Hey everyone! I am looking for some creative ideas here.
Background:
I work for a state organization. Just like most of the other states this year, the budget is a mess and we are looking at an approximate $2 billion shortfall statewide. This has created a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our workplace, with rumors of layoffs being rampant. As of this time, we don’t know how much of a hit we are going to take, but we certainly will be taking one. Naturally we have been directed to economize, which has resulted in faculty being given extra courses to teach and funds for teaching assistants being drastically reduced. Staff people like myself have had to take on additional duties since any employees resigning at this time will not be replaced. Staff are also being squeezed space-wise - cubicles are being built in formerly open areas and staff people shoehorned into them because about a half-dozen new faculty were hired just before the announcement of the shortfall, and they must have offices (since contracts were signed with these people, we cannot un-hire them now, which has caused some heartburn as well). This has created a warren-like environment that is stress-inducing in itself.
Next year is projected to be even worse budget-wise, so no relief in sight. Add to that the fact that raises are out of the question for this year, and probably for next year as well, and you have a nervous, tired and po’d workforce on your hands.
So. Our HR person is trying to come up with something that will improve morale. Of course we all know what would really make us happier, but we can’t have that, so she is trying to put Plan B into effect and has solicited ideas from us. Thing is, I can’t think of a thing. I am so used to being forced into really silly HR stuff that’s supposed to make us all into one big slap-happy family, my brain is clogged. Does anyone know of any genuinely good ideas that could be implemented, because I’d love to pass along an actual valuable suggestion. It’s OK if it costs a little money, it just can’t cost a lot :).
But, humor aside, money (salary) is not a terribly good motivator!
(Let’s face it… if you get a 15% raise, do you perform 15% better?)
Give-aways, prizes, picnics, etc are better ways to improve morale.
Also, if higher-ups notice what you’re doing and give praise on it, that goes a long way. Higher-ups have to be sure that it’s sincere and doesn’t come off sounding like false praise.
I can relate to your situation. I am a high school teacher. We have several things going on at my school. One practice that has been especially helpful for me is participating in a “study group”. We were required to do this during our conference time and initially I thought, “OK, one more extra duty”. It has turned out to be quite remarkable. We follow a protocol, so it doesn’t turn into a bitch session. We consider and discuss ways to improve instruction, how to challenge students and produce better outcomes. Some study groups have researched relevant topics. Some study groups have read and discussed books.
Like I said, initially I was not enthusiastic about participating. It turned out to be very productive. It is this “sharpening the saw” time that often gets pushed out of our schedules. It is fun and interesting to be part of my study group. We have practically the whole fine arts department in my group. They are such a kick.
I think it would be a good idea for you to read Stewardship by Peter Block. This book has changed my approach to work. I gave a copy to my principal. This book deals with the exact issue you are struggling with. Block makes the point that more money is not the solution for maintaining high morale. There are tons of examples of companies and organizations that are paying top dollar in wages and compensation to employees and morale is still very low. His suggestions are geared toward creating a work culture where everyone feels responsible for bringing quality participation and devotion to goals that they have determined.
I can’t remember where we got this “model” for our study groups. But the facilitators were trained. It might have something to do with “Critical Friends”. If you are interested, let me know and I will check.
Good Luck,
pv
I think you have made an important point - right now we all feel like stuff is happening to us, not for us, and the lack of control over the situation is really draining. Just not sure if there is anything to be done that can make people really feel better. Money actually is important here since state employees tend to be underpaid, and we look forward to our measly little raise every year. People leave all the time because of the pay situation, plus if we want to park on campus we have to pay for it, which everyone just hates.
Of course part of the overall problem is inherent in the system - the state isn’t a very flexible employer. The university I work for has tried to get their own personnel system separte from the state’s, wherein they make the rules for hiring, firing, salary, promotion, etc. but the state so far has rejected the idea.
I’ll perform a lot better than when presented with a free polo shirt every now and then, let me put it that way.
Here’s a morale-building thing I’d like to see, that may not be applicable to state employers: a company-wide memo stating the following: we’ve told United Way to shove it. Employees that wish to donate personally may still make use of our donation-matching program, but that’s your business, not ours.
