Does your organization occasionally need an improvement in morale?  We will cover what works and what doesn't work!   Everyone will get a chance to participate as we use the Rapid Requirements Gathering process to have fun while we discover the true keys to a highly productive, high performing, high morale team.

The results of our discussion on improving morale, with ideas grouped by category, are below:

Culture

·      Practice mutual trust and respect throughout the organization

·      Run an organization which does some things that might fail, but reward people who recognize and react in time

·      Build/maintain a decision-making (as opposed to decision-avoiding) culture and hold all levels to the standard

·      Solicit and act on suggestions for improvement

·      Invite to participate in a “higher-up” strategy/planning session (we want your input/perspective)

·      Ask them to propose solutions or fix a problem they raised

Rewards & Recognition

·       Celebrate team accomplishments

·       Meaningful rewards; Provide recognition that matters to the one being recognized

·        Regular feedback on performance

·        Reward with Time Off

·        Allow flexible work schedule and/or location

Infrastructure

·        Provide adequate space for work

·        Provide adequate Quiet space

·        Provide great tools (that work)

·        Co-locate teams when possible or provide tools to enable a real sense of team

Learning

·        Life-long training (both job related and career development)

·        Provide continuous learning opportunities

·        Career growth opportunities

·        Have opportunities for cross domain socialization (like weekly pastries and coffee or wine and beer)

·        Mentoring opportunities

Alignment & Communication

·        Communicate x 3 – why things are the way they are, and why/how decisions are made

·        Communicate clear goals that have a well articulated rationale

·        Clearly communicate changes, with rationale and in advance when possible

·        Written goals and objectives

·        Explain how the Team’s work fits into the Big Picture.

·        Be sure people understand the goals and how they can support them

Focus

·        Minimize/eliminate bureaucracy

·        Set up R&D organizations away from the flagpole

·        Shield individual contributors from budget process

·        Provide support functions rather than loading them onto professionals as an extra layer

·        Do some garbage/paper-pushing work instead of pushing it down

Observations

·        ~18-200 people is a breakdown point for a company; transitions from relationship-based to system-based

·        How to deal with very good people – high value but high irritant; “managing the real leverage” by Bill Curtis; Manager has to figure out how to keep that person and minimize effect on team

·        What is you think you are doing this but people are still “whining”.

·        How do you react to who is the bearer of the message

·        Are your people having to work too hard – no light at the end of the tunnel; Identify it

·        You tell me after it’s done – Sarbanes Oxley may make this worse

·        Identify the whiners and ask them to propose a solution