Employee Retention – Dutch Uncles

How Can Small Businesses Attract and Retain Employees?

DU Desk — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 10:35:04 +0000

Did you know that around 70% of small businesses struggle to attract and retain skilled talent? This makes it very difficult for them to sail smoothly and plan for the long-run and also hampers their growth significantly. In a fast-changing world, the hiring landscape is changing which in turn puts increasing pressure on smaller companies to keep up. One of the biggest problems that small businesses face is to retain employees as the industry grows more and more competitive. This could act as good news for employees but it certainly creates new challenges for employers. One of the key ways to ensure that employees stick for longer is talent engagement at all stages of the employment life cycle. That means right from the hiring stage to succession, employee engagement is key.

What leaves small businesses at a disadvantage when it comes to the aspect of how to retain employees is the fact that they can’t afford to invest in endless resources to lure their employees. And because employees can find better options, they don’t generally stick for too long. But there are still many ways to attract and retain employees. Let’s take a look at some of them.

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It is important to hire someone who aligns with the company’s goals.

Flexible work schedules can Retain Employees

Flexibility is something that every traditional company can’t offer. It is also something that new-age employees value a lot. They want to work freely and value efficiency more than a strict office culture or protocol. This is why remote working is now the new normal and everybody’s loving it – well, more or less. Flexible work schedules give them an opportunity to create a work-life balance, another feat that is highly appreciated by the employees looking for a new job. Unlike before, employees have realised the importance of mental wellbeing and being able to have a balance in working hours.

Not everybody likes to juggle in traffic in horrid weather to make it to work and then go all the way back feeling unproductive and exhausted. A growing number of people would happily work from home. These flexible benefits go a long way in attracting employees to a small business. It is in fact doubly beneficial for them because of the fact that they cost lesser to the company and what is better than saving a few lakhs for a small business owner? It’s a win-win for all.

Maintain Positive Office Culture to Retain Employees

Who doesn’t like a positive office culture when you know that most of the day is going to be at work? Employees love to work for companies that have a positive work culture even if the salary is a little less and there is limited flexibility. Work culture is something that affects everyone directly in a more psychological way than any of the other factors and it doesn’t cost too much for an employer to ensure that there is a positive work culture in office for employees to thrive and stay focussed. It is very important to make sure that there is no toxicity at work in order to retain employees. For this, immediate bosses can have regular informal chats with their juniors and try to make them comfortable.

There is enough research to support the fact that positive work cultures lead to more productive employees. One of the ways to do it is to acknowledge and reward good work. Recognition is the only way an employee can feel motivated to support the company. There are many ways to reward employees like mere words of praise, recognition in front of peers, bonuses, awards, promotions, etc. Employers can also engage in various team-building activities.

Career Advancement Opportunities

When someone joins a small business, one can’t be expected to go on with no hope or motivation for an exciting career opportunity ahead. If an employer is able to give some kind of a promise of a better career, it can go a long way in ensuring a long-lasting employee-employer relationship. It is a compelling offer both for new hires and current employees. If small businesses want to retain employees, they have to consider offering them a better designation, newer opportunities and a pay hike. Until and unless they don’t see a growth or an incentive to stay in their current company, they will be tempted to look for better opportunities outside.

Most millennials today feel that a job has to give them ample growth opportunities for them to stick and companies have to reimagine work for millennials because ultimately they are going to be their future employees. It is essential to understand their needs and requirements from a job. It is obviously true that more often than not, small businesses are short on funds and they can’t afford to go all out on cash spending to retain employees. They have to find a fine balance between the two.

Treat Talent Well and Retain Employees

There are many companies where employees are not treated badly and they tend to leave at the drop of a hat. One of the leadership lessons is to humanise your relationships with your employees. And even the employees, when they feel that they are being treated well in their present company, tend to stick longer. The long and short of it is that employees respect companies that respect them. And they would mentally, emotionally and psychologically invest in a company that they feel is investing in them and has an interest in keeping them well.

One of the ways to do that is to avoid building toxic work cultures as demonstrated earlier. Employers have to constantly make sure their personal needs are met and they can be available for them, especially in the times of crisis like a medical emergency or death. In those times, an employer can’t come across as selfish who is only concerned about the bottom line. This also includes refraining from micro-managing employees and allowing them enough flexibility to work.

