Announcements
Corporate Research Foundation press release
Executive Summary
Enterprise was founded as a leasing company in 1957 by entrepreneur Jack Taylor and over the years has added many more services. Unlike other car rental companies, Enterprise focuses on local markets. It specialises in renting to customers who need a replacement car as the result of an accident, mechanical repair or theft, or for a special occasion or short business trip.
Through its 6,000-plus offices worldwide, Enterprise operates a rental car fleet of more than 602,000 vehicles, featuring more than 120 different makes and models. Big numbers, of which the company is proud, but what makes Enterprise unique is its people who provide extraordinary customer service at every rental location. Its brand awareness is remarkable, fuelled by customer satisfaction and referrals.
'Being privately owned allows Enterprise to make many decisions it couldn't make if it was publicly listed,' says Brice Adamson, UK/Ireland Managing Director. 'For example, we are able to look at investment from a long-term perspective, giving us the time needed to build large, profitable networks.' Enterprise's turnover in the last financial year exceeded £4.6 billion and profitability reached record levels. The company has seen year-on-year growth ever since it began and it continues to expand its operations. Last year alone more than 500 new branches were opened - that's more than one every business day - a trend the company expects to continue in the future.
Pay and Benefits
Donna Miller, Human Resources Director, Europe, is quite candid about Enterprise's pay structure, particular for graduates joining its management trainee scheme. 'We pay a competitive starting salary - we're not the lowest, but we're not the highest either. Graduates could find higher starting salaries.' But this is just an entrée to a reward culture where the company lives up to its name - it's all about enterprise.
Starting salaries begin at £14-18,000 on the management programme, which is usually completed over 9-12 months (it could be shorter). The next step is to assistant manager and a salary increase plus eligibility for a share of profits in your part of the business (£3-6,000) - be that a branch, area or unit within it. By the third year, another salary increase could be accompanied by bonuses of £10,000. Enterprise graduates find that they quickly outpace their peers elsewhere.
Middle and senior managers regard Enterprise as one of the better paying companies. Promotion is based entirely on merit and there really is no limit on how quickly you can progress. At group manager level you could be earning a great salary within 7-10 years. Not all wealthy 30-year olds need be footballers.
The package of benefits includes private health care, life insurance and long-term disability cover. Branch managers and above are entitled to company cars - after all, there are plenty of them around. Enterprise also sets aside 5% of its annual profits to distribute among eligible employees, individual share varying upon length of service and position. Flexible benefits are being "looked at". Miller says: 'Our employee base is very young and they can trade away potentially valuable benefits. We want to make sure that employees are covered with the benefits that they need for something catastrophic; specifically in health and disability cover.'
Promotion and development
Enterprise hires graduates, particularly for the all-important customer facing roles. With a customer service philosophy that is already strong, it means that Enterprise people can take the initiative and solve problems quickly and directly. 'Our people are very good,' adds Miller, 'they make the job look easier than it is.'
The career ladder progresses through assistant manager, branch manager, area manager, group manager to vice president - the board sits above the VPs. There are also the specialist roles and professional functions in IT, finance, marketing, sales, HR and so on - and plenty of opportunities to switch careers without switching companies.
Promotion depends upon performance in four key areas of the business. First, your Enterprise Service Quality Index (ESQi) - a measurement of complete customer satisfaction - needs to be above company average. You need to demonstrate profitability, controlling costs as well as boosting revenue, and fleet growth, measured by the number of cars in your branch. Finally, developing your team, while less tangible, is just as important.
'Enterprise is serious about its commitment to its customers and employees,' says Adamson. 'The company offers a multitude of promotion opportunities throughout an employee's career. Most people start at management trainee level, washing cars - just as I did. But the company promises you that there will be continual opportunity. Many companies say that, but not many can actually deliver it. At Enterprise our entire business model is based around it!'
Training is very comprehensive. Enterprise is always recruiting and always training. This year, the company will hire 1,000 trainees in the UK to feed its management programme. The first two weeks are spent in the classroom and then, armed with a structured training manual, it's on the job, with branch managers responsible for their new charges. Enterprise is a very decentralised company and each branch may do things a little differently. There will be a further 10-12 days classroom training dispersed throughout the year. 'So many companies contact Enterprise complimenting us on our people and showing interest in our people, which I take as a good sign,' says Miller.
Other courses are supported on request and there is an international language programme - perhaps with one eye on its planned international expansion. Transfers within the company - abroad and within the UK - happen all the time. Enterprise doesn't ask people to relocate but all positions are advertised internally. 'Last year we moved 425 people,' says Miller. 'That's a big relocation programme.'
