How to be a Great Communicator: Connecting with Your Employees
Connecting with employees while maintaining a professional distance can be a struggle in the modern workplace. On one hand, you want to share enough of your experience with them to foster a connection and build a rapport. On the other hand, you want to ensure you set strong boundaries and don’t cross any lines.
Connecting with your employees will be a fine balancing act. Here are some tips and tricks for cultivating a positive working relationship.
Be Authentic
Many individuals in leadership and human resources roles overcompensate for a bad day by being overly friendly. Rather than having the desired effect of appearing pleasant and approachable, it comes off as ingenuine and untrustworthy. When interacting with employees, be yourself. Rather than playacting that you’re an overly perky person when you aren’t, use your normal tone of voice when speaking to others. If you fear your normal tone may be too abrupt for the general populous, soften it slightly rather than changing the way you speak. With the proclivity of social media, people are quicker to detect authenticity and steer away.
Know Your Stuff
If you are in a leadership or human resources role, people will be coming to you with a lot of questions. Often the questions will pertain directly to your work, other times they may be more abstract. Try and have as many answers as possible to better display your expertise. If they ask a question you don’t have an answer to, for example, “which holidays will I get paid for?” tell them you aren’t sure, but you will find the answer. Take a moment to look at a list of 2018 Federal Holidays by OnTheClock.com and get back to them promptly.
You can’t be expected to know everything, despite your role. However, you will be expected to continue learning to better guide your people. “Let me find the answer for you” is a more effective way to connect with your employees than simply saying “I can’t help you.”
Listen to Their Needs
If you truly want to connect with your employees, you must listen to their needs and take the initiative to learn more about their motivators and values. Practice your active listening skills and listen to hear rather than to respond. By taking the time to find out why an employee chose this place to work and where they plan on going with their life, you will better be able to provide a positive work environment for them.
For example, if you find out that an employee would like to move up through the company by learning a certain skill set, you may be able to help them get there. Delegating certain tasks or bringing them in on projects will help them grow professionally while improving morale and dedication. It also shows them that you care about their personal quest, rather than just that of the business.
Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are used to measure how well an employee is performing for a company. What about how well a manager or company is performing for them? Open communication so that employees can make suggestions and share challenges regarding leadership and organizational culture. Doing so will help you initiate change at all levels of the organization and identify any weak spots. This effort will help encourage employees to feel more connected and dedicated to their workplace, their leaders, and the human resources department.
Connecting with your employees is crucial for developing effective communication and overall business success. After all, your people are your best asset.
About the Author:
Ashley Lipman is a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.