Hire with Caution

One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is hire mindlessly. It is important to hire someone who aligns with the company’s goals. Both employers and employees need to be on the same page before finalising a hire. One of the ways to take care of who you hire is to know them well before hiring. It would help if you find more about their goals, interests and alignments while hiring. This will make it easier for a company to decide whether someone is a good fit for the company and will stick for longer or not.

It is important for human resource managers to invest time in knowing why they want to work for the company. This should not be treated as just a random interview question but in fact taken seriously while deciding whether someone understands the job requirements and profile well enough.

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And happier teams result in happier employees more often than not.

Sharing Equity

Sharing ownership or equity/stock in the business can be a key factor in recruiting and retaining key team players. Many start-ups and small businesses use it to retain employees and make them stay for longer. When senior team members see that their shares are growing as the company expands, they feel a sense of contentment and have a greater attachment for the company too. If done successfully, this will encourage staff recruitment and retention significantly. Stock options are typically issued by companies to encourage loyalty in the company. It is mostly done to reward hard-working employees who stick with the company over time. The longer employees stay, the more of their stock options they vest. Equity compensation is non-cash pay that is offered to employees and it may include options, restricted stock, and/ or performance shares. When employees are given away equity, the employer is not just incentivizing them but is giving them real power and leverage. This is something that employees appreciate and aspire for. Having equity, in short, also means an employee is directly invested in the company’s future. That can make a huge difference in how they perceive their work.

Allow Individuality to Prosper

One of the ways smaller companies differentiate themselves is by allowing individuals to craft their own jobs. This is also the reason why young employees join small businesses or start-ups. It provides them an opportunity to be their own boss and carve their own path. Obviously, primary responsibilities need to be determined by the organization, but rest should be left to the employees and they should be allowed to finish the job at hand the way they want to.

The key is to let their individuality come out and not let them rot like they would in a stereotypical 9-5 job. Allowing a person to tweak their role to use their talents and creativity increases employee engagement and productivity.

Retain Employees with In-Office Perks

Another retention tool for employers is to offer perks that employees highly desire. These could be very meaningful and yet cost the company very little. This includes things like installing a coffee machine and some snacks so that employees can take some time off and prevent themselves from burnout. Many offices, for example, have a foosball or air hockey table. These are easy on the pocket and go a long way in creating bonding opportunities. Many other offices do this by offering food coupons or a free gym membership.

A wellness programme not only encourages your employees to think about their well-being, but can also reduce the number of sick days taken, thus enhancing employee focus. Cultivating relationships among employees in office will always be rewarded with loyalty. There is a simple equation at play here: if employees feel a part of a team, they will be more encouraged to come to work and in turn produce better quality work which will eventually lead to better profits.

Creating a Great Team

This is another factor that employers tend to overlook when they’re hiring. People never work in isolation but in teams and getting that right mix of people to build a team is the tough part. It is crucial for both productivity and employee retention. And happier teams result in happier employees more often than not. The secret to forming high-performing teams is to get a right set of people whose skills, talents, desires and goals are balanced against each other. It is essential for a team leader to ensure a perfectly balanced team. People who tend to work in a team effectively are known to stick for longer as there is a sense of belonging which creates a feeling that they are an asset to the organisation rather than a liability.

In contrast, poor team dynamics can push valuable employees to leave an otherwise great business. A good team will eventually lead to better productivity of the company on the whole. A good team can be created by aligning teams around employees’ preferences and skills. It is important for employees to act as a cohesive group and support each other whenever required. Although it’s a skill that takes time to develop, once employees get a hang of it, there’s no looking back for them.

The post How Can Small Businesses Attract and Retain Employees? appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Decoding Attrition of Indian Start-ups

DU Desk — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 10:35:05 +0000

American author Jim Collins rightly sums up the struggles of an early-stage start-up. In his bestselling book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t, he writes: get the right people on the bus, and then ensure they are in the right seats. This is where most start-ups seem to falter. They think that their job is done once they have hired the right talent. But the actual work starts at keeping them engaged in the right role. And more often than not, companies that fail to do so face a high attrition rate.

