Local Office Resources
Resources that Local Offices can use to support a healthy and happy workplace.
An office culture survey was developed by the Office of Organizational Excellence (OOE) to help you gauge the office health/culture environment.
Interested in using the Blueprint at your office, but not sure how or where to begin? Look no further! Click on the link above for guidance on how your office can utilize the Blueprint.
Pro Tip: Shepherding this effort within your office is a great leadership opportunity!
[v5] Updated_Guide to Creating a Local Culture Team.pdfInterested in improving your local office health/culture? Start a local culture team! Even if you already have a team dedicated to fostering or improving your office health and culture, this guide may provide best practices for your team.
We understand that each office has a unique culture and faces a variety of challenges. Therefore, it is all the more important to have agency health champions in your office forming a culture team to conscientiously guide cultural growth.
This guide will empower colleagues to uphold values and behavioral norms that support others, treating others with respect, and helping the office achieve its goals. This also helps to create a more satisfying place to work and ensures that the mission is able to be met.
Office Values Exercise
If you use the Office Culture Survey 2.0, there is a question that asks - what three words would you use to describe the office culture? A modified exercise you can do within your office is to ask the staff - what three words would you use to describe their desired office culture? This can be made into a word cloud and represent your office's "north star" for what all staff desires culture wise in the office. Within future office meetings/discussions you can ask what these bigger (more popular) words mean to people...add definitions/context. Here is an example from WFO SLC of their values and definitions crafted by their staff using this exercise. This provides clarity on expectations and allows for accountability. Behaviors should align with the values the office has defined.
The NWS Leadership Academy currently offers local office workshops such as Myers-Briggs, Conflict Management, Platinum Rule, and Strength Finder.
Here is a "how to" guide for starting your own BIDE team within your office/region; it was developed by WFO SGX and in collaboration with WR BIDE.
BIDE = Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.
A list of activities and ideas to help promote, foster and improve your office culture. In addition to these activities, check out the Team Building page for other ideas on how to support and inspire positive culture in your office.
NWS Buddy System
NWS Buddy System and Buddy System Connect - a simple approach to welcoming, supporting, and connecting NWS employees.
NWS Buddy System: implemented at a local office and focused on pairing a willing, existing team member - a Buddy - with a newly hired individual to provide practical, cultural, social and emotional support for approximately six months following their selection by the hiring official.
Buddy System Connect: an agency-wide program for individuals who fall outside the “new hire” window or for employees who may feel isolated within their office, particularly if they don’t feel culturally connected, regardless of time in the agency.
Buddy System Materials:
FAQ | Buddy System Presentation | Buddy System Coordinator Guide
Infographics: Buddy System | Buddy System Key Player Duties | Buddy System Connect
Buddy System Connect sign-up form (for employees interested in being a Buddy to someone)
Have questions? Email Buddy.System@noaa.gov if it's related to the Buddy System, and Buddy.SystemConnect@noaa.gov for questions about Buddy System Connect.
Onboarding Resources
Welcoming new employees into your office’s culture is very important. This is true whether they’re new to your office or to the NWS, but especially so if new to the agency. Part of improving organizational culture is setting those new employees up for success.
Local mentoring programs are designed to better welcome and train our new staff, in addition to developing an organizational culture based on continual learning: an inclusive, whole-office culture where all employees invest in the development of their peers and themselves throughout their careers.
This welcome packet designed to be one of the first lines of communication with a new employee. It helps them get to know the physical area better, including information about housing & apartment costs, schools, information on grocery stores and fitness facilities, etc. Download the template and fill in information about your local area!
Develop Onboarding Resources For New Employees
Develop and Maintain Welcome Packet
Local Mentoring Program
Contact NWS Local Mentoring Advisory Committee: nws.localmentoring@noaa.gov
Healthy Office Culture Characteristics
A healthy culture is not about home office, a cool pet-friendly office with astonishing city views, on-site craft beer and ping pong tournaments - it's about connecting people around a shared goal and building meaningful relationships.
A healthy culture focuses genuinely on career development and personal wellbeing.
A healthy culture creates an environment of meaningful work, aligning people's personality, passion and personal objectives with business goals.
A healthy culture is cohesive in a way that unifies people under the same banner of independent and critical thinking.
A healthy culture encourages people to innovate without fear of failure, to learn fast from mistakes and get better in the process.
A healthy culture secures non-hierarchical communication channels and empathy through all the employees.
A healthy culture functions in a meritocratic way, recognizing fairly the contributions of each person and wanting to cultivate a diverse workforce that will support a high performing agency.
A healthy culture has its foundations on the values of people while ensuring diversity at the skills/abilities level. It's a community around shared beliefs.
A healthy culture treats you with tough love, concerning about the welfare and development of its people while being honest and transparent about weaknesses and problems.
A healthy culture is a culture build upon generosity, and try to understand and help others in their needs without expecting anything in return.
Fostering Healthy Cultures: Local Office Examples
WFO MKX has a Culture Team that is focused on bringing their office together to help grow together.
WFO UNR has a Culture/Leadership Team that help to increase awareness of important topics, personality types, team building activities, etc.
WFO Louisville has a Culture Team that is dedicated to continuous learning and improvement and DEIA.
Infographics to Share with your Offices!
Please feel free to download, print, and share these infographics to promote a positive culture around your office!