Is Bad Morale Eating Away At Your Bottom Line?

 

Deb Brown

Is Bad Morale Eating Away At Your Bottom Line?  It’s Time to End the Smorgasbord

When it comes to measuring success it’s all about performance and results.  Often employers underestimate how much workplace morale contributes to overall employee performance.  Low workplace moral is a leading cause of poor attendance, high employee turnover, lack of motivation and a disconnect between employees and management.  No matter how it manifests itself, if left unaddressed low morale in the workplace promises to negatively affect overall profitability.

So what steps can be taken to better manage the working environment?  First and foremost being able to recognize early on the signs that morale issues exist.  Often times employee wellbeing at work is overlooked because managers are either unable to identify the problems or unaware of how to handle them.  Some of the initial warning signs include:

1. Frequent absenteeism
2. Decreased productivity
3. Decreased quality of work
4. Apathy
5. Sulking and or moping
6. Backstabbing
7. Increase in accidents or injuries

Once identifying the warning signs the next step in the process is to determine the possible cause(s).  A very wise man once said “if you have a problem, find the cause, then fix the cause.  If you just fix the problem, you will end up fixing it over and over again; if you fix the cause, you only have to do it one time.”  I have always suppoted this philosophy so having the ability to identify why low morale exists is key.  Some of the common factors may include:

1. Unstable financial health of the company
2. Overwork
3. Feeling unappreciated or underappreciated
4. Demanding, rigid supervision
5. Unsupportive, weak supervision that is unable or unwilling to offer support or guidance

With the above in mind we can only surmise that there is no quick fix for changing up workplace morale, but there are some small steps that can be initiated on the part of management to turn this whole thing around.  Opening up lines of communication is imperative and encouraging employee feedback is a biggy.  It is important that employees feel that their opinion matters and that they are a contributing part of the whole.  Appreciation and recognition of employee accomplishments is also high up on the list, people should be recognized for their achievements whether it be in the form of a monetary reward or just a simple thanks for a job well done.  Teambuilding activities can also encourage and maintain high employee morale and support the effort that we are all working towards a common goal.  Lastly, providing an environment that allows employees to achieve a good balance between their professional lives and their personal lives;  flexible work hours is one example.  It is proven that employees able to better manage their personal lives are more productive when on the job so this is a benefit that should be high on your list of considerations.

These examples are just a few that have made a difference at my place of work.  Low morale is infectious and can easily spread throughout your entire organization.  We all need to be more proactive as managers when it comes to addressing low morale because if it continues to go unnoticed, we can all expect to suffer the widespread consequences.

No Pain, No Change

Annette Scorzelli

At Danlee Medical Products we strive to stay in touch with our customers whether it’s a quick call or dropping a little note in the mail. When asked why I have always said “so they know we care.” I came across this great selling quote that explains it even better than I can. I am sure many of you will agree that as a small company it is always important to set yourself apart from the competition. We always try to impress upon our sales staff that we should treat our customers like we would want to be treated and they will keep coming back. See if you also agree with Brian Sullivan’s “No Pain/No Change.”

 

PRECISE Selling Quote of the Week

Brian Sullivan’s PRECISE Selling Quote of the Week No Pain/No Change Don’t Believe It Salespeople have been taught for generations that their job is to find the prospect’s pain and then provide a solution. But what happens when the prospect has no pain? Does that mean you can’t sell to them? The answer is…NO! For example, last week I planned on placing a product order from a company I usually do business with. They have always created a good product and provided acceptable service. So why did I FIRE them and choose another vendor? I did it because a top performing salesperson proved he wanted my business more. He consistently called on me. And when he did, he didn’t search for pain, instead he searched for things my vendor did well and promised to do them better. The mistake my current vendor made was to assume that because I never complained, they would always get my business. Wrong assumption. Here are the lessons from this experience: • Consistently reach out to prospect’s whose business you want. And when the other supplier gets complacent, you will be there to win. • Don’t assume because there is no pain, you have no chance. • If you own the business already, you better work for it. Regularly ask, “What are we doing we should keep doing? What are we doing we should stop doing? What aren’t we doing that we need to begin doing?” So this week, make a list of your best customers, tell them you love them, and ask how you can do even better. Then go steal the business from the countless complacent salespeople that believe “no pain/no change.” Sales Coach and Business Consultant Brian Sullivan,CSP is the author of the book, 20 Days to the TOP- How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. Sign up for his free 7 Part Video Series on Sales and Negotiations at www.preciseselling.com.

