Quality and Data Base Management

¶ … poor staff morale affect customer service? What can be done to remedy the customer service problems when staff cooperation is lacking?

When asking what can be defined as a 'poor' overall sense of staff morale, sometimes it is more helpful to consider what is and creates a sense of 'good' staff morale for an organization. Clearly, a staff with a strong sense of morale and mission feels competent and confident in the organization's goals. A staff with strong morale has a strong sense of motivation and a belief in every employee's individual ability to achieve. A staff with strong morale also has a collective sense of faith in the organization's ability to attain specific goals. A staff with strong morale also feels that high quality performances are rewarded. But when a staff feels poorly about the organization's mission, goals, and rewards offered, they will not respond to customers with efficiency and hope about 'getting things done.'

Rather, the customers in an organization with a low-morale staff may leave the building feeling foolish about the importance of their requests, a lingering sense that the staff does not care about them, and a general impression of a lack of motivation on the part of the staff. Critical to raising staff morale is creating a sense in every individual employee's heart that his or her work matters to his or her self and the organizational mission. The latter objective can be created if staff members receive tangible and immediate praise and rewards for accomplishing goals. The first objective, however, must be an organization-wide effort -- to communicate with clarity to staff as well as customers why the work the organization and individual staff members accomplish is such a vital public service.