How to Reduce the Budget Strain on Personnel by Maintaining Open Communications

1. How to Reduce the Budget Strain on Personnel by Maintaining Open Communications Presenters: Ms. Cherrie Beardsley, Region DMO Administrator, First Student (Duval) Mr. Ronnie H. McCallister, Asst. State Director, School Transportation Management Section, FL DOE

2. Some of Today's Fears that are in the Workplace. • Fear of being without a job. • Layoffs due to the uncertain economy. • Increased demands for overtime due to staff cutbacks.

3. Has Your Operation Experienced any Changes Lately? • Are you doing more with less? • Has your workload increased? • Is your staff showing signs of stress? • Are you finding it more difficult to take time to communicate with your staff?

4. Stress, What is It, and How does ItAffect the Workplace? • Stress is, mental, emotional, or physical strain caused, e.g. by anxiety or overwork. It may cause such symptoms as raised blood pressure or depression. • Stress = Strain, Constant Worry and Tension. • Employees can be edgy, overly sensitive and irritable.

5. How Can We Reduce Stress in the Workplace? • Awareness • Communication • Teamwork • Motivation

6. Awareness • Recognize the signs! • Be concerned for your employees! • Know that challenges that affect your organization (the economy, financial uncertainty) may also affect your employee’s families.

7. Listening • "To be an exceptional listener we must be SILENT when the other person is speaking.“ • All you have to do is re-arrange the letters, and you come up with "SILENT.“ • If you are willing to be silent once in a while, while others are speaking, "You make the conversation rewarding, stimulating, motivating, and satisfying ... • Every human being needs someone just to LISTEN to them."

8. Communication • What is the hardest part about communication? Remembering to do it! • If there is something someone needs to know, tell them, show them, help them to understand. • People aren’t mind readers. They may be busy and they may be stressed but they will usually invite the opportunity to learn, to share and to communicate. • Managers should make the commitment to establish a communication system, complete with checks and balances to make sure information flows as well as it should.

9. Communication (continued) • Staff meetings should be held on a regular basis. • Regular staff meetings provide great potential for a focused staff. • Without regular communication, team members lose momentum, confidence and focus. They become distracted and diverted.

10. Teamwork • Assess employees talents! • Utilize each member’s strengths to increase productivity. • Encourage staff to be involved in solution planning which increases productivity and builds team spirit! • Cross train, be ready for the unexpected.

11. Motivation • "The heart of motivation is to give people what they really want most from work. • The more you are able to provide what they want, the more you should expect what you really want, namely: productivity, quality….. • Every day, find someone doing something well and tell them so.

12. Motivation (continued) • Managers who model the behavior that they expect from staff are avoiding the trap of the “do as I say not as I do” syndrome which can generate a considerable amount of work stress. • Positive and negative thinking are both contagious.

13. Your attitude can be contagious, choose to be positive. How do you present change to your employees? Is the glass half-empty or half full?

14. THROUGH THE STORM One day a young lady was driving along with her father. They  came upon a storm. The young lady asked her father what should she do, he  said  "keep driving". Cars began to  pull over to the side, the storm  was getting worse. What should I do the young lady asked, "keep driving" her father  replied.On up a few feet she noticed eighteen wheelers were pulling over also. She told her dad, "I must pull over I can barely see ahead. It is terrible out here everyone is pulling over." Her father told her not to give up just keep driving. Now the storm was terrible but she never stopped driving and soon she could see a little clearer. After a couple of miles she was on dry land and the  sun was out.  Her father said "now pull over and get out." She said "but why now?“ He said  "get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are still in the storm.  You never gave up and now your storm is over." This is a testimony for anyone that is going through a difficult time. Just because everyone else, even the ones that appear to be the largest and strongest gives up, you don't have to.  Because if you keep going, on up ahead your storm will soon be over and the sun will shine upon your face again. 

15. The best way out is always through.

16. "Embrace Change. True success can be defined by your ability to adapt to changing circumstances."

17. Things to Remember! • Build general awareness about job stress (causes, costs, and control) • Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects. • By giving workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affects the workplace you create a teamwork atmosphere. • Having a positive attitude about change will keep your staff motivated and increase productivity in the workplace. Thanks for attending this presentation!