DreamTeamElite | Transform Your Team...Transform Your Business | 1083 Queen St, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 0B2

Morale

“Oh, and remember: next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day.

So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans. “ ~Character Bill Lumbergh, “Office Space”

When a lot of people think of employee morale, they silently (or not so silently) groan as they

recall attempts by a past employer to boost the atmosphere of the work environment. Employee

of the month walls, dress down days, office birthday celebrations, the list goes on and on of efforts

made by well meaning leaders to show appreciation and motivate their staff to perform their best.

You want to recognize and reward your team and you know that keeping morale high is vital to

the success of your practice but you do not have a large portion of your budget available or time

in your schedule to set aside for extravagant celebrations. You need to do things to keep your

employees happy but you don’t know what and don’t want to make half hearted attempts that fall

short and cause eye rolling and groaning from your staff. If this sounds familiar, you might be

intrigued to know that while the above mentioned ideas do have a place in fun, positive office

cultures, the best ways to motivate and reward your employees are FREE.

The Morale of the Group as a Whole Hinges on the Morale of your Individual Employees

If you want a team as solid as a brick

wall, you have to build it brick by brick.

Just as a missing or crumbling brick

makes a wall weaker, one unhappy team

member can drag the whole team down

to their level in a short amount of time.

This is especially true in small to medium

sized practices where employees work

closely with each other all day, every

day. To avoid one person having such a

negative impact, address issues in a

timely manner by holding coaching

sessions as you identify areas that

require improvement. Even issues such as a poor attitude or disagreements for co-workers are

topics for coaching sessions! Do not allow your employees to go without feedback until annual

review time. An annual review should truly be a review of things you have already discussed -

both positive and negative - throughout the year.

DreamTeamElite | Transform Your Team...Transform Your Business | 1083 Queen St, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 0B2

There should be no surprises about the information in an annual performance review. Dealing

with any issues as they arise allows everyone to move on in a positive manner and leave it behind.

Just as important as timely coaching to correct performance deficiencies is timely recognition

when they do great work! Get to know your staff on an individual level. Learn what motivates

them and what methods of recognition will work best for them. Do they enjoy shout outs at a staff

meeting for the great service they provided to a client last week? Or would they prefer a private

e-mail (or better yet, handwritten) note of thanks letting them know how much you appreciate their

skills?

Specific and timely coaching and recognition are key to the happiness and morale of individual

employees!

Are you tired of hearing the word “Transparency?”

It may be the latest buzzword we hate to hear,

especially in an election year, but transparency - to

some degree - is important! I don’t mean that you

should turn over the password to your e-mail account

and share your every thought but employees

appreciate and respond to honesty. If you have noticed

a downward trend in new client numbers and need to

implement an initiative to drive the trend in the opposite

direction, tell them. Often times new policies, programs

and initiatives are communicated to staff without telling them why. If they don’t understand why

they are doing something new, the tendency to complain about it or view it as “one more thing”

they have to do is greater. Of course, complaining about change brings the morale of the whole

group down!

Give Employees the Opportunity to offer Feedback and Implement Solutions

Employees who take part in discovering solutions to problems are less likely to complain about

the changes implemented. Continuing with the example of low new client numbers, present the

plan you have decided upon to tackle the deficit. Ask them for feedback on what you have

presented and then ask them for their ideas. Remember that employee who prefers to be

recognized privately? They might wish to share their feedback privately too. During staff

meetings, encourage your team to see you later or feel free to e-mail you if they think of ideas

later. The helps those who aren’t big on group sharing to have an opportunity to communicate

their thoughts. Give serious consideration to suggestions made and empower your team to

implement feasible plans. This will help them to take ownership of the problem and feel that they

have made meaningful contributions.

DreamTeamElite | Transform Your Team...Transform Your Business | 1083 Queen St, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 0B2

Let them know that if an idea doesn’t work, you don’t consider it a failure, you consider it an

opportunity to try a new idea that might! Minions are cute and fun to laugh at but employees do

not want to be treated like or feel like one. They want to know that they are a part of the success

of the practice and that their ideas and contributions make a difference!

After the Wall is Built you Need to Maintain it!

Once you have worked hard with your individual employees and finally feel like you are on the

right track with a positive, cohesive team you can sit back and pat yourself on the back. Your wall

is built and your work here is done! Or is it? Even the best built walls require care and

maintenance to make sure they stay strong and last well into the future. The same goes for

employees. The morale of your team and culture of your practice will require constant fine tuning.

Keep those coaching sessions going. Offer praise and recognition routinely. This is also a great

place to add fun to the team with more traditional morale building efforts but feel free to get

creative and customize your fun to your team. Instead of an employee of the month wall, make

that new client initiative you implemented a fun competition! Post those results on your bulletin

board and award a prize to the person who does the best. Prizes don’t have to be big to make

an impact! Individualize the prize to the winner. Give them a gift card to a favorite coffee or lunch

spot. If you have a prime parking spot, reserve it for that employee for the month. Better yet -

ask your employees for ideas on what they would like to do to celebrate this amazing team you

have built together!

Members of the Dream Team Elite program have access to a dedicated Team Builder Counselor

who can help develop plans to coach employees, brainstorm creative ways of recognizing great

work and guide you through the process of building a positive and strong office culture.