Looking to keep spirits high at your shop? Avoid these five fatal miscues
Odds are most employees resisted the offer (not that it mattered since morale continued to sink even for those who took part). Many companies didn't catch on to this failed effort to rally the troops. Perhaps the only thing stranger than the fact that thousands of failed crazy hat (or crazy tie, Hawaiian shirt, etc.) days continued taking place coast to coast is that many companies still hold them, with the same miserable results.
That's a testament to the difficult task businesses face when it comes to maintaining high employee morale. It also points to just how important good morale is. Attitude creates revenue. When attitudes darken, so does a company's future. The CCH Business Owner's Toolkit reports that the "cost of doing things wrong," which includes productivity lost to the effects of low employee morale (substandard work, turnover, etc.), costs businesses as much as 20 percent of their revenue. That's $200,000 a year for an average shop generating $1 million annually. And that's money most shops can't afford to lose.
All these lost dollars have helped create an industry of consultants devoted to evaluating and helping build morale in a variety of business environments. Whom should you turn to, and what course(s) should you take? Those are questions that must take into account dozens of factors, including your particular workplace culture, the size of your operation and the makeup of your managerial staff.You'll also want to seek out morale consultants with experience working in auto service. Before choosing one, do some research and update yourself on the latest industry data on how morale impacts the workplace. Make sure your efforts to address morale avoid these five fatal myths about what it takes to keep employees motivated and your business successful.
Myth #1: A simple plan or one day program can address morale
Experts on workplace morale point to a number of reasons why steps such as lighthearted attempts to make the workplace more enjoyable or one-day morale programs fail so miserably. All these reasons are connected. Their main problem is they ignore how an effective morale program operates.
Measuring morale and continually providing for a positive attitude among employees is a staple of the overall employee management efforts. Morale building and maintenance are actions that take place every day, according to experts. The goal of any effective morale program is to bind together the well-being of the business and the employee, to communicate to the employee the significance of his/her individual place in the business.A morale program should help create employees who care about and respect the business based on their sincere belief that a business respects them and is sincerely interested in their well being. Such a program is built largely upon daily interactions between employees and management and focuses on what "things" employees want out of their jobs — for example, management attention to workplace improvements based upon employee input. Such a program also recognizes the fact that morale is built and maintained over the long term.
Brief, short-term solutions ignore all these factors. Moreover, because they usually don't involve employee input they send a self-defeating message that morale isn't significant. They tell employees they aren't being respected as human beings and individuals. How many workers would ever conceive of asking their employers for a single day of a relaxed dress code as important to their attitude?
Finally, the fact, too, that morale wasn't addressed until after it became a problem sends a bad message — effectively informing employees their needs don't register until a workplace situation leans towards a crisis. Morale is a big-picture issue that deserves an intensive, far-reaching program.That doesn't mean, however, that changes in dress codes, celebratory days or other incentives don't have a place. Bonuses, employee picnics, parties, etc. can have an effective place in a morale program. David Lee, a business consultant, executive coach and author of How to Thrive in a High Stress World and Managing Employee Stress and Safety, writes that incentives should be the "frosting, not the cake. They're appropriate when done as a part of a larger effort, when they don't replace the hard work that needs to take place," he writes.
Myth #2: Money is an effective motivator
Pick yourself off the floor, get back in your chair and repeat, "Money isn't an effective motivator."
Carter McNamara, a consultant who holds a BA in Social and Behavioral Sciences a PhD in Human and Organization Development from The Union Institute in Cincinnati and author of A Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision, points to scientific studies that show money isn't an effective motivator. A look at white-collar, cubical-centered America reveals the same. Corporations are rife with rooms packed with very well-paid software programmers, sales professionals and other workers who take little personal interest in their company or their positions.
The fact is employees also want less-tangible benefits from their work. They're also looking for career development, success, learning, recognition and praise, according to McNamara.
Simply throwing money around also creates a serious problem. It tells employees that you place a financial value on human worth. It asserts that employees are little more than cogs in the machinery.