Attrition rate is the rate of employees leaving an organisation over a specified time frame. In order to determine whether your organisation is doing good or bad, the attrition rate is compared with the industry standard. Is there a sure shot way to reduce attrition rate? Well, one of the ways to do it is to hire better. That’s what most start-ups are focussed on currently. Take Bengaluru-based Chumbak for example. It has specially dedicated people to scan applicants just to understand their cultural bent of mind, their motivations, interests, etc. This helps them gather insightful details about their potential employees which in turn helps them judge their fit for the company better. So, don’t be surprised if you get questions like “If money were not an object, what would you be doing instead?” in one such interview at a start-up. These questions are not unnecessary but rather a far-fetched effort by the company to lower its attrition rate.

As per Deloitte India’s 2020 Workforce and Increment Trends Survey, attrition at an all India level in the current fiscal year is about 15%. Involuntary attrition (layoffs, restructuring, etc.) has increased to 20% of the total attrition which is likely to go up further. This brings us back to the question: how to recruit right?

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Involuntary attrition (layoffs, restructuring, etc.) has increased to 20% of the total attrition which is likely to go up further.

Getting recruitment right

There’s one thing that can significantly improve a company’s employee retention. Getting the right recruitment process is on top of the list. This is what Collins calls ensuring that people are in the right seats and the process starts with defining the job description well. The job description should have a clear-cut mention of qualification requirements, skills, experience, qualities, interview process, conducting background checks, technical soundness and anything and everything that the job entails. Some start-ups don’t take this stage seriously and end up hiring in an ad-hoc manner. This is what goes on to bite them at a later stage.

The IT problem

The IT sector is one of the worst performing sectors when it comes to attrition rates. The KPMG India’s Annual Compensation Survey 2017-18, found that while India’s average voluntary attrition rate dropped down from 15.6% to 13.4% in FY 2016-17, the attrition rate shared by the IT and ITeS industry was still the highest at 20.4% in the e-commerce sector. And the situation is not any better in 2021.

Around 30% employees at mid-level positions in tech startups change their jobs every year. This means that every one in four junior-level employees in the same line of work, is quitting their job each year. Despite several efforts of the industry to retain their employees, IT companies continue to be a part of the problem. But due to COVID-19, the situation has improved by just about a margin. During this time, there was an uncertainty in the market and not too many companies were hiring in a bid to save costs. That’s why the IT industry reported one of the lowest attrition rates during the pandemic. Once the businesses are back in full swing, this trend might reverse soon but till then, there’s relief for the industry.

In India, the overall voluntary attrition reduced from 14.4% in 2019 to 12.1% in 2020, while the involuntary attrition (layoffs, restructuring, etc.) grew from 3.1% in 2019 to about 4% in 2020. Industry experts point out that involuntary attrition increased the most in the IT and services sectors, whereas voluntary attrition reduced across sectors.

Reasons for high attrition rate

Around 71% people leave their jobs seeking higher compensation while 47% respondents say that they do it to look for better working conditions. Reports suggest that 32% employees leave to search for a more responsible role while 26% seek more opportunities to express creativity. These are the broad reasons why companies have high attrition rates. Is there any way one can reduce it?

Ways to reduce attrition rate of the company

Having the right data touch points helps. It is important for the company to have a very well specified data set in order to create an analytics report on employees. This data should reflect an overall satisfaction level of employees, irrespective of their hierarchy in the company. It should also ideally have a happiness index. To reflect the happiness levels of the entire workplace. Many factors like age, monthly income, time since last promotion/pay hike, marital status, job involvement, gender, compatibility with the reporting manager, work-life balance, job involvement, etc. can help in narrowing down this index. Date is the key. This data will help companies analyse the emotional levels of an employee and may indicate the possible attrition frequency and time. This can also go a long way in taking corrective measures by the company.

Employee history also makes a huge difference. Although not full proof, it is possible to gauge patterns in an employee’s work culture, ethics and career. This can help predict if he or she would be the right fit for the organisation for the long-term.

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82% of startups pay more than the market median and 83% generally resort to stock options as the most popular form of long-term incentives, as per a study.

