Corrections_Today_January_February_2023_Vol.85_No.1

View From the Line

often shared. Resolutions that occur the next day are seldom shared. What the family thinks, matters. Immediate and inten tional responses to offenses is of the utmost importance. Waiting until tomorrow may not be an option. Improving morale and maintaining a positive culture is a continuous effort and

– Focusing on the mission has worked for the armed services and other organizations for years. – Studies indicate applicants of the current generation want to make a difference, not just make a living. The mission is that difference! The mission must create a strong sense of culture and tie to the impact on society. People Matter Team members must know that they matter. As the leadership of the facility, you are the message to those that you serve. – Create opportunities to in clude, engage and support team members. Celebrate and acknowledge birthdays, an niversaries and kids/grandkids accomplishments. Inclusion is one of the purposes of these opportunities. Ensure team members are not being forgot ten. It doesn’t matter whether they are your favored employee. All employees must be favored. • Host a roundtable once per month. Feed them and listen to their words and thoughts. Their comments should be encouraged. Any questions should be for the purpose of enhancing understanding not for debating their percep tions and beliefs. • Have a small group discus sion about current topics. Not politics! Resources such as LinkedIn abound with month for all that had a birthday/anniversary that

quick learning opportunities. A thirty-minute break for team members with the boss can yield huge rewards. • Ensure these discussions are inclusive. Not just cor rectional officers, or just counselors etc. The team is made of many parts and understanding one another is important. • Don’t make these events convenient for you. Early in the morning, late in the eve ning. Remember, our teams work a shift. At the end of a long shift, they want to get home to their family and other plans. • One year, five year and ten-year accomplishments should should be celebrated in a meaningful manner. These are significant mile stones. Remember yours? • Inclusion into the organiza tion. New team members should not be seen as an invasion into “our family”. Failure to include, failure to share information, failure to invite for a discussion equates to a failure to retain. Remember, the mis sion and the purpose of the organization matters. If it doesn’t, members will go elsewhere. • Hires and Promotions. Make sure bulletin boards have pictures of all new team members so staff can rec ognize and welcome them when they are in and around the facility. Graduations and promotions should be done

depends on small gains.

The mission matters – Too often interviews for as

sistant wardens and chiefs’ positions find that applicants don’t know the mission of the organization. The mission is the keystone of the organization and establishes purpose and direction. The mission should be the heart and soul of every meeting, every celebration, every message sent and every discussion had so each team member feels a commitment to the mission. Acknowledgement of accomplishments as well as interventions for poor perfor mance should be linked to the impact on the mission.

Corrections Today January/February 2023 — 19