Staff motivation - Vision Realization

inspirational. When staff are given the task of decorating or improving, they often do a good
job of it. One camp went so far as to add a kitchen and short-order chef to prepare food and
drinks for the staff on their time off at night. They also offered nightly movies in a home
theater, pool table, board games, rooms with couches and bean bags, and other various pleasures
and diversions. Again, the staff house needs to fit your camp culture – some camps are
offended by such things, and others call them necessities.
Provide a video camera that staff can check out. They can use it to create their own memory
tapes of camp. Staff pay a few dollars for the tape. This perk has been extremely popular.
Staff have commented that the reason they decided to come back was because they looked at the
video they made. If your camp already gives everyone a summer video memory tape, still
consider using this idea. Staff will have their own custom version. Yes, there are problems and
issues, but they can all be worked out. Play the “Believing and doubting game.”
Framed picture of the camp staff
Staff yearbook with sections for: what is a counselor, quotes, last wills, I remember when . . .,
camp is good because . . ., photo collages, cabin half-pages where they draw or write something,
contact information, and a letter from the directors.
Keepsake of some sort – a pillow case with a photo collage put on it of all the staff, a
customized t-shirt specific to everyone’s character, a little wooden doll dressed up like the
person’s character, beads, plaster foot with quote on it, unit photo albums, necklace, handcrafted
journal or scrapbook (best given at the start of the summer), staff slideshow and/or
movie, Top-Ten-list t-shirt specific to that summer, handmade soap with something unique
inside it, . . .
More ideas
When you ask staff what they would find supportive, you’re likely to get a flood of
suggestions. Those suggestions often trigger other ideas. The result after a few summers is a
pretty comprehensive list of things staff would enjoy – far more than could ever be done. That
allows for the rotation of some ideas as well.
Ideas tend to be specific to a given camp’s situation. When administrative staff think in
a caring, supportive, and respectful manner, they usually come up with lists equally as long, and
often more useful. It’s the same with close relationships. The best things you can do for your
mate are not the generic things anyone could do, but the ones that show you understand their
lives and know what they’re thinking and feeling, and how to help them. Empathy.
Benefit caveats
He who giveth and then taketh away is in the red – not even. Once things get
institutionalized, they become expectations of the camp staff. Taking them away diminishes the
reality compared to the expectations, which yields lower satisfaction. Of course, with proper
explanation, or sufficient passage of time, the expectations can eventually be altered.
Do you have a morale officer? This person spends a couple of hours a day working on
doing great things for staff. Keep in mind that satisfying your staff is not something to which
you decide you'll budget 20% of your time. You have to do it all the time; you've got to live it.
It's got to be part of your style of running camp. Motivation needs to be looked at as a system,
with all the elements therein. Thus, a specific morale officer can be a bad idea, because people
think it is that person’s job, when it is everyone’s. Also, what a morale person can do is of very
limited benefit compared with all the factors that truly make a difference in staff motivation.
Perks and benefits are great when they are random, and/or when they are not used as a
reward for something specific. Rewards set up a dangerous mental dynamic with no advantage
over not using rewards and relying on more systematic motivation strategies. They can also
have the unintended consequence of creating a culture where people rely on external stimuli for
their motivation.
© 2004 Randall Grayson, Ph.D. 42