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110120006034/en/Hasbro-Recognized-FORTUNE%E2%80%99s-2011-%E2%80%98Best-Companies-Work
Kaplan, D. (2011, January 20). Undercover employee: a day on the job at three best companies. Retrieved from http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/20/undercover-employee-a-day-on-the-job-at-three-best-companies/
Making you smile: benefits at hasbro. (n.d.). Retrieved fromhttp://www.hasbro.com/corporate/careers/making-you-smile.cfm