How One Organization Rebuilt a Healthier Workplace Culture
Over two to three years, a toxic workplace became one where employees create the culture for each other.
- Challenge
- Toxic culture, trust & employee experience
- Approach
- Appreciation, Strengths, Purpose & Values
“A Pretty Broken, Toxic and Unhealthy Culture”
That is how Certified Appreciation at Work Facilitator Jim Uhl described the organization when he began working with it.
The problems went beyond employee recognition. Everyday behaviors were shaping an unhealthy employee experience, trust needed rebuilding, and the organization needed its stated values to show up in how people actually treated one another.
Four Areas, Over Two to Three Years
Purpose & values
Clarify what the organization stood for and how people should treat one another.
Strengths
Recognize what employees did well and help them contribute those strengths to the team.
Appreciation
Help people communicate value in ways that were personal and meaningful — the connection between values and everyday moments.
Forgiveness
Create healthier ways to repair trust after mistakes or conflict.
Four New Hires, Welcomed by Their Coworkers
One of the clearest signs came when the organization hired four new employees at the same time.
Instead of treating onboarding as a routine process, existing employees divided into groups and developed ways to welcome the new hires using the different languages of appreciation.
How the Change Showed Up
The organization did not improve its culture through a single appreciation campaign. It changed how employees welcomed coworkers, recognized strengths, handled mistakes, and connected everyday behavior to shared values.
- A workplace noticeably different from the unhealthy one Uhl first encountered
- Employees taking ownership of appreciation instead of depending only on managers
- New hires experiencing the organization’s values from the beginning
- The employee experience as an intentional part of retention
How Pete Lien & Sons Improved Morale and Retention
Ninety leaders, one inventory and eighteen months turned appreciation from a response to low morale into part of how the company works.
How Daimler Truck North America Built a More Personal Culture of Appreciation
A 45-minute leadership session grew into a three-hour workshop, then a learning pathway with the reach to train almost 1,000 people.
How MillerCoors Used Personalized Appreciation to Build Trust
From 30 leaders in 2012 to more than 550 team members, appreciation at MillerCoors became specific, personal, and practical.
