As the manager of an office or the owner of a business, you need to make sure that you have open communication with the people who work for you. At the end of the day much of your business relies the hard work of your employees. It stands to reason that you are going to want to do what you can to keep your employees happy. A massive part of this is communication and making sure that everyone knows what is going on/what is expected of them.
Listening
Without a doubt your team members want to know that you are listening to them. They don’t want to raise feedback with you just for the sake of it. Instead they want to know it is something you are going to take on board. Make sure that you actively listen to what they have to say. If for any reason you aren’t able to do what they have asked then give them feedback as to why. You won’t always be able to act on what you have been told, but giving people solid reasons as to why will reassure them that they have been listened to. If you want to ensure that employees can give open and honest feedback without compromising confidentiality through anonymity thresholds, you may want to click this home page for more info.
What is Expected
Rather than just assume people will carry out tasks to your standards, you should make sure people know what is expected of them. This means letting them know what deadlines they need to adhere to and the work that you would like them to do. You want your employees to be motivated so make sure that expectations are realistic otherwise they could just give up at the first hurdle.
Set Time Aside for Them
It is important to recognise when work isn’t getting done and why this could be. A lot of the time this will be because of a rise in workload and people being unable to cope. If this is the case then you need to look at a backup system. Message-Direct recommends a virtual telephone answering service. This allows someone to take the pressure off and answer your customer enquiries. These are away from the office so it allows your office workers to get on with other tasks and catch up with work that needs doing.
Keep your Ear To The Ground
As much as open communication is good you have to accept that your workforce are unlikely to tell you everything. It is essential that you keep your ear to the ground and listen out for whisperings of things that are making people unhappy. If there are advance warning signs then this gives you a chance to act upon this. Not only does this prevent employees from leaving your company but it give them faith in you. They will see you are acting on their unhappiness even though they haven’t raised it with you and this will go a long way with them.
Learn From Mistakes
There are so many things that can make employees unhappy and it is important that you learn from these. So for example you should make sure that you are always listening to your employees. One of the biggest gripes of workforces is that they are not listened to. They want to know that you are a leader and that you are listening and acting upon what they need.
Offer Opportunities
People like to think that they are working for a reason. Where possible you need to offer new opportunities and the chance to progress within your company. This isn’t always possible within a small company, but giving chances where possible will be noticed. Also, be honest with your employees. If there is a reason why you can’t offer progression and promotion then tell them why this is. At least then people know there is a solid reason why they are in the same role and don’t feel as though they are just being overlooked for no reason.