THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - AN ORGANISATION'S FORTUNES CAN HINGE ON STAFF MORALE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, February 9, 2014

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

Morale in the workplace is often an accurate barometer of how well a business is functioning. At best, when morale is high, it can be the spark needed to fire up the engine of success. At worst, when morale is in the basement, it can be the factor that tips the scales towards failure.

It therefore should go without saying that any business plan needs to incorporate ‘Staff Morale’ as a separate category requiring its own particular attention … even at times when the financial squeeze seems to be so overwhelming that every hand is seemingly required on deck to handle the crisis. In fact keeping morale up during such testing times is more important than ever.

So the question has to be asked, is Racing Queensland (RQ) following that sound principle and keeping their staff as a happy as possible in today’s testing circumstances?

The strong mail is that RQ does not earn a pass mark in this regard.

Now it is easy to go off on a tangent on the subject of unsettled waters … to point out that some RQ personnel have left (resigned if you like), that others have had their job descriptions reviewed and work responsibilities changed, that no less than five new managerial positions have been created and advertised (just where that fits into the financial constraints situation is difficult to fathom), that a vacant position has been re-advertised beyond its original expiry date thereby shifting the goalposts.

But, while there clearly is a lot going on at RQ, it is not necessarily any particular activity that is a worry.

More of a concern is the undercurrent that activity creates in terms of impacting on the mindset of its staff. That, just as clearly, will depend on how those activities are managed.

Office culture is a particular beast. At RQ some staff have lived with the often terribly troubled times of the previous management set-up where they were already arguably in a fragile mental mode.

Sweeping changes in government and board members put those staff members under new management and, for a time, there was all the fanfare associated with a new beginning and a better future.

The new beginning has come and gone. The better future looks dubious at best. So, little wonder that some staff might be feeling insecure, an unpleasant feeling likely to affect performance
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Which brings us back to the question of morale.

I suggest that the following the simply theory applies: ‘The mindset of ordinary workers is directly proportional to the attitude management displays to those workers.’ You could add your own list of qualifying criteria to the management checklist … respect, inclusiveness, backing, job security … but, however long or short the list is, the same principle applies.

Surely the prime test of good leadership is what happens in-house.

If that is true and if RQ does indeed not earn a pass mark for keeping their staff happy at this time then that would reflect a serious flaw in the makeup of the industry moving forward.

But, then again, it is never too late to implement change.

You just have to recognise the need to do so.

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