Workers Need Respect, Challenges

In one of my favorite episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Mary Richards announces she’s bored and is thinking of quitting her job at WJM-TV. She tries to cheer herself up by wearing a blond wig to work. Afraid of losing her, Lou Grant, her grumpy but lovable boss, buys her flowers and offers her a $10-a-week raise.

“I’m in a rut,” says Mary, explaining that she doesn’t want a raise. She needs more excitement and challenge.

Thankfully, she ends up moving to a new apartment and staying in the newsroom, but employers can learn a lesson from her plight.

Throwing money at your best employees isn’t enough to keep them around, especially in this era of super-low unemployment. Treating them with respect and making sure they are challenged is what works, according to savvy entrepreneurs and human resources experts.

Being aware of employee morale is especially important in January and February, because these are the months when many employees quit their jobs, according to Maury Hanigan, chief executive officer of Hanigan Consulting Group in Manhattan.

The so-called “January effect” happens when valued employees receive their year-end bonuses. Hanigan, who specializes in strategic staffing and retention issues, said people often use the money to tide them over while they look for a better job. While many smaller employers don’t give big bonuses, it’s still a good time to evaluate staff morale. Losing even one great person can be devastating for a small firm, she said.

She said an unhappy employee rarely walks into your office and admits he or she is bored or upset. So, it’s up to you to watch out for these danger signs.

“They may start coming in late, leaving early or not putting in the extra effort required,” said Hanigan. “Someone who is not volunteering to take on a new project or is missing deadlines may also be unhappy.”

If you notice any of these symptoms, Hanigan suggests asking the person, “Is there anything going on at work that’s bothering you?”

“The time that is most constructive to sit down and talk is when there is something you can do about it,” said Hanigan.

She said cookie-cutter incentives don’t work. The secret is to find out exactly what will make someone feel appreciated and valued.

For example, she said, a magazine editor who was losing most of his best writers to a competitor called in one person and was about to offer him a substantial raise to stick around.

“It turns out, all the writer really wanted was a laptop computer because he commuted to work,” said Hanigan. “So, it’s important to ask people what they want to get more satisfaction out of their job. Your sales manager probably wants something very different from your finance manager.”

Here are more morale boosting tips from successful entrepreneurs.

Gary Gardner, president of B.H. Gardner Co. Inc. in Indianapolis, said most of his employees have been around eight to 10 years. The company, founded in 1924, sells baking supplies to bakeries around Indiana. They provide a high level of customer service. For example, their drivers always rotate the stock in a customer’s stock room when they deliver new products.

“On the surface, many people here have boring jobs, but we reinforce that their job has an impact on the customer, even if they don’t see it,” said Gardner.

He said his employees are cross-trained to cover for each other. The company also allows some flexible work schedules to accommodate employees with children.

“We let them know what they are doing is important,” said Gardner. “We constantly tell them we can’t do the job without them.”

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jane Applegate Los Angeles Times