Employee’s emotions quotient matters

During his working hours, if an employee is bogged down by concerns related to home, family, relationships, EMIs, etc, it will obviously hamper his/her morale and confidence. Companies are starting to invest in mental health programmes. This is a good way to ensure that employees are valued and recognised. Also, the HR should understand and take into consideration that employee satisfaction and attrition are not always connected to pay hikes and promotions.

There are many values that go beyond them. It has been noted that emotional and personal wellbeing can also affect attrition levels. It is also advisable for the HR to prepare a data analytics report based on departments. This will help recognise better insights on which department has more attrition, and if at all any patterns can be spotted in those particular departments. This can make the job of the company easier in recognising problems and addressing it faster. Breaking down these crucial insights will help you come up with distinct results that will be a step forward in taking predictive and preventive measures for every department.

ESOPs an option?

Start-ups across India have offered Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) to their employees as a way to reduce attrition by offering their staff a stake in the company. ESPOs are a great way to ensure that the employees are hired without having to shell out fat salaries. At the early stages, when the start-up is not that well-funded, it is a good way to attract bright talent.

In 2014, Indian startups faced an attrition rate of as high as 21% despite being good paymasters. According to the study by global management consultancy Hay Group, in partnership with global venture capital firm Canaan Partners, 82% of startups pay more than the market median and 83% generally resort to stock options as the most popular form of long-term incentives, and their prevalence is largely in top management levels, the study said.

While not being the only reason, pay was found to be one of the top reasons for attrition by 34% participants. This was seven years back. Some industry experts believe that in 2021, the attrition rate has grown to 50-80%. Consultants also say that attrition rates at firms that are rapidly changing business models are much higher. This is probably why, over the last few years, India’s largest e-commerce firms like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Myntra and Housing.com have seen several exits at the senior and junior level.

Take a few examples: the HR head of Flipkart, Mekin Maheswari and Myntra, Pooja Gupta have quit their positions to take up advisory roles. Even Snapdeal saw Chief Technology Officer Amitabh Misra quit his position to set up his own company. The former Chief Design Officer of real estate website Housing.com Chatterjee, too resigned a few years back. The list is endless. But many in the start-up industry believe that the attrition rates will continue to rise because the pressure to increase valuations forces management to discard underperformers. They also believe that in start-ups, there’s an unpredictability of career progression and an absence of a proper organisational structure. These are some of the factors that have contributed to a higher attrition in start-ups.

Start-up Approach

While hiring, the HR needs to make the candidates well aware of the start-up culture and the trade-offs that start-ups have as compared to traditional corporate houses. One of the reasons why there is a high attrition rate among start-ups is that there is a mismatch of expectations between the employer and the employee. And this communication seldom takes place before or during the hiring process.

Very few startup employees in India are actually passionate enough about building the next Google or Flipkart. They often treat these companies as a stepping stone for bigger ones. It is important for the HR to tell the ones with this approach in mind from those who genuinely believe in the company and want to make a difference. It is difficult to survive in a start-up environment for someone who is either used to a ‘corporate culture’ or unwilling to adapt to a new environment. In many corporates, there is enough time and money invested for employees to learn on the job.

Many places also provide training to acclimatise the employees to the culture of the company. But start-ups generally neither have the luxury of time nor money. They are expected to be an expert of their domain and sometimes it is difficult to take that kind of pressure for both the employer and the employees. Moreover, young firms lack up-skilling resources and rely on last-minute hiring of required skills, instead of training their existing staff. This can prove counterproductive when it comes to dealing with high attrition rates.

It can be overwhelming for freshers to join an environment like this especially if they are unaware of the dynamic nature of a start-up industry. That is why they feel they are checking out of the ecosystem within the first few months of joining.

The high level of commitment required to stay on the ball at a startup is not always rewarded handsomely. Some start-ups are so low on cash reserves and revenues that they struggle to even maintain regular salary cycles. Another factor that leads to high attrition rates is that start-ups often fail to ensure basic employee benefits such as insurance, which is a given in any large corporate firm. People working at start-ups are either prepared or enter with a mindset that it’s a risk and there’s no job security as compared to traditional firms. Although, start-ups do give employees more autonomy and freedom to experiment. But everything comes with a trade-off. Over 40% of startups in India shut down within two years of founding, owing to unprofitability and funding crunches, among other reasons. In the early stages, even start-ups put little to no effort in retaining talent. This is because they are not able to afford them in most cases.

