MGMT 535 A Story of Organizational Culture

On a recruiter trip in 2014, I was able to chat with the executive director of Enrollment Management and some other upper management. We talked about how the morale seemed to be down in EM and how we were lacking the corporate culture. The director asked me what I would do to improve morale and the culture of our area. I threw out some quick ideas and he told me that we would meet after the trip.

In that meeting I talked about how we could make little changes that would improve morale and give the employees a feeling of belonging and be appreciated. After talking about my ideas, he put me in charge of a team that I would hand pick and if I kept him in the loop about what we were doing we could do pretty much anything we wanted as long as it was within reason. I had a team of seven and we had several brain storming sessions to decide our mission statement, our values and goals and of course a name; Enrollment Culture Committee. We had monthly newsletters where employees could write articles, submit poems and drawings, as well as recipes. Each member was charged with a part of this project and we collaborated well together.

We kicked off our committee by have a breakfast where the Director talked about what the ECC was about and that he was excited for what we were going to bring to our departments. At the end of the breakfast we had so many people come up to us and tell us how excited they were to have something like this where employees who work side by side could get to know each other better. Each month we did something creative such as a Spooky Trick or Treats day where the employees could decorate their cubicles for a prize, make their favorite Halloween treats to share. At Thanksgiving we had a progressive potluck where each department was in charge of a dish such as desserts, sides, etc. At Christmas time you could see stockings hung from cubicles and everyone got into the spirit of giving by dropping in notes, cards, and little gifts to brighten someone’s day.

These things helped the culture of our departments by encouraging each department to mingle, get to know each other as well as feel comfortable enough to ask questions on the behalf of students. Morale increased significantly and we were able to start a recycling program in our building. Most employees just want to be appreciated, told they are doing a great job and given a opportunity to be able to blow off some steam so that they can rejuvenate themselves. We also had a Gear Award where an employee could nominate a peer to be recognized for going above and beyond.

Because of budget cuts, we were not able to continue with the ECC but we still host pancake breakfasts from time to time and it always makes me happy to see the smiles on our staff members and of the chance to get to know each other better. I feel it is vital to have a strong culture within any organization to let employees know they mean something to leadership. Being invested in your staff goes a long way in making everyone happy in the long run.