Page 66 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

46 Building a High Morale Workplace

North Carolina. SAS is a
How Do
Employees Feel? world leader in business
In a study of 3,000 employ- intelligence software and
ees, 56% said their companies failed service, serving more than
to show concern for them, 45% said 37,000 business, govern-
their companies failed to treat them ment, and university sites
fairly, and 41% said their employers in 111 countries. SAS
failed to trust them. Only 24% of
prides itself on treating its
employees said they were “truly loyal”
to their employers and planned to employees with respect.
Every employee is nur-
stay at least two years. How would
your employees have responded to tured like family and is
this survey? treated with respect and
care. SAS goes so far as
to credit its success in direct proportion to the time and money
invested in its people.
The Men’s Wearhouse also believes that employees are
worth the investment. The company provides training—lots of it.

Each year hundreds of Men’s Wearhouse employees, known as
clothing consultants, attend its Suits High, Suits University, and
Selling Accessories University training sessions, programs, and
seminars in Fremont, California. New hires spend about four
days in one of the 30 sessions held yearly at the corporate uni-

versity. The cost to the company? A cool million. The return on
investment? Super high employee morale (just go there and see
for yourself) and lower turnover than its competitors. Training is
worth the investment. In the words of the founder, George

Zimmer, “I guarantee it!”
These are just two examples of companies that treat their
employees well. Other leaders in this respect include USAA,
Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Nordstrom, and MBNA.

Hire the Right People

This isn’t a book about how to interview or hire employees, but
it’s important to devote a few pages to interviewing and hiring
the right people, because if managers hired the right people,
morale and retention would be far less a problem.