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		Can’t we all just get along? Improving Staff Morale Submitted by Amanda McCarthy, Area Coordinator and the Alcohol Education Coordinator, Roanoke College It's the start of the year and times are good in Residence Life. You've had successful – albeit long – staff training, the residents are all settled and happy, and the RAs are busy fostering their floor and hall communities. Then it eventually happens. The vibe changes on the greater residence life staff as a whole. You begin to notice that the staff is generally unhappy. Small changes or requests seem to have a large effect on the staff. Individuals begin to voice concerns about policies, expectations, or requirements. Some staff members even begin to act out during staff meetings, while others become despondent. Staff morale declines greatly. What is a supervisor to do? The key to combating a downturn in staff morale involves understanding why it has happened in the first place. Intentional follow-up with some key activities and assessment will ensure that you, as the supervisor, will lead your staff back to happier times. Understanding why morale has declined Proper assessment of the current staff environment may help you hone in on areas that are damaging staff morale the most. The following questions will help to provide a critical examination of the issues that may be plaguing your staff. Have you recently changed the job requirements or responsibilities of your staff? The addition of certain responsibilities to the established RA work agreement or day-to-day activities of an RA can cause a high rate of burn out among your staff. Such additions will affect particularly returning staff members, who are used to the previously established RA job requirements. Furthermore, additional responsibilities that are not accompanied by further compensation are looked upon unfavorably. Take a look at the academic calendar. Are midterms looming in the near future? Are finals just around the corner? Times of severe academic stress can have a huge effect on RAs and their job performance. Are there any universal stressors on campus or in the greater community that have had an effect on your staff? Tragedies in the college community, the surrounding region, or even the world can have an effect on the residence life staff as a whole. Depending on the makeup of the students at your institution and the region in which your institution is located, different current events may have varying affects on your RAs. What's the buzz on your residence life staff? What are they talking about? Key comments or conversations with certain staff members will clue you in on pertinent issues that are a buzz among the staff as a whole. Pay close attention to what your staff members are saying during their one-on-one meetings, casual conversations, and staff meetings. You may notice certain trends or consistent complaints that will develop over time and eventually affect staff morale. Are they struggling with a policy or practice of the department or institution? RAs are the limit setters and policy enforcers but even they, too, can sometimes be at odds with policies or practices of the department or institution. For instance, an RA may have documented a resident several times for the same violation and yet it seems as if that resident is not being held accountable in any way by the hearing officer or judicial board. While the RA may not know the details of the resident's hearing outcome or sanctions, he or she may still feel unsupported. This can lead to a struggle with a policy or practice, and then an overall decline in morale. After taking assessment of the current condition of morale, a good supervisor must turn a critical eye inward. Is there something that you are doing as a supervisor that is discouraging staff morale? Assessing your role as a supervisor Of course, all supervisors want to do the best job that they can for their staff members. However, we, too, get caught up in the stressors of our daily responsibilities, personal circumstances, and conflict in the world around us. Our morale as a member of the residence life staff may decline as well and contribute to the current negative state on the staff as a whole. The following questions provide a guide for examining your supervisory role and its contribution to staff morale: Have you set manageable expectations for your staff and explained them clearly? Do you hold them accountable when they deviate from said expectations? Do you balance constructive feedback with tangible lessons on how they can improve their weaknesses? Do you express appropriate appreciation and recognition for difficult or arduous tasks? Are you friendly, approachable, flexible, and consistent with all staff members and with all policies/requirements? Do you make yourself available to staff when they need advice, information, or assistance? Do you tell staff members promptly of changes in policy or procedure which will affect them? What is your attitude towards the department or institution? How do you display it to your staff members? Are you thoroughly encouraging your staff for a job well done and keeping their spirits up in the meantime? Techniques to improving staff morale The following techniques offer a comprehensive strategy to improving staff morale and maintaining it through the end of the semester or academic year. After understanding why staff morale has declined, it is our job as supervisors to cultivate a positive energy among the residence life staff. Below is an assortment of techniques that will aid in this endeavor: Residence Life town meeting: Scheduling a town meeting for the entire residence life staff to address concerns and, questions, to gather suggestions, and to work through problems is a great way to combat the issue of staff morale head on. You may want to place a suggestion box in your office the day of the meeting for staff members to submit questions or comments as not all staff members are eager to speak out in front of a large group. It is also important to keep this town meeting professional, calm, and discussion-based. With any conflict mediation, it’s best to establish rules for discussion topics and forum behavior. Special one-on-one meetings: Conduct special one-on-one meetings with your direct staff members to talk specifically about staff morale, perceptions, concerns, etc. Discussing issues in this type of format will allow both parties to express their sides of the issues at hand. This type of format will also lend itself better to establishing changes or compromise that will benefit everyone on staff, supervisors and staff members alike. Enhance recognition activities: Take an inventory of what types of recognition activities are taking place –both on the whole residence life staff and on individual area staffs. Are you doing enough? Are the activities well received? Below are some ideas to incorporate into the activities that you have already instituted: RL staff member of the month: Take nominees from the staff members themselves! Professional staff members or others in your department can vote and then publicly recognize the winner for his/her efforts. Mentor/Mentee program: It helps to have someone else supporting your staff members. Create a mentor/mentee program where new and veteran RAs can help and support each other. “Kudos”: Keep a box in a location central to your staff members, encourage them to write supportive messages to each other, and send them out weekly or announce them at staff meetings. Friendly competitions: There are plenty of types of contests to hold; a few examples are: monthly bulletin board contests, baby picture contest, philanthropy fundraisers, penny wars, anything! Staff development outings: Instead of a staff meeting one week, take your building or area staff on an off-campus outing- ice cream, dinner, bowling, whatever the group decides! Socials: Implement socials for the entire RL staff so that staff members can catch up, exchange stories, and have fun. It may be the first time that some of them have seen each other since training! Individual notes or treats in RA mailboxes: Staff members really do appreciate individual attention. Why not write a quick little note to say thank you or good job and put it in their RA or campus mailbox? Holiday activities: Who doesn’t love to celebrate holidays?! Hold a floor decorating contest; give out treat bags, candy, cards, etc. Celebrate with your staff when morale is already high around a holiday Be realistic After proper examination and understanding of the current state of staff morale, you can take the necessary steps as a supervisor to correct negative attitudes and cultivate positive attitudes among the residence life staff as a whole. However, it is important to be realistic about your outcomes. While the above techniques can have a huge impact on the residence life staff, it is impossible to please all of your staff members, all of the time. As we know, RAs, especially veteran RAs, face a high rate of burn out. We, as supervisors, must offer a great deal of support in situations like this to appropriately challenge the staff members in a positive and manageable way. Alternatively, supervisors must also be prepared to hold staff members who choose not to accept the challenge accountable and to focus on positively pm a job well done. Just as some RAs matriculate within the department to a second or third year or even to a head resident advisor-type role, some RAs find that this leadership role just isn't for them and transition off of the residence life staff. Moreover, dealing with staff morale is specific to each institution and department. The techniques above are simply met as a guide to help supervisors examine the issue at hand and work to improve the environment for all within their residence life department. About the Author Amanda McCarthy began working in higher education as a student leader and resident assistant at Clarion University of Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English, Concentration in Writing in 2003. In 2006, she received a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel from Kent State University. While earning a master’s degree, Amanda worked at Baldwin-Wallace College as a hall director. Amanda is currently in her third year as an Area Coordinator and the Alcohol Education Coordinator at Roanoke College in Salem, VA, where she lives with her husband, Michael. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys reading, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and exploring professional development opportunities in both the National Orientation Director’s Association (NODA) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).