Five to Thrive Week 21

UMD’s Thriving Workplace Initiative is making the University of Maryland a great place to work by providing tools and support to foster engaged, inclusive and empowered faculty and staff across campus.

Each Monday, its Five to Thrive list offers five strategies crowdsourced from research, experts and our own UMD community to help your workplace thrive.

Want to build a Thriving Workplace? Here are this week’s tips:

• Explain the “No.” Not everything can be a yes, but transparency behind decision-making can reduce the perception of unfairness and even spur alternative solutions.
• Expect—and encourage—continuous learning. Impart skills and techniques to help people work smarter or pair new employees with more seasoned colleagues.
• Don’t be afraid to move someone. If you see a team member not succeeding in their role, but recognize their hard work and commitment, consider putting them in a different role that is better matched to their skill set.
• Show you care. Taking the time to work with your team and advocate on their behalf demonstrates a vested interest. Employees who feel valued are more open to suggestions and constructive criticism—they’ll also try harder.
• Set a timeline to execute each step in a project and make it a “living” document: Revisit it often and revise as needed. Involve all team members in setting time goals to ensure they’re feasible and understood.

Want more tips for building a thriving workplace? We’ve mapped it out for you. Check out the UMD Thriver Map, which profiles success stories right here at UMD and offers ideas you can apply today.