Improving Employee Morale Through Diversity

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

As staff started coming back into the office, either in a hybrid or fulltime schedule, the need for some activities to allow people to “get to know” each other again emerged. Many staff had been hired during the pandemic and had not worked face-to-face with their coworkers. The need to develop a structured program to encourage staff to participate in employee morale activities was identified through meetings with the office managers. The Workforce Development Department (WDD) already had a Diversity Committee tasked with ensuring “a feeling of belonging” for all staff so it was a natural fit for this committee to take the lead in developing a program. After recruitment of new members, the group got together and developed an employee morale contest for the Workforce and Economic Development Diversity Award. It encouraged participation and a roving trophy goes to the office that has the most participation points. The activities are designed to recognize cultural events, provide training for staff on a variety of topics including technology, self-care and other topics identified through employee surveys, and to allow employees to share their activities away from work.