Usually, start-ups hire for a short-term based on an instant need and employees are well aware of that. That is why employees try to leave at the very first instant. If this needs to change, then either start-ups need to start giving employees that level of respect and establish trust right in hiring stages or employees need to enter with a mindset that the start-up by nature demands an employee who is dynamic in nature and willing to learn on the go while giving up on all the benefits that a tradition job offers. To be fair to the employees, it’s a tough ask.

The post Decoding Attrition of Indian Start-ups appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

How Indian Companies are Retaining Employees in a Post Covid world

Shalmoli Sarkar — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 08:35:04 +0000

To keep social interactions to a minimum, workplaces and offices have shifted to a work-from-home model that seems to have blurred the boundaries of personal life and professional life. The deadly contagion has caused havoc in people’s health and lives, leaving the employee morale to reach an all-time low. Now, that it is the virtual workspace, companies should empathize with employees and develop newer employee retention strategies to help them perfectly balance their personal and professional lives. Facing employee attrition, at this point will be challenging for a business because if a company loses an experienced employee it also loses his/her knowledge or skillset permanently if the knowledge is not transferred thoroughly to others. For new hiring, a significant amount of time goes into recruitment, induction, money, resources, and whatnot. The new joiner will also take time to acclimatize with the new company culture, which affects productivity.

We will here talk about few organizations that have taken employee retention to the next level.

Hello, employees, we love you and care for you

Myntra, the e-commerce platform for fashion and apparel has introduced new leave policies for the employees in the pandemic. We work for our families in the end, it is their happiness and well-being that matters the most, keeping this in mind Myntra has offered 14 days of care leaves where employees can take care of the younger children and older parents. It is offering five days of wedding leaves even for same-gender couples and those who are getting married outside the country. It is also giving 24 days of vacation and unlimited wellness or sick leaves.

Sale or discount days in Myntra are hectic, thus leaving the staff working at the fulfillment centers fully exhausted. For them, Myntra has created ‘recharge leaves’ where the staffers get two days off after wrapping the sales to refresh and rejuvenate themselves.

Mental wellness is highly neglected in India and there are only a few companies that recognize mental wellness as essential for the overall well-being of an individual. Urban Company, previously known as Urban Clap has introduced no meeting Fridays and has announced an unlimited mental health leave policy. To provide mental health consultation from leading Indian psychologists to its employees, Urban Company has partnered with iWill -a mental wellness platform. For those living away from their families and alone in the city, the company has introduced a ‘buddy system’ where the company follows silent hours and encourages employees to take personal time off from work.

‘I am having my periods.’ An awkward silence follows when a conversation makes way to this point. Speaking about menstrual cycles has been a stigma yet prevalent in our country. However, in the pandemic, Zomato decided to remove the taboo surrounding the menstrual cycle. The company is now permitting its female employees to take upto ten days of period leave in a year. Zomato has also encouraged them to use the term ‘period leave’ in official emails and WhatsApp chat conversations while requesting for the leaves.

Constantly churning out creative ideas for a brand requires a lot of mind work. With recreation activities on halt and employees working remotely the brain needs relaxation to deliver creativity.

For the well-being of employees Schbang, a creative marketing agency has collaborated with MindHouse, an online gym app for mind to give employees unlimited access to Yoga and meditation. It allows the employees to relax, rejuvenate and stay mentally fit. The agency considers mental health as the need of the hour.

Publicis Groupe India has launched a 24×7 employee assistance programme that will provide counselling and wellness solutions to its employees dealing with various work-life challenges. They have also taken up several initiatives for remote learning and engagement programmes to keep employees connected and not feel alone and isolated. The engagement programmes include fun and play, meditation, fitness, music sessions, knowledge sharing, and interactive webinars.

Employees feel workplaces to be like home when the mind is calm and that helps them to excel professionally. The companies must ensure that employees do not feel stressed at work. Instead, they should give freedom to employees as it will help them to look for innovative and creative ways to solve problems, thus increasing productivity and employee retention.

The post How Indian Companies are Retaining Employees in a Post Covid world appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Employee Relations: Building a Positive Work Environment

DU Desk — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 16:03:25 +0000

What Are Employee Relations?