Mirrors And Common Sense

Tim Walton

Besides my wife’s heart incident I talked about before where a doctor panicked because he never saw a heart rate of 44 before, other recent incidences occurred that just make me shake my head.

Switching and adding to life insurance policies saw Joni and I taking the insurance company’s version of a physical. Already knowing about insurance companies’ infamous height/weight charts, the guy in charge passed along instructions to take my chest, waist and hip measurements. Why? Because just from a PURE height/weight standpoint, I’m considered overweight and one chart, “Obese, Class 1”. Muscle is heavier than fat. At my height of 5’8” and a weight that’s usually @ 205, I’m anywhere from 13 to 46 lbs overweight according to 5 different charts I consulted.

I was in the Armed Forces when they had come out with their latest version in the early 80’s. Myself and 2 other weight lifters were sent to the base Dispensary for review as we were considered very overweight according to their new standards. Luckily, the Major in charge was a lifting partner with common sense. I can’t print what he said exactly, but he thought it was a load of BS to put it mildly and gave us waivers. By the way, I was also the fastest runner on base in the 2 mile run. I wasn’t just a muscle head and my aerobic capacity exceeded guys half my size. (Laughingly, I’m STILL 22 lbs over their max for weight based on their latest chart.)

People can look at charts, weights, scales, whatever. The mirror doesn’t lie. You can fall within some chart’s version of acceptable weight and still be an out of shape mess. The truth stares back at you from a full length mirror as you stand in your skivvies. Not to sound narcissistic, but a mirror will tell you more than any scale you step on or any chart you consult. Be honest, would you rather have a good looking reflection and feel healthy or be within some table’s guidelines and be flabby and out of shape? Like the saying goes, “You can’t flex fat.”

So, anyways, hopefully they’ll use my measurements along with a dose of common sense to apply the rates. However, the nurse took Joni’s resting heart rate five (Yes, 5!) different times and it came out to 40 each time. She “Didn’t understand how that could be possible.” Here we go again……………

It’s Business, Not Personal

Joni Walton

I just read an article called “I Hate It’s Business Not Personal.”  This article spoke about how much this saying was their biggest pet peeve.  They believe everything about business is personal.  That may be true, but if you make business decisions based on personal feelings than prepare to fail. 

 

I have repeated this saying hundreds of times during my 18 years owning my own company.  This does not mean I am not “in tune” to my employees, customers and vendor’s feelings; quite the contrary.  However, the one thing I keep furthest from my mind when I am making any business decision is my personal feelings for people involved or the situation itself. 

 

My job is to make decisions in the best interest of my company.  This insures we are obtaining the best opportunities for growth.  This does not mean you are a heartless, horrible, non-feeling person.  It means you put your personal feelings aside and make business decisions based on facts not emotion.  When I am making any business decision, if I allow myself to take into account how much I like the person, who’s feelings might get hurt, or peoples personal struggles going on in their life than I am doing my company, customers and possibly the person/persons involved a dis-service. 

 Over the years I have had to “let go” too many people to mention.  Some people were very accepting and some were extremely upset even violent at times.  With that said; each person who left my company whether on a good note or bad has contacted me a few months or some even a few years later just to thank me and let me know I was right in my decision.  These people explained how appreciative they were because I was candid and honest with them and pointed out why they were not a fit for the position. Some of these people wanted to come back and work for me again and some just wanted to let me know by letting them go it actually made them grow as a person and it pushed them to pursue other avenues which led them to a better suited career path. 

 So I will end my letter with this statement;  It is Business Not Personal.  Whether you like the saying or not if you want to have a successful business you need to live by it.

 Joni