Case Study · Nonprofit / Social Services

How The Salvation Army Improved Team Morale Through Personalized Appreciation

One office traded competition and caution for cooperation, and its leader saw morale improve within six to eight weeks.

Organization: The Salvation Army
Industry: Nonprofit / Social Services
Challenge: Competition, low morale & poor communication
Approach: MBA Inventory + Personalized Appreciation

The Challenge

Competition Had Replaced Cooperation

One Salvation Army office was struggling with an unhealthy sense of competition between coworkers.

Communication suffered, employees frequently felt hurt or overlooked, and a territorial mindset made cooperation difficult. Team members had become cautious around one another rather than working together openly.

The Approach

What the Team Did

Everyone took the inventory

Lt. Colonel Susan Bukiewicz had each team member complete the MBA Inventory to identify how they preferred to receive appreciation.

Results discussed together

The team learned each person’s language, how coworkers preferred to feel valued, and how different styles affect working relationships.

Small daily changes

A team member who had felt excluded valued Quality Time. A few minutes of attention each morning turned a strained relationship into cooperation.

Morale up in 6–8 weeks

Lt. Colonel Bukiewicz noticed a significant improvement in morale.

In Their Words

A Lasting Change

Although many of us have worked together for years, this book gave us new insights into one another that we never knew before.

Lt. Colonel Susan Bukiewicz The Salvation Army

The Results

What the Office Experienced

The impact extended beyond the original team: one employee later brought the Appreciation at Work concepts into his own leadership role within The Salvation Army.