Post on 16-Oct-2020
How’s the Weather in Your Center?
CREATING A HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE
Presented by: Jill Bella
Objectives
Understand organizational climate and quality of work life
Explore ten dimensions that contribute to a program’s organizational climate
Learn how to gather data to measure and monitor organizational climate
Implement practical strategies for creating a great place to work
Quality of Work Life—Why is it Important?
The needs of adult staff tend to be forgotten
By failing to meet the needs of adults who work in child care,
we are threatening not only their well-being,but that of the children in their care.
~ Whitebook, Howes, and Phillips, 1989
Quality of Work Life—Why is it Important?
The needs of adult staff tend to be forgotten.
Staff stability and quality of caregiving is linked to turnover and quality of work life.
A good work environment is essential to larger goal of professionalizing the field–moving from job to career orientation.
What is Organizational Climate?
The distinct and unique atmosphere that characterizes a setting.
Made up of the collective perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values of the individuals in a particular work setting.
A composite of the personalities that come together and the leadership that guides them.
School climate is like
the air we breathe–
it tends to go
unnoticed
until something
is seriously wrong.
~ H. Jerome Freiberg
Quality is a Moving Target
The Early Childhood Work Environment Survey
Measuring Ten Dimensions of Organizational Climate
Dimensions of Organizational Cliamte
Collegiality
Professional Growth
Supervisor Support
Clarity
Reward System
Decisionmaking
Goal Consensus
Task Orientation
Physical Setting
Innovativeness
Collegiality
The extent to which staff are friendly, supportive, and trusting of one another.
The peer cohesion and team spirit of the group.
Professional Growth
The degree of emphasis placed on staff’s professional growth.
The availability of opportunities to increase professional competence.
Demonstrating Professional Growth
Encourage teachers to share information regarding instructional methods and materials
Set aside time at staff meetings for each person to share their expertise
Invite professors from local colleges to discuss their research or specialty
Encourage teachers to observe one another
Maintain a professional library
Professional Growth Questions
How do you let staff know what opportunities are available for professional development?
Professional Growth Questions
How do you let staff know what opportunities are available for professional development?
Where/how are accomplishments of staff recognized?
Professional Growth Questions
How do you let staff know what opportunities are available for professional development?
Where/how are accomplishments of staff recognized?
What materials are available to staff to encourage professional development?
Professional Growth Questions
How do you let staff know what opportunities are available for professional development?
Where/how are accomplishments of staff recognized?
What materials are available to staff to encourage professional development?
How is professional development encouraged?
Professional Growth Questions
How do you let staff know what opportunities are available for professional development?
Where/how are accomplishments of staff recognized?
What materials are available to staff to encourage professional development?
How is professional development encouraged?
How are colleagues and families made aware of one another’s ongoing professional development?
A Great Place to Work
From Bloom, P. J., Hentschel, A., & Bella, J. (2010). A Great Place to Work: Creating a Healthy Organizational Climate. Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons. Reprinted with permission for McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership training only.
Professional Growth Questions
What is available to help staff reflect on their day and practices?
Supervisor Support
The degree of facilitative leadership that provides encouragement, support, and
clear expectations.
Machines can be worked, humans must be developed.
~Peter Drucker
Supervisor Support
Supervisors tend to give support in the same way they prefer to receive support themselves
Different people benefit from different styles of supervision
Supervision preferences are situational
From Bloom, P. J., Hentschel, A., & Bella, J. (2010). A Great Place to Work: Creating a Healthy Organizational Climate. Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons. Reprinted with permission for McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership training only.
Lack of supervisor support for training, career guidance, and interpreting policies
has been found to be a major cause of job turnover
in the field.
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
What inspires staff throughout the day?
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
What inspires staff throughout the day?
Where is it evident that supervisors and staff are working on continuous improvements?
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
What inspires staff throughout the day?
Where is it evident that supervisors and staff are working on continuous improvements?
How are staff welcomed into the program?
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
What inspires staff throughout the day?
Where is it evident that supervisors and staff are working on continuous improvements?
How are staff welcomed into the program?
Where is there recognition of personal and professional accomplishments?
Supervisor Support Questions
How are staff motivated?
What inspires staff throughout the day?
Where is it evident that supervisors and staff are working on continuous improvements?
How are staff welcomed into the program?
Where is there recognition of personal and professional accomplishments?
How can families and other staff members learn about one another (i.e., passions, values, hobbies)?
Supervisor Support Questions
How is it clear that supervisors care about the lives of their staff?
People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget
how you made them feel.~ Maya Angelou
Clarity
The extent to which policies, procedures, and responsibilities are clearly defined
and communicated.
I know you believe you
understand what you
think I said,
but I’m not sure
you realize that
what you heard
is not what I meant.
~ Robert McCloskey
Clarity Questions How are staff communicated with (how do they receive
information)?
Where/when can staff learn about roles and responsibilities?
How can one find out when policies and procedures were last reviewed?
Where can staff find out about benefits?
Where can staff learn about what families are told?
How do staff become aware of social norms?
How frequently are orientation materials revisited?
Reward System
The degree of fairness and equity in the distribution of pay, fringe benefits, and
opportunities for advancement.
Decisionmaking
The degree of autonomy given to staff and the extent to which they are involved
in making center-wide decisions.
Just the right amount 16%
More than I want 6%
Less than I want 78%
Teachers’ Perception of Their Decision-Making Influence (N=2,161)
From Bloom, P. J., Hentschel, A., & Bella, J. (2010). A Great Place to Work: Creating a Healthy Organizational Climate. Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons. Reprinted with permission for McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership training only.
Goal Consensus
The degree to which staff agree on the philosophy, goals, and objectives
of the program.
Task Orientation
The emphasis placed on organizational effectiveness and
efficiency including productive meetings, program outcomes, and accountability.
Physical Setting
The extent to which the spatial arrangement of the program
helps or hinders staff in carrying out their responsibilities.
Innovativeness
The extent to which the center adapts to change and encourages staff to find
creative ways to solve problems.
Encouraging Innovativeness
Provide time, space, and money to implement ideas
Reassure teachers that ideas and plans, even when challenged, are valued
Let go throughout the growth process (avoid directing others, stay out of the way, allow mistakes)
Be informed
Be available
Provide an open, friendly supportive environment
In organizations where
everyone thinks alike,
no one thinks very much.
~Walter Lippmann
We must not, in trying to think about
how we can make a big difference,
ignore the small daily differences we can make which ,
over time, add up to big differences
that we often cannot foresee. ~Marian Wright Edelman
For more information on organizational climate
Jill Bella
jill.bella@nl.edu
@jillmbella
mccormickcenter.nl.edu