Wednesday, December 19, 2001
7:30 a.m. |
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"30 Days to a Happy Employee"
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 Since September 11, 2001, individuals and businesses in America have faced the challenges of survival in ways that no one could have imagined or predicted. Some several weeks later, while the Bush administration is dealing with how to wage peace, the direction to the rest of us to “return to business and/or life as usual” has left many wondering what that is.
Dr. Stephen R. Covey, writing in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says: “Next to physical survival, the greatest psychological need of human beings is to be validated, to know that we matter.” Since many businesses (and the individuals they employ or have just laid off) are indeed confronting their own survival, now may be the time to consider the role that validation plays in insuring the success and stability they seek. For example, a Dallas Morning News article dated 9/26/01 revealed that, with one exception, the eight largest airlines were laying off 76,500 employees. The one exception is Southwest Airlines, long known for its culture of celebrating and praising those whom they employee. In fact, Southwest Airlines’ employees offered to give back a portion of their income to prevent layoffs.
For most businesses, a voluntary offer to return a portion of the payroll to the company is almost unimaginable, namely because the trust and loyalty which is the foundation of such an idea is missing.
Dottie Bruce Gandy, in her book, 30 Days to a Happy Employee, makes a compelling case for the link between appropriately expressed appreciation and the ability of a business to succeed and thrive. Although the publication of her book (June 2001) by Simon and Schuster predated the events of September 11, the message could not be more timely or more on target. She tells of business surveys that ask employees to rank order the top ten things most wanted from their employers. Appreciation was ranked #1. In fact, it is the very absence of appropriate and consistent appreciation that results in lowered productivity, morale, and loyalty. The only increases are in turnover and absenteeism.
Again, the message is clear: businesses no longer have the luxury of sidelining acknowledgment in favor of more budget-driven prerogatives. Employees are hurting, whether they are among those laid off or retained (at least for the time being).
Ms. Gandy’s 30-Day Process for letting those around us know how much we value who they are as well as what they contribute may just be the antidote business needs right now. Her message seems to be clear: take care of your people in the best of times, and they will take care of you in the worst of times.
Ms. Gandy is betting that “first peace; then praise; then profit” is an idea whose time has truly come. |
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Get Dottie's book at
Amazon.com, click here
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