10 Keys To Keeping Morale Up During Times Of Difficulty And Change
by David
Lee
1. Let
employees express their feelings about the difficulties and changes that are
going on. If you try to curtail this and tell them they need to “move on” (i.e.
get over it), these feelings will only fester and turn into anger and
resentment, or result in employees becoming disengaged.
2. Don't
focus all of your efforts on getting buy-in to the changes you seek. Remember
"Seek First to Understand". People need to know you understand their
perspective and their feelings before they will listen to your exhortations.
3. Support
constructive criticism. Make it safe for employees to express dissent or
criticism without being labeled as not being a "team player." If you
don't, you will miss out on important information and will create a workforce
that learns not to care.
4. Give
employees as much opportunity as possible to solve problems and take
constructive action. Taking constructive action is perhaps the strongest antidote
to fear and the feeling of helplessness. Thus, engaging employees in
constructive action plays a central role in keeping morale up in times of
uncertainty and difficulty.
5. To
facilitate employees taking constructive action and feeling like winners during
difficult times, establish and communicate clear short-term goals and
objectives. Not only does it build confidence and a sense of purpose, it also
channels employees' attention in a useful direction, rather than on feeling
sorry for themselves and scared.
6. Amp up
your communication. Make sure employees know what is going on each step of the
way. When people are feeling vulnerable, their tolerance for ambiguity
decreases dramatically. To feel safe and secure, they need to know as much as
possible about what is going on. To increase the efficacy of your
communication, get employee input about what information and what forms of
communication would be most useful.
7. When
you talk about the your vision and the challenges you
are facing, use as many stories and analogies as possible, rather than
PowerPoint slides filled with statistics and facts. Great leaders are masters
at inspiring people through compelling stories and analogies.
8. Make
sure you are "wired into the voice of your internal customers" through
Employee Advisory Groups, president's breakfasts, team meetings, focus groups,
etc. During times of uncertainty, this is of paramount importance. By having a
vehicle for ongoing conversations with employees, you get valuable
"customer feedback" that allows you to come up with the most
effective strategies for executing and communicating changes. Getting employee
feedback also helps you avoid making huge morale damaging blunders. Soliciting
input and engaging employees in ongoing conversation, also communicates respect
- a significant factor in employee morale, and keeps employees engaged. Keeping
employees engaged not only increases buy-in, as everyone knows, it also enables
employees to take constructive action, and thus prevent them from feeling
helpless and then demoralized.
9. When
asking for employee input and ideas, clearly define the parameters of employee
input and involvement. If you don't, employees will feel "set up" if
their input is not used. Also, make sure you keep employees apprised of the
status of their ideas and requests, as well as the final outcome.
10. Celebrate
victories and examples of excellence both formally and informally. During times
of difficulty, it is especially important for employees to feel like winners.
Reprint Rights: This article may be freely redistributed in
full or in part, including being published on websites, in e-zines, or company newsletters, as long as full attribution
and contact information, including email address and web address, are included.
© 2002 David Lee. All
rights reserved.
Click Here for more articles
by David Lee
About the Author: David Lee is a consultant, speaker, and executive
coach. The founder of HumanNature@Work, he has
worked with organizations and presented at conferences throughout
For More Information:
David Lee, President
HumanNature@Work
P.O. Box 430
Bar
Tel: 207-929-3344
E-mail: info@HumanNatureAtWork.com