After reading a recent rant on CIO.com, I’ve decided that Meredith Levinson is my new favorite blogger*. Her post, a response to Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in IT feature and accompanying sidebar 7 Tips for Keeping IT Employees Upbeat, was laced with vitriol, but it wasn’t wholly bitter. She included a speck of humor, and a heap of truth.
The Computerworld piece that raised her hackles included these suggestions for building employee morale: reward workers and show appreciation by saying “thank you,” and talk about higher purpose by pointing out the company’s philanthropic endeavors and the role employees play in making the world a better place. Those suggestions are meant to take the place of monetary rewards — you know, because we’re in a recession.
Employees will be more productive and hopefully less bitter, and the internal help desk will be free to do its job.
That’s unrealistic and out-of-touch, Levinson wrote. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Levinson finishes her post by asking for morale-building suggestions. Here are my ideas:
- Give them something they can use: Training, training, training, plus variety, variety, variety. Most organizations dedicate money to training (some more than others), but because people pick up and retain information differently, only a small percentage of employees benefit. Why not offer a range of learning options? It’s good for both you and the worker: You get a more productive employee; and the employee gets a confidence boost, plus a new or enhanced skill to take with him.
- Lend a helping hand: Outsourcing doesn’t have to quash morale. If you choose the right partner, one that evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of your current IT infrastructure, your employees will get expert support when they need it. They might even be grateful. You’re not eliminating jobs; rather, you’re giving workers the tech support they have needed all along. Employees will be more productive and hopefully less bitter, and the internal help desk will be free to do the job it was meant to do.
- Communicate and inform: Have you ever booted up your computer to find that IT had installed new software without informing you? I have, and it’s a real resentment-builder. With a coordinated communication plan, you can keep your employees in the loop about IT and help desk changes, and provide them with support outlets for when they are stuck before, during and after the changes take place. It will enable them to feel more confident with the tools they rely on every day. It shows respect, much more than an empty “thank you.”
Of course, more money would help too, but you already knew that.
*The sentences in her rant that won me over? “Gag me with a spoon” and “This is the biggest crock.” Perhaps it’s the Gen-X in me, or maybe I just like when someone tells it like it is, in a language we can all understand.
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About Jenny Sweeney
It’s amazing that bosses talk to employees about being “part of a company” and taking pride in work, while they are cutting our bonuses, limiting our benefits, and making the thought of retirement seem like a death sentence, or at least guaranteed poverty. I wasn’t around during the “good old days,” when you took a job and you stuck with it. It might have been nice to have loyalty to company and vice versa.
I do understand why managers talk the talk. They have to do whatever they can to survive. But they’d be wise to read posts like this one. Your employees don’t want bull; they want something tangible, something that will enable them to make a living — whether it’s financial or otherwise.