I can understand your feelings. I sometimes think I am underpaid. But, I rarely, if ever, feel unappreciated. At least not by the people I work with. The culture of the work place can be one of synergy or sap.
The leadership in our school reminds us frequently that passive aggression is not productive and it can be contagious. We are encouraged, challenged, and empowered, to change the way we function. There is little sympathy for those that can easily criticize all that is wrong. Not that there are not tons of things that are done poorly. The key to staying motivated is to focus on solutions to the problems.
I realize that working within a bureaucracy can be frustrating. It seems that there are many constraints.
There are truly many things that are beyond our control. Morale is not one of them. Taking responsibility for feelings and attitudes can be easily rejected. It serves my purpose more to remember that “there are no victims, only volunteers.”
Believe me, I am all too familiar with bureaucracies. I work in the 4th largest school district in our nation. I sometimes think THEY are nuts!!! If I focus on them and all of their madness, I get agitated. I am getting better at having the attitude of a servant. I have my moments of outrage. I am most productive and satisfied when I focus on service and devotion to our goals.
PAY TO PARK!!! Maybe that would be something you could get changed. If you were sucessful, that would be something to build on.
Believe me, everyone would LOVE it if we could change the parking system around here, but there are many more people who would like to park on campus than there are spots, and the university wants to discourage as many people as possible from bringing cars down here - it’s very crowded - so they charge a lot of money for parking passes (they just raised my pass by $70 for next year - I would definitely take the bus if I lived in town). I’ve been trying to think of some way that we could have a contest or something with the winner getting a free pass for a year, but that would require someone being willing to give their pass up. We only have a limited amount of passes per department, and they are made available based on seniority. Perhaps someone could come up with a creative idea for this?
Oh, and BTW, jacksen9, my husband is a middle school teacher. The parents of his kids are terrific - he’s the chess coach and this year at the state championship the parents gave him a plaque and a couple of lovely gifts. The PTA also cuts a check for every teacher at the beginning of the year to pay for classroom stuff that teachers usually buy out of their own pockets. He obviously doesn’t make much either, but it (usually!) doesn’t matter because it is clear how much he is appreciated. I’ve been trying to think about what the parents do for the teachers at his school and trying to translate it into something that HR can do here.
There’s a book out there that describes how to improve morale. It’s one of those “corporate pride” type things and is really short for people with no free time. Overall, it’s an interesting book (not particularly well-written, but means well). It’s called Fish! and is written by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen.
Only took me about 90 minutes to read, so you might want to give her a try.
How about contacting some of the vendors the institution patronizes? For instance, Aramark is responsible for all cafeterias in our district. We have been successful in getting them to donate money and sponsor some events or parts of events. We use Service Master, so we hit them as well. What about publishers? They should be willing to give something back…right? I don’t know how much time you have to spend on this project but you could set a goal of say…10 parking passes. Start making contacts, requests, and follow-ups. Get these corporations to purchase the passes. Have a drawing for the passes.
Or, ask the decision-making body to provide more free parking passes, and offer discount parking passes to faculty members.
The best thing to do is to praise employees frequently and sincerely, and to communicate as openly about change as humanly possible.
One program that I instituted in our division is sort of a “Note of Thanks.” We have cute thank-you notes printed on cards that peers and supervisors can give out to say thank-you for specific actions. When the person receives this, they can pick from a jar full of pieces of paper with prizes on them, like sweatshirts, golf shirts, tote bags, movie passes, etc. People like getting the little gifts, but mostly they like knowing that someone appreciated their work. Many people post the thank-yous up on their cubicles.
Other things to do:
When everyone is working very hard on a particular day, order in pizzas for lunch
Do an “employee of the month” and pay for that person’s on-campus parking that month. If possible, have a reserved spot designated for that employee.
Institute a recognition program, so that people can more formally recognize each other. Base it on specific criteria so that it feels like it really is an achievement to get recognized.
Start an “innovation” program, and ask people to submit ideas that will help the department - look for process improvement ideas, cost savings initiatives, morale boosters, etc. Give everyone who submits an idea feedback on their idea, and give rewards for ideas that are implemented.
Check out www.thinksmart.com for ideas on innovation programs.
Get the book 1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson. It’s got lots of other ideas.