Impacting Staff Morale Prepared for ASCA Symposium by Commissioner Derrick Schofield September 12, 2014

The feelings of enthusiasm and loyalty that a person or group has about a task or job What Is Morale?

You can’t increase a person’s morale. You can create an atmosphere that is conducive to fostering a better sense of morale. – Changing Climate – Grooming Leaders – Celebrating Successes Impacting Staff Morale

Building Consensus ACT (Accountability, Communication, Teamwork) One Mission One Message One Team Mission and Vision statements Safety Do employees feel safe at work? Do they have all of the tools necessary (training & equipment) to do their job efficiently and effectively? Changing Climate

Environmental Elements Is the workplace clean? Is the workplace visually appealing? Are there a few “creature comforts” that make the workplace more comfortable? (break rooms, access to bathrooms, climate controlled work areas) Changing Climate

Interaction/Engagement Does leadership only summon staff to their offices or do you go to your staff to talk to them in their area of expertise? Do you spend any time observing them in action? (on the yard, in the units, or on other floors of central office) Does your leadership team ever pop in and just ask “how is everything going?” Changing Climate

VIP Do staff feel like important members of the team? (TDOC Profiles in Correction) Can they offer suggestions and feedback that will be heard and possibly acted upon? (Process Action Teams) Does management speak to all employees not just the executive/management team? (Commissioner’s Coin) Changing Climate

Training and opportunities for growth are essential to providing a fertile environment for increasing morale. Create Opportunities Mentoring Grooming Leaders

Create Opportunities Groom staff to be leaders. Leadership program. (Sergeant’s Academy) Offer education opportunities. – Opportunities to learn new skills or expand current skill sets – Positions staff for professional growth – Training and education (Command College) – Tuition reimbursement Grooming Leaders

Mentoring Encourage all leadership to mentor a new employee. Relationship should grow as they are groomed to enter new phases of their career. But be careful that mentees are not seen as playing favorites. Grooming Leaders

Celebrating genuine success is important. Staff see through fake morale building stunts. Correctional Professionals Week Award Presentations The power of the “thank you.” – Staff can handle the hard times and the hard conversations without resentment if they have a reservoir of positive feelings to temper the negative. Celebrating Successes

Discussion