Page 99 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

Putting the Kibosh on Negativity 79

the deadliest and most common de-motivators that contribute
to low morale and cynical attitudes on the job, which ultimately
eat away at company profits and employee stamina.

So how’s it done? Learn from some of the following organi-
zations and their leadership’s proven strategies for knocking out
cynical attitudes and replacing them with can-do, never-say-die
work ethics and superstar workplace behaviors.

Here are some examples ....

For one major retailer, superstar behaviors and women rule! At
a major East Coast retail outlet, turnover and poor attitudes
were at an all-time high. More than 40% of its almost all-male
sales team were leaving the company within six months and

bad attitudes were running rampant. The retail chain, on the
verge of expansion, knew it would need to hire more salespeo-
ple in a hurry, but it wanted top performers who would stay with
the company and would help to boost morale, not wreck it.
The solution? The famous retailer took the time to interview

its handful of top performers and identify the common denomi-
nators among them. In-depth behavioral interviews uncovered
the core competencies necessary for doing a super job with an
undying, can-do attitude. Those competencies included things
like high energy, enthusiasm, assertiveness (not aggressive-

ness), and a sincere desire to serve customers and make them
happy. Results also indicated that women were the ones doing
the best job. When the organization launched its recruiting and
hiring efforts in the Southeast, human resource specialists
specifically hired to the competencies they had uncovered and,

voilà! Women were in the majority of the new hires.

A worldwide housecleaning service eliminates boredom to
boost morale and improve housekeeper attitudes. One interna-
tional housekeeping company was experiencing unprecedented
amounts of employee fatigue, burnout, and boredom. With a

critical eye to how cleaning teams carried out their tasks, man-
agement came up with an approach to fight boredom and
burnout and enhance overall productivity.