Whether it’s your support staff in the
office, your fundraisers, or even your volunteers, it’s important to take steps
to keep your entire team happy. After all, job satisfaction and morale have a
direct effect on performance, and happy staff are more likely to be a
productive one! All it takes is just one or two disengaged members to affect
the mood and ability of your entire organisation!
Take the following steps to create a
workplace environment that’s energising and enjoyable, and that will support
your staff and encourage them to give their best effort every single day!
Trust
No one likes to feel as though someone is
always looking over their shoulder trying to catch them in a mistake. One of
the best things that you can do to create a healthy workspace is to trust your
team and their abilities. Empower them to make decisions and act to fix minor
issues. Trust them with meaningful work. Give them opportunities to learn new
things by cross-training in other departments and encourage task sharing and
teamwork.
Education
Make sure that your team is ready to
perform its duties well by giving them everything that they need to be well
equipped and prepared. This means offering them training and guidance and
providing them with updated tools and equipment that will increase their
productivity and make it easier to complete their assigned tasks. Nothing is
quite so frustrating as trying to use outdated hardware and software to
complete duties that would be easier and faster to perform with current
equipment and continuing education.
Communication
Does your team know what’s expected of
them? Do they understand your workplace culture and are they a good fit for
your organisation’s values and goals? Do they share your vision and mission?
Regardless of someone’s position in your organisation, make sure that you
have clearly communicated to them their roles, responsibilities and rights.
Talk with them on a regular basis about their performance, as well as their
short, mid-range and long-term career goals. Learn about each member’s needs
and seek ways to help them meet their career objectives, including connecting
them with people and resources that can help them learn new skills and gain new
experience that will help them grow on both a personal and professional level.
Respect
Be realistic in your expectations for your
team regarding their performance and the commitments you ask from them in terms
of time and effort. Show them that you respect them as people by being
sensitive to their needs for time away from your organisation to meet other
obligations and have time to rest and relax. Offer flexible scheduling and
other accommodations to be more inclusive, diverse and fair. Acknowledge your
team and specific members when their performance truly stands out and exceeds
your expectations. In addition to regular praise, look for ways to express your
gratitude for their hard work on a personal level that your individual members
will find meaningful.
As you repeat each of the four steps over
time, the bonds between you and your team will strengthen, performance will
improve as will comradery and morale. You will have created a robust and resilient
organisation one interaction, and person, at a time!
