Influencing Morale in the Workplace
Morale in the workplace is the feeling that employees experience when they walk through the front door. It’s the things that generate a feel-good attitude, an energy, excitement and drive to be the very best they can be – and over-achieve.
Good morale drives a person to not only love what they do but then do what they love – it’s a state of mind injected into a person to get the very best out of them. Good morale spreads through a team like wild-fire and creates a culture of positivity and makes coming to work a little more enjoyable and fun.
Having run Pistachio, a strategic creative and digital agency, now for nearly 12 years, I have had to learn how to get the very best out of our team and now know one or two things to boost morale. You want employees to be excited about coming to work and give you their all; therefore, you should put effort into generating such a culture and commitment. It takes time and an understanding of the personalities you have within the office and what makes them tick.
Every morning I walk into the office, usually at some un-godly hour, and take a minute to reflect on what we have built as a business, the culture and mood of the office at that time and what improvements we can make to it. Everyday always starts with brewing fresh coffee for the team – they always need caffeine to start the day!
Over and above making coffee, I then take on the title of “VP of Morale & Motivation” which, of course, I do take very seriously. But what duties does this include, I hear you ask? Well, it can be anything from cheerleader, DJ, event organiser and on a Friday, beer and games organiser! The ‘unofficial’ job description of this key role is: I make sure all the team are feeling driven and motivated, appreciated and truly enjoy their time here, at Pistachio, whilst always keeping the agency’s vision and values at the heart.
We have been known to ‘push the boat’ when boosting morale around the office with seasonal office parties; including fancy dress and team games/competitions. It gives us the opportunity to dig out our best costumes – with the office decked out with the relevant theme and have a day of fun – whilst also carrying out the serious stuff of servicing our clients, of course. Recently, we have also introduced a new staff perk where you never work your birthday; all these add to morale, the commitment your team has towards your business and an attraction for the very best-of-breed talent you want to recruit.
Like many agencies, and even some corporates now, we celebrate a week of hard work with Friday happy hour that allows the team to unwind, connect with peers and shoot some pool! This is a luxury, not a right, which is fully respected. What can I say. We work very hard,. We sometimes play harder and drink a little along the way but we always get things done.
Ensuring that morale is good within our agency, and any working environment, seems like a simple job. You’d be surprised how easily it can slip or be overlooked when you are busy doing the day-to-day duties or in a fast-paced environment, like an agency, where you are under pressure to create amazing things, daily.
At Pistachio, we work hard and take it very seriously to create a working environment that our team enjoys, feels enthused to work hard and go above and beyond. We do this because we value our team. Without them we are nothing. We all work hard, have days when things don’t go right or must work long hours to meet a client deadline. We do all of this, no complaints, because we love what we do, do what we love and have fun along the way. Lots of it.
The Pistachio culture is a culture I’m proud of and wouldn’t change. It is felt and shared by everyone at our agency and often felt by our clients which has added to our success along the way.
