Edward Brown, M.S.
In LinkedIn responses to an article on employee motivation
and incentivization within police departments, respondents said morale-building
initiatives had to involve all parties, police leaders and officers. The results were contrary to employee
motivational theories that place employee morale and productivity on the
shoulders of organizational leaders.
Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Police Professional
Development provides answers to questions on the significance of joint morale
building initiatives.
Q: In your interpretation of responses to morale building being
a joint venture within police departments, how scientific was the article?
Brown: The study did
not use the scientific method. Essentially, the unsolicited opinions of
respondents served as a basis for a different way of looking at police
morale. I was surprised that law
enforcement employees did not place the onus of building morale solely on
police leaders. This seems like a shift
in the studies I’ve looked at in the last twenty years.
Q: If you had to make an educated guess, what would you
attribute to this change in beliefs?
Brown: Off the cuff, I would say globalization, recession,
and individualism have changed the conversation. The Internet, budget restraints, and rugged
individualism have placed responsibilities on employees to become more active
in organizational development. If employees are jumping ship for better
opportunities, then it is logical that all parties have become free agents.
Perhaps these factors have moved the U.S. economy closer to pure capitalism. The employer/employee relationship has become
purely transactional. Each side gives according to the value received.
Q: How does this altered relationship fare with traditional
employee motivation models?
Brown: It’s closer to the true nature of individuals. Each party acting in their own self-interest
bargains for more equity. Police leaders can use this environment to begin the
bargaining process during recruitment and hiring. By tying the self-interests of employees to
departmental missions, employees are incentivized, based on their level of
performance and contribution. The
employee desiring to coast in his career would be absolved of justifying his
low morale and productivity.
Q: How would this model be developed?
Brown: Ron Wheeler, president of Artifact Software,
recommended a competency-based career development model where employees would
have more control over their career plans. Police supervisors would lay out the criteria
for specific opportunities by which a checklist would be developed between the
parties. Advanced degrees, experience in
specialized units, and a willingness to lead would serve as a basis for upward
mobility or at least greater leadership opportunities. These new
responsibilities would lead to more money, more time off, and greater
leadership. Individual employees begin self-actualizing and the department
gains dedicated and motivated personnel to further its mission.
Q: How would this model be instituted within police departments?
Brown: If you fail to systematize expected outcomes, they
are less likely to come to fruition. Police departments have to create the
dialogue and model from the recruiting and hiring phase into the police academy
and into in-service training. The idea is to take away all employee excuses for
personal and professional development that is equally available to all. By
consistently hammering the career development initiative through all the “Touch
Points” of employee involvement, the employee will either participate or remain
content by inactivity. The downside to this
initiative is that many employees will not choose to lead, grow, or expand.
That’s okay. Low morale stems, in part,
from the inability to see clear opportunities for growth and advancement. Even
if employees do not exercise these initiatives, morale is maintained by the
knowledge that they exist at the will and behest of the employee. Employees don’t only support what they help
create, but what is available to them.
For more information on morale building strategies for your department, visit: The A-Team: How to Be a Top Police Department in Recruiting, Training & Retaining Employees. Available now at:
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