Morale Management

Two certainties of management are crisis and change, and when they arrive together, it has the ability to shake an enterprise to the core. At a time when even stalwart companies are undergoing significant changes, maintaining morale is both a challenge and a mandate. Using the right approach can create a stronger leadership team and build confidence among the ranks at every level—even in the current climate.

“Change is scary to [employees], and the toughest part for them is not having information,” explains Deb Cullerton, an executive coach and managing director for Priority Management Associates in Philadelphia, Pa., where she teaches leadership skills to clients, including Fortune 500 companies. “Where there are gaps in information, people will fill those gaps with rumor.”

Information, please

Such creative “filling in” can lead to false information and panic within the ranks, as well as slashing productivity at a time when it’s most essential. Cullerton advises clients to set a tone of information—even when there’s nothing to report. Regularly updating employees on the company’s general strategy has a calming effect, and can also help build a stronger team mentality.

“When people have information, they feel empowered,” she says. “They’re going to feel better and be more productive.”

Chris Moyer, interim co-chief technology officer at EDS, an HP Company, and an EDS Fellow, agrees that keeping employees informed and engaged in difficult times is crucial to keeping morale intact and business running as usual.

Trust through transparency

“If you’re not talking to your team with clear statements and sharing some of the decision-making and the ‘why’ behind it…you lose an opportunity to keep their trust,” he says.

He acknowledges it’s best to admit the unknown—such as an estimate of when the economic downturn will end—yet at the same time, advise employees of certainties, such as a new strategic approach, and plan for managing expenses. Most importantly, make sure that when news is released, employees hear it firsthand.

“Bad news is something that doesn’t get better with age,” Moyer says. “If you have bad news, you need to tell [your team]. You have to be upfront and transparent in your decision-making. When you have to make tough calls, you need to go one step further in explaining your actions.”

And don’t forget to smile

One other element that Moyer suggests cannot be overlooked during tough times is humor. Making light of shared pressures and discomforts without taking the situation itself too lightly builds camaraderie while showing the leadership understands what employees are going through.

“As a leader, you’ve got to do your best to make the workplace fun,” he says. “If you lose your sense of humor and your sense of calm, you really do set the stage for how others will act. When the pressure’s on, it’s more important than ever that occasionally we do laugh.”

Such actions will have a positive long-term effect. “Every company goes through a crisis at some point, it’s just a matter of how you get through it together,” Cullerton says. “Better companies will use it to pull people closer and tighter.”