Maintaining Employee Morale
in a Down Economy
Strategies for Motivating Your Stars
Here’s What I Believe
There’s a big difference between building morale
and motivating people
 Motivating is a lot tougher
 Building spirit is critical to a well-functioning
department; motivating your “stars” is key to
retaining them
 Creating motivated employees (especially when
times are tough) is your #1 responsibility

Today’s Reality

Lower stock prices
 Salary cuts and freezes
 Smaller staffs and more work
 Cutbacks in training and travel
 Added responsibilities with little prep
 Limited communications flow
 Lack of challenge
It’s Not the Down Economy
You Should Be Worried About
– It’s the Up Market!
There’s A Storm Coming …

It could wreak havoc with internal
relationships
 It could upset your structure and your teams
 It could increase pressure
 It could cost you and your companies
money!
What Can You Do Today?
Strategies for Success
Don’t forget the basics
 Create a new culture of leadership
 Develop special programs for special needs
 Take a new look at performance reviews

Don’t Forget the Basics

Rewards and recognition build spirit
– Staff dinners,celebrations
– “Something special” awards
– Annual offsite and quarterly meetings
– Rewards tied to the “little things”
– R&R/creative “rooms”
Don’t Forget the Basics

Challenge yourself
– CEO acknowledgement builds motivation
– Nothing succeeds like a sincere “thank-you”
– Create opportunities for staff interaction
– E-mail/notes to your stars
– Attendance at key meetings
– Budget support for training and development
Create A New Leadership
Culture
The ability to “influence other people’s
emotions, feelings, attitudes and their
determination …the ability to connect – on
a human level – with many different types
of people.” David Maister
 An internal coach who is willing to focus on
the needs of others to ensure the success of
the enterprise

Create a New Leadership
Culture

Motivation cannot be delegated
 Attend meetings you used to pass up
 Open your door and your phone lines
 Practice “walking the halls” management
 Build relationships with instant feedback
 “What’s in it for them?”
 Share the vision
Create a New Leadership
Culture

Rate yourself as a coach
– If you don’t ask, how will you know?
– Share ratings with staff
– What can I do better?

Increase/deepen communication with your stars
– Encourage “personal” conversations and then follow-up
on what you hear
– Learn how to make people tell you how they feel and
what they need; acknowledge what you hear
– Conduct focus groups and personal assessments
The DISC Assessment

Helps people understand their own strengths
and behavior tendencies
 Helps managers observe and understand
how staff tends to cope, relate to others, use
their strengths strategically
 Helps the team understand their behavior
styles to improve working relationships
The DISC Assessment

Defines ideal work environment
 Identifies motivational tips
 Improves communication
 Helps employee communicate better with
others
 Describes how others perceive them
Create Special Programs for
Special Needs

Training and skills building
– Leadership and management
– Remedial coaching
– Life/balance issues
– Team dynamics

Business issues
– Company plans
– Marketing strategies/competitive issues
– Involve corporate/division management
Take a New Look at
Performance Reviews

Opportunity for you
– Put greater emphasis on career development
– Focus supervisors on what they really need
– Reevaluate structure and organization to create
new challenges
– Make it an ongoing process to head off
surprises
Take a New Look at
Performance Reviews

Opportunity for them
– Critical to career pathing
– Identifies wants and desires
– Creates roadmap for promotion and new
responsibilities
– Offers opportunities to improve current work
environment
– Concentrate on strengths, not weaknesses
The Bottom Line

Think motivation not just morale
 Motivation cannot be delegated
 Motivation requires a deep commitment to
understand what makes your people “tick”
 Motivation also requires new behavior and
a willingness to change your habits and
beliefs