Myth #3: Fear is an effective motivator
Lighting a fire under formerly productive, now disinterested employees may seem like a good idea. At one time, perhaps during the Great Depression, it may have worked. The threat of losing one's livelihood can be a great motivator. Unfortunately, like financial incentives, it's also a short-term solution. As with money, according to McNamara, inducing fear is ultimately a poor motivator.It also has the potential to backfire and send workplace morale reeling to even worse depths. No one, least of all trained, experienced people, want to work at a business where they're pressured about the future of their jobs. This is a particularly bad practice in industries like collision repair where labor shortages are a serious problem. Employees who believe they're being placed under too much stress can simply go work elsewhere — leaving you short-handed. Worse yet, you could send some of your most valuable employees to work for competitors who know how to deal effectively with morale.
Myth #4: Job satisfaction translates into job performance
Some of the happiest, most satisfied workers you'll meet also are the least productive. Think about a painter who casually moves from task to task, taking every available break and making the most of employee perks, such as free soda and cookies. Consider the technician who takes every available training class, has an encyclopedic knowledge of repair and loves the industry, but takes twice the time as other techs to perform the same tasks. Operators are going to lose money on both these workers.
While those examples may seem a bit extreme, consider the fact that many businesses are rife with employees who like their jobs and believe they're doing great work, but are churning out a mediocre (at best) product or service. These businesses have failed to meet one of the main goals of creating a high-morale workplace — aligning business and personal goals. In the high morale workplace, employees are motivated to work in a manner that is both satisfying to them and that best benefits the business.
A workplace with satisfied workers churning out sub-par or mediocre services is just as much of a problem as a profitable business with glum, disinterested workers. At some point, both are going to hit a rough spot where their survival will be in question.
Remaining in business will require both eventually to overhaul their approach to morale.
Myth #5: Employers must go outside their organizations for answers to morale problems
Normally, the best way to seek answers to organizational problems is to look elsewhere, namely to organizations that have found ways to resolve or bypass the same difficulties. Morale is no different. Since most operators aren't experts in this area, seeking outside professional help is a must. A consultant can only guide a business towards better morale. The solution always lies in the same place — with the employees.
Employees know best what they're looking for in a job. Your job is to collect feedback on what best drives them and then find ways to put it into place. For example, if employees demand more training, you need to find ways to both pay for it and shuffle work schedules to make sure business can be carried on as usual. If employees seek more contact with management to discuss work practices or benefits, you need to schedule time to handle these issues and find ways to respond.
Of course, instituting changes doesn't happen overnight. This time lag between suggestions and actions is critical since employees can brush off your attempts to address morale issues as lip service.
Lee points to a remedy developed by managers at Stoneyfield Farm, a yogurt company based in New Hampshire. Stoneyfield posts a chart listing employee issues and suggestions. The chart also indicates the status of the process to institute each suggestion. The chart is a constant reminder to Stoneyfield employees that the company values their opinions. It's also an important tool for aligning the goals of the company and its employees.
Efforts like those at Stoneyfield also point toward one other factor in building morale. According to McNamara, no one can motivate employees. They have to motivate themselves. An effective morale program encourages this motivation and rewards it.
Final Word: Building the better workplace
Think workers ask too much from employers? Consider the fact that many employers are asking for more from their employees. The U.S. departs markedly from the rest of the Western world where workweeks have become shorter and vacations longer. In many Western European nations, workers get two months of vacation. Meanwhile American workers are putting in longer workweeks, often with less time off. Is it too much to ask that these workers be satisfied with their jobs, especially if that satisfaction benefits the business?
That's what maintaining morale is all about — building a healthy business by creating healthy, positive-thinking employees. With an effective morale program, employees help create a workplace they look forward to going to each day. The business reaps the rewards of better products and services, along with an environment that draws talented workers. Both sides win.
One more benefit: No one is ever asked to put on a silly hat.
Tim Sramcik is a freelance writer who has covered the automotive repair industry for more than five years. He has received national and regional awards for feature writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). He also has 15 years of experience in the technical writing industry.
