Office/Clinic setting staff morale

[CoffeeLoveRN]

What are some things you have done or maybe would like to see done to increase staff morale?

Looking for ideas for day starters, quick meeting/recaps, kuddos type stuff during the working hours and suggestions for after hours. Besides general dinners and lunches together.

I looked online for team building strategies and most of what I found seemed corny. Looking for multiple ways to really bring our staff to a better level of happiness and team effort.

Even better if the doctors have been included!

[mappers]

Support the staff. Listen to their ideas for solutions to problems and act on them. Pay them a decent wage comparable to others in the field.

We have poor morale and there is no amount of lunches and "team building" that can make up for the fact that our manager is not our advocate. When things go wrong, we get the blame. When we have a complaint or issue, it goes unheard or gets swept under the rug.

Free lunches cannot make up for poor management.

[RxOnly]

Maybe a little holiday bonus since it's that time of year.

My manager buys a birthday cake at the end of the month and we celebrate all of the employees who had a birthday that month for a few minutes in the break room.

We will be putting a bulletin board up in the break room where we will post nice things that patients have said about staff members, and nice things we have to say to each other.

Also- every so often we're asked "How are things going?" and changes are made accordingly (obviously within limits) For example, we were all irritated that there wasn't a computer in the lab area for recording results. We had to go all the way across the clinic to find a free computer to document things, and it would take an extra few minutes (that you really don't have when you are in a busy practice). It was a pain in the butt. We asked nicely and two weeks later had the computer.

[CoffeeLoveRN]

I am not in a position to give raises or bonuses.

The birthday cake idea is a good one!

Implementing a survey and getting ideas anonymously is something too, that way no one has to feel pressured.

Our company is excellent but our little office has poor morale due to staffing problems that were brewing before I came on board and I am diligently working to turn that around.

Thanks for responding! Hope I get some more responses too.

[nursel56]

I think morale is largely a matter of decent working conditions (enough staff, competitive wages, etc) and hiring the right people. All you can do is put the right ingredients in place, and be patient as changing a unit culture takes time.

Then, things just work. I like the idea of having a culture where management is pro-active as in the "how are you doing?" question. We had the CEO of one of my clinic jobs who would actually go out to the branch clinics and talk to us, not at us, which I really appreciated and I know others did as well.

The problem with "morale boosters" is that they can be seen as gimmicky, especially to those who have worked in your office for a long time, and backfire. I worked for so many years in ambulatory care - if there's something more specific that concerns you please share! Best wishes to you!

[nursynurseRN]

We have a great morale were we work, mostly because our managers have a great sense of humor!!!

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

At an ambulatory clinic where I once worked, we had one really cool manager who would very quietly compliment or praise us individually on something at least every other day. No big announcements; she would just walk through, look around, and as I'd be charting she'd lean over and say - quietly - "hey - that was really nice of you to wipe down that patient's wheelchair without being asked. Very cool - thanks so much." Or, "I noticed you've been the one signing off on the CNAs crash cart inventory all week - thanks so much for helping out. I'll make sure Jane does it next week so you get a break." Those little compliments for little things were REALLY nice, and I always made a mental note to do the same if I was ever a manager.

She would also spontaneously treat the entire unit to coffees, and I mean she'd get everyone's complicated Starbucks order, whatever we wanted, and when she came back lugging all the cups she'd give us 10 or 15 minutes to enjoy and chat. She'd do that every couple of weeks and tell us it was a thank-you for our hard work. Small but nice - and I think it came out of her own pocket.

ANONYMOUS ways to suggest changes are good;

And maybe a once-or-twice a year volunteering day where we helped at a blood drive or free immunization clinic or something in the community, earned us a paid day off which was good incentive! And, it was seriously fun. We volunteered at the blood drive from 10AM-4PM then went out for drinks and food after.