This document outlines a webinar on improving employee morale in parks and recreation departments. It instructs participants to sign in and complete a pre-webinar assignment ranking motivators. The webinar then discusses the concept of morale and how it relates to employee satisfaction, respect, value and impact. It stresses that morale issues stem from negative work experiences and can be addressed by changing how work is experienced to be more rewarding rather than focusing on bonuses or perks. The webinar emphasizes catching employees doing things right, clear expectations, recognition, communication, and ensuring employees understand their contributions make a difference.

2. Desktop Education for
Parks and Recreation
Welcome and Sign-In
• Sign in with:
– Your Agency Name and
the number of people
watching/attending the
webinar from your
agency today
– What is the name of the
person who will be
inputting answers into the
webinar application
Please
complete your
Pre-Webinar
assignment
before we
begin.
2

3. Please Welcome…
Marie Knight
Director, Community Services
City of Orange

4. Let’s get started!
YES or NO?
Did you do your
Pre-Webinar
Assignment?

5. Pre-Webinar Assignment
“Rank Your Motivators”
Motivators Your Rankings
Interesting work
Appreciation and recognition
Feeling "in on things"
Job security
Good wages
Promotion/growth
Good working conditions
Personal loyalty
Tactful discipline
Sympathetic help with problems

6. Let’s Review--Pre-Webinar Assignment
• In your chat box,
please share which
motivators seem to
rank highest for your
group.

8. Take ONE minute to discuss
and share in your chat box.

9. Take ONE minute to discuss
and share in your chat box.

10. A state of individual
psychological well-being based
upon a sense of confidence and
usefulness and purpose.
How a team feels about
itself and its abilities.

12. A work experience where employees feel
respected, valued, and appreciated
A work experience where employees feel they
are players and not just hired hands
A work experience where employees feel
they get to make a difference

13. Morale problems are
experiential problems, they’re a
result of a negative or
dissatisfying work experience.

15. Because morale is a problem of an
unsatisfying work experience,
the answer is in changing the
work experience.

16. More specifically…
Create a work experience
that itself is rewarding.
(Not always fun, but
rewarding.)

17. What are some ways you can
change the experience?
Take ONE minute to discuss
and share in your chat box.

18. Focus on simple day
to day encounters.
Build the Emotional Bank Account

19. Morale is NOT
improved or damaged
one interaction at a time.
Morale is NOT improved by
one grand gesture or a
premium parking space.

20. Remember
the Goodies,
Gimmicks,
and Galas
Are The
Frosting,
Not The
Cake.

21. The Material “solutions” will not
solve the Experiential problems
•They do have a place in the overall approach.
•They should be part of a larger effort.
•They don’t take the place of the hard work
that needs to be done.

22. Good morale does not require
people to be happy
WHAT?!!!!
Many of the best examples of
high morale come from situations
of great unhappiness and stress
like in a war.

23. Thus, while it may be
impossible to make
people feel happy
during these difficult
times…

24. That is not your job.
Your Job is to create
the right environment
and to build your
team’s focus and
dedication.

26. What are the keys to
good morale?

27. The team’s knows its work contributes to
making others’ lives better.
• How can you ensure your team knows
this?

28. The team knows
their ideas matter.
• How do you make sure they know this?

29. The team is provided opportunities
for growth and trust.
• How do you accomplish this?

30. Accentuate the Positive
Highlight the Good – Coach to improve the bad
Establish a culture of cheers for your peers
Dig deep and Dig often

31. Catch them doing something right!
• MBWA
• Make a Big Woopie out of the small
things
• Value their contributions

32. Set clear expectations for success!
• Starts on the first day – but never too
late
• Show them the cover of the puzzle box
• Make sure the expectations are:
Achievable, Mission Based, Measurable

33. Praise Publicly, Criticize Privately
• Have a clearly defined formal
recognition program.
• Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.
• Invest in your top 20%

34. TALK!

37. Questions?

38. Get in touch with Marie…
Marie Knight, Director
City of Orange Community
Services
mknight@cityoforange.org
714-744-7277