Seven Tips to Attack a Team Morale Problem
Sunday, January 26, 2020, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Morale problems do not happen overnight and they cannot be resolved overnight.
These problems cannot be solved using regular project management processes. They need people management techniques.
Typically, the complete causes and remedies are out of your control. However, as the project manager, there are some things that are within your control.
Regardless of how much you can do, if the group sees you trying to help, they will feel better about their situation.
You need some feedback from the group to determine the cause of the morale problems. Once you understand the cause, there are usually multiple ways to help.
Here are some examples:
-
Be a good listener
You will find that the simple act of listening will help morale. Being sympathetic and empathetic are key responses from the project manager. It shows that you at least recognize the problems and are concerned.
-
Say thank you
This is similar to being a good listener. If team members feel that the project manager recognizes their contributions, it will go a long way toward helping them feel better about their situation.
-
Assign more challenging work
This is a tough one because, in most cases, your work is your work and you cannot change the basic nature of that work. However, there are some things you can do to introduce new challenges. For instance, you can rotate people into new roles.
If two people have done the same job for a long time, switch them. This gives each person an opportunity to learn new skills and new areas of expertise, while also giving you more backup coverage.
You can also give people more responsibility. This might include letting new people manage the budget for the team, putting people in charge of subteams and assigning new people to manage the work of contractors.
-
Provide opportunities to learn new skills
You can try to rotate people into new areas of responsibilities, switch responsibilities to allow people to learn new skills, and increase the training opportunities.
-
Make sure people know what is expected of them
You should make sure people are clear on what their job responsibilities are, what their current work activities are, and how their contributions help the entire project to be successful.
-
Look for opportunities to have fun
Look for an opportunity for social events, pizza parties, birthday cakes, etc. This is not the silver bullet but it helps.
-
Solicit opinions and ideas from employees
The project manager should encourage team members to become involved and offer their insights on assignments. If team members feel like their opinions and ideas are valuable, they will feel better about their situation.
There are many reasons for bad morale. Based on the reasons, there are also many ways to try to improve morale. You need to recognize that the team will not perform as well if morale is bad. So, project managers should keep their eyes open for morale problems and look for ways to keep morale up.
Regardless of the limitations of your role, there are always some things such as listening and saying thank you that are within your control. There may be many other responses in your control as well.
Throw us a like at Facebook.com/doable.financeCourtesy of…
This column is © copyright to www.Method123.com and originally appeared in their weekly project management tip newsletter.
Use the best project management process in the world. Method123 Project Management Methodology (MPMM) is used by tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Take a test drive with the free trial download.
Buy MPMM today – NOW with extra program management and IT development modules.
Method123 Templates. There are no excuses for having crummy project management templates – not with Method123 templates a click away. Buy one or buy the complete set. Buy a multiple person license for everyone in your group.
Click here to see the full PM Kit. No excuses!
