“Morale.” That one word can
sum up all that is good
in your workplace, or it
can be used as the reason
things are not going all that well.
The word “morale” can also be used as
an excuse for poor performance by a few
employees who would not give an extra
inch at work, even if times are good. And
to make things worse, if they can get a few
more people on the “low-morale bandwagon,”
their own substandard job performance
will just get mixed into the group of poor performers,
ultimately offering the chronic complainers
and slackers the perfect cover and
leaving you wondering what went wrong.
As transportation supervisors or directors,
we are often in a tough spot where it can be
diffi cult on some days to keep our own morale
positive, let alone the morale of the people
we are expected to lead and instill pride
and good feelings in.
From the top
Unless you own a school bus operation and
the buck stops with you, chances are that, like
me, you answer to a higher power — the superintendent
of schools or another boss. Your
boss has a certain set of priorities, goals, knowledge,
skills, opinions and budgetary considerations
that often all lead into his or her decisions
on things that directly impact your job
and your transportation department.
Even though you may have spent most
of your adult life in the school bus business,
and you work every day with your employees
and have a good idea of what they want
or need to be happy, the answer from above
still may be “no.” Many of your drivers and
other staff members look directly to you to
ensure that the work environment is sound
and give no thought to the fact that, like
them, you actually answer to a boss as well.
Improving morale at a school transportation
operation is everyone’s job.
From the company owner or superintendent
to the transportation director,
office staff, and the drivers and monitors,
everyone must ensure that the
work environment is positive.
So what is there for a person like
you, who may be stuck in the middle
of the district office or corporate headquarters
and the driver team? The following
will give you some ideas on
how to reach out to the people in power
above you and to the people you
lead, with the goal of improving morale
on all fronts.
Reach out
What can cause low morale among
transportation staff? There is often a
combination of things that can be affected
by the supervisor and the central
office. I’m not saying that the supervisor
is totally responsible, but he or
she should have a handle on the condition
of his or her department’s morale
at any given time.
Regarding the central office (if you
are a district operation) or corporate office (if you are a contractor), I can’t really
fault them here. During my years of
interacting with central office administrators,
the general attitude is that if the
phone is not ringing off the hook with
complaints about the transportation
department, they feel that all is well.
As a transportation supervisor, I have
to say that I appreciate that somewhat,
because the last thing any of us wants
is to be micromanaged. But drivers and
monitors desire positive feedback from
central office administrators or corporate
headquarters.
In many cases, building principals
go out of their way to communicate
with drivers and monitors, host appreciation
events and often invite them to
activities in the schools that the drivers and monitors serve. The district or
corporate office also needs to reach out
and communicate with your team that
is on the road. Make sure they include
transportation staffers in district-wide
meetings, mailings and job postings,
even if sometimes they may not be directly
applicable to those staffers.
If invited to a transportation luncheon
or holiday party, central office
administrators should make some effort
to be seen for at least a few minutes.
Your drivers are not living in the
dark. They read the local newspapers
and see the school calendar, which may
be full of pictures of administrators attending
events, and they ask themselves,
“Why don’t they visit us?”
In good repair
Transportation facility maintenance
or, better yet, improvements are another
way that the central office can
demonstrate to transportation staffers
that they are committed to them as a
part of the team like the other buildings
or departments in the district. If
every few years your district
is spending $1 million
here and $2 million there
on improvements, but
the transportation facility
built back in 1960 is falling
apart, what message
does this send to your staff
of how the organization or
community values them and the service
they provide?
I know — in this economy, districts
are fighting to get every dollar they can
to improve schools. However, transportation
facilities are critical infrastructure,
as they provide a district-wide
service that impacts students. And facilities
can directly impact transportation
department morale.
Equal treatment
Another key issue that can impact
morale is fair and equitable treatment
of staff members. While the majority
of personnel matters are handled on a
confidential, case-by-case basis, your
employees watch closely to make sure
that everyone is treated the same.
If one employee is approved for a
personal day and other employees are
not, the rumors are going to take off like
wildfire. If two drivers have a seemingly
identical fender bender and one driver
gets a written warning but the other
is terminated, discontent will erupt.
The transportation director and central
offi ce should work as closely as
possible on these types of personnel issues
to keep the chances of rumors, and
the poor morale that ultimately comes
with them, to a minimum.
Keep an eye out
What are some key indicators of low
morale? Some are far more subtle than
others, and you have to be really paying
attention to catch them and determine
that they are either directly or indirectly
causing poor morale.
Of course, one of the most easily
recognizable signs is the attitude
of your staff. Drivers and monitors
generally wear their hearts on their
sleeves. You know when they are
happy, and you know when they are
mad. If your staff has been humming
along pretty well and then slowly
you start to notice grumpy or unfriendly
behavior to each other, the
office or you, something is definitely
up that needs your attention.
Open your ears and eyes fast and get
in touch with a few of your more outspoken
drivers — you know the ones
— who tell it like it is. Ask them for the
inside track on what is wrong.
Another indicator that there is trouble
is that the little things start to bug
people. You may hear that a few drivers
have had an argument in the drivers
room. Or your union representatives (if
you have a unionized workforce) may
start to appear at your doorstep more
frequently with petty gripes.
The more subtle indicators that there
are morale issues could be drivers who
are less and less available to help out
or do the little extras, even if you are
offering extra pay. Happy employees
will often jump at the chance for some
extra hours in the evenings or on a Saturday.
But if you offer the work with
the correct pay and one by one they
say, “No thanks,” they may be looking
to get out of your place and go home
for a reason.
Lastly, a typically clean bus fleet —
inside, outside or both — that starts to
look shabby can be an indicator that
your staff is starting to developed the
“I don’t care” attitude. A team meeting
may be needed right away to have
some open discussion about what is
bothering them.
Meaningful interaction
So by now, I have you running
around your yard checking the cleanliness
of your buses and sending
memos to central office asking them
to visit more often and to shell out for
a new bus garage. No problem, right?
But perhaps the most important step
that you and your bosses can take is
to dig yourselves out of your paperwork
and telephone jungles every so
often. I know that that’s easier said
than done, but interacting with your
staff is very important.
Offer to pick up one of your assistant
superintendents and take them to some
of your school sites at arrival or dismissal.
Visit the buses, chat with your
staff and give your boss a chance to see
how things really work out there.
When your staff handles a very
difficult situation, such as a terrible
morning commute due to traffic, an
accident or weather, or if they handle
an unexpected dismissal of school
due to a water main break, give them
kudos over the radio and make sure
central office or corporate knows
about the incident.
Central office staff will often want to
send a thank-you memo over if they
know how much work your staff put
into an issue. Don’t miss an opportunity
to improve morale by calling your
boss and asking him to send a memo to
your staff. Yes, I said ask him. Remember:
We are often out of sight and out of
mind because things went well.
Lastly, communicate with your staff.
Fill them in on new ideas you are considering
for your department; give
them a pin, hat or T-shirt each year for
a job well done during transportation
appreciation week; and do not hesitate
to admit when you are wrong. If, like
me, you were a driver once, you surely
know that it feels good to be valued
and included.
I would like to thank Transportation
Director Shea Schreiber from the Alexander
(N.Y.) Central School District for
giving me the inspiration to write this article.
If you have a topic you would like
addressed in a future article or would
like to comment on this one, e-mail me
at MPDBUS1@aol.com.
Michael Dallessandro is transportation supervisor at Lake Shore Central School District in Angola, N.Y., and a frequent contributor to SBF. His Website is www.respondsmart.com.