Company culture
Enterprise founder Jack Taylor looked around his small office one day and saw a handful of co-workers fielding phone calls, calculating rates and washing cars. But he saw something else too: people doing ordinary, everyday things with extraordinary passion and focus, going well beyond their own tasks to get the whole job done right.
Enterprise's phenomenal growth and success over the ensuing decades is based on Jack's simple philosophy: 'Take care of your customers and employees first and profits will follow.' But Enterprise's goal has never been to be the biggest car rental company - only the best.
And the thing that Enterprise people talk about most is... Enterprise people. The management style of the company is based very much on being honest, open and up-front and managers pick up their own phones. 'People here do feel comfortable about management. They know that they are hearing the truth and that there are no hidden agendas,' adds Miller.
The company's values are underpinned by professional HR policies. Recruitment is a hive of activity but so too is training. Enterprise is looking long-term, identifying the strong leaders of its future. 'If we don't provide development, people will leave to find it elsewhere,' says Miller. 'People can see the tremendous growth in the business,' adds Adamson.
Enterprise operates an Alternative Work Arrangements Programme - its answer to flexible working. When Diane Lynch was promoted to group manager while on maternity leave, she returned to find it difficult to balance having a child, a husband who worked full time and a demanding job. She asked if she could shrink her hours from 9-4 and be available on her mobile (Enterprise people typically work a 50-hour week, largely because of the business needing to open 8am-6pm). She continued on this reduced schedule for eighteen months and still outperformed her peers (largely men). She was recently promoted to assistant vice president, working directly with Brice Adamson.
Innovation
'We actively encourage our people to make decisions and build their confidence at finding innovative business solutions to day-to-day concerns,' says Adamson. 'Well-calculated risks are a necessity of a managerial position.' With profit share correlated directly to the performance of their branch, innovation focuses on doing those extra little things to make a big difference in customer service.
There's no better illustration of this than the introduction of ESQi. Concerned that it might be sacrificing customer service for growth, Enterprise started to measure complete customer satisfaction - for every branch. That's 200,000 independent customer surveys a month. ESQi scores appear against branch managers' monthly profitability reports. An above average ESQi is a pre-requisite for promotion and a below-average score is tantamount to going to 'ESQi jail' - 'a place you don't want to be,' said an insider.
The results were staggering - complete customer satisfaction figures rose from 67% in 1994 to 81% in 2004 and the spread between the top and bottom branch ratings narrowed, showing improved consistency.
Diversity and social responsibility
On diversity, Enterprise is probably one of the most advanced companies in the UK (stemming from being a US organisation, suggests Miller). Some 25% of its workforce comes from ethnic minorities, but what stands out is its diversity training. Other companies might respond "huh?" but in this company, diversity is enshrined in the management development programme. This highly structured course teaches cross-cultural awareness, male-female communication and the needs of single parents and employees with children. The purpose is to arm managers with the skills to handle real life situations and act as 'agents of change.'
There is also a National Diversity/Career and Family Focus Group, with meetings held quarterly aimed at 'finding new ways to make Enterprise a better place to work.' Locally, each operating group has its own team to implement fresh ideas.
Social responsibility is a 'big deal' at Enterprise. It's best highlighted by the Jack Taylor Founding Values Award. To qualify, operating groups need to excel in community partnerships, diversity, work/life balance options and governmental/philanthropic relations. Of 130 people who qualified last year, two won a $20,000 grant to put back into a charity project of their choice, one of those being Birmingham. It's how Enterprise encourages its people into social responsibility, without issuing any central dictat.
There is also a payroll-giving programme, where Enterprise donates 50p for every £1 that employees give to charity.
Corporate Governance
Enterprise is a company founded on integrity and best practice governance is operated. An internal audit division scrutinises individual business groups annually (an exercise repeated externally through professional auditors) and 'digs through everything.' On Data Protection, most is stored in the US head office in St Louis and there is also a 'safe harbour' office in the UK. There is also a separate company Compliance Officer and it is fair to say that Enterprise takes corporate governance pretty seriously.
Environmental record
As a car rental company with a conscious eye on the environment, Enterprise adheres to guidelines set by the Environmental Agency. Enterprise has all the boxes ticked when it comes to the regular, safe disposal and recycling of all waste products. There are recycling bins for card, paper, cans and cups, and ink and toner cartridges throughout its UK locations.
Enterprise even cleans its cars in an environmentally friendly way, making every effort to ensure that car washes dispose of the dirty, soapy water safely rather than pour it into the main drainage system!
