How Does Culture Impact Your Maintenance Department?

“A culture is made — or destroyed — by its articulate voices.” —Ayn Rand.

The above quote holds true in any environment, including maintenance departments. Creating a positive culture encourages involvement and a higher level of performance. Negative culture can harm efficiency and progress by creating a depressing atmosphere, with pessimistic and unenthusiastic employees.

Negative work environments cause people to be less motivated to make progress towards or achieve goals. Negativity festers when people feel unappreciated, uninformed of expectations or rules, or are just unhappy. Negative culture at a company is a very difficult thing to change. Breaking the negative culture is imperative to build a strong and successful company. It often takes major changes to loosen its grip. Change scares most people so be ready to encounter even more negativity in the midst of change.

Positive work environments on the other hand, have dedicated employees striving to work together to create a successful company. Positive cultures start at the top with management projecting a clear plan and vision, establishing values, and creating rules and expectations that entire operation can agree upon. Management must create a trusting atmosphere, a company that portrays honesty, integrity, and maintains open communication will get more out of their workers.

Once management has laid the ground work of a positive environment, then it is left to the workers to keep that uplifting momentum alive. Encouragement from both coworkers and management continue the positivity and helps the entire team reach their goals. How do you create and maintain a positive culture?

• Develop a clear plan, which includes: obtainable goals, rules, role expectations, and desired outcomes
• Maintain open communication between and with in all departments
• Encourage co-workers
• Think proactively, not re-actively
• Remember the importance of patience
• Laugh a little – you should enjoy what you do
• Be a voice that helps make your maintenance department better, not a voice that destroys it.