The term, ‘employee relations’ (ER), refers to the relationship employees share with each other in the workplace. This can be on a collective or individual level. The relationships can be employee-employee relationships, employee-manager relationships or between members of the management team itself.

Keep in mind that in the workplace, no single employee is a one-man-army. Everyone is dependent on another person or a group of people to ensure that the work is carried out smoothly. The responsibility, therefore, falls to the Human Resources (HR) department to help everyone maintain healthy workplace relations. It is the aim of the HR to formalise employee relationships and the issues that come with it. The issues can range anywhere from emotional, physical, practical to even contractual disputes. Understanding human nature is crucial when dealing with such elements.

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A healthy work-based relationship is key to a successful workplace.

Some Major Areas That Employee Relations Should Cover

Excessive and unplanned work leaves

One of the biggest issues that commonly come up is those pertaining to employees taking leaves too often or without notice to the concerned parties. As mentioned before, no one is independent within the realm of the organisation. Everyone relies on someone to get the work done. If one link in the chain is absent, the entire process collapses or grinds to a halt.

The issue of absenteeism also refers to general tardiness. Organisations have a fixed time for a reason – to maximise the productivity of work when people are generally most active. A lot of scheduling and planning happens around these hours. If someone were to suddenly take off without a moment’s notice, it leaves the organisation short-handed. This aspect emphasises codependency in the workplace.

Lack of respect for superiors

Everyone disagrees with the management from time to time, but there is a line between disagreements and blatant disrespect. Positions of authority and leadership exist for a reason. They help keep everyone’s head on straight at work. Some may not agree with the tactics used but there is a diplomatic way to solve these disagreements.

Frequent disputes with co-workers

Every-so-often you will have that one employee with a temper. Standing up for yourself is good as long as it is done professionally because the workplace relationship is all about – professionalism. Having an employee whose first resort is always direct conflict and that too often, makes for a very unhealthy workplace atmosphere and will affect the productivity of everyone else who has to work with him or her.

Unprofessional and lewd behaviour

In recent years workplace environments have become more sensitive to the needs of men and women in terms of recognising and solving issues relating to sexual harassment – as it should be. This is a serious thing that should be addressed as quickly as possible. These issues could be anything from an unprofessional comment about someone’s body, a personal attack, emotional manipulation, or physical harassment. It is absolutely unacceptable and should be dealt with immediately.

Employee-Organisation Relationships

The relationship that exists between an employee and the organisation is a very delicate one and should be handled as such. The actual written contract aside, there exists a social and psychological contract, an unspoken promise between the employee and the organisation. Issues such as a lack of trust, a dip in job satisfaction, and over-all performance often occur when this unspoken contract is breached.

According to a study called, “The development of psychological contract breach and violation: a longitudinal study” by Sandra L. Robinson and Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison, there are potentially two main reasons that an employee might perceive that the contract was breached: reneging and incongruence.

Reneging is when the organisation has made a promise to the employee and has knowingly failed to uphold the obligation. For example, when an organisation hires a new employee, the management usually throws in some incentives to make the deal more appealing, especially if the pay is a little lower than the industry standard. This could take the form of a promise to have the employee promoted after two or three years, bump up their salary after a few months, or the promise of special benefits.

Incongruencies basically amount to perspectives and ambiguities in the verbal contract. For example, if an employer is trying to convince a potential employee to join the company they might say, “Well you will find that this is a great organisation for growth, most people get promoted within three years to senior positions.” The employee is most likely to misinterpret the likelihood of a promotion for a promise of one and when that ship fails to sail, the employee perceives this as a breach of the unspoken contract. As an organisation you can mitigate both issues by:

- - Stick to the promises made to the employee and stay consistent across the board. If you know for a fact that you cannot deliver on the promise, do not make it at all.
  - Be extremely clear and straightforward in whatever you communicate. Even if you are just conversing in the interview phase, remember that the employee will take every word to heart, especially if they really need a job. So, even a vague hint at a promotion in the near future could be misinterpreted for a promise.

Best Practices To Improve Employee Relations

Honest and clear communication

Be sure to share regular updates with your internal team, answer any questions they may have, no matter how silly it may seem. Build a relationship where everyone feels confident and comfortable enough to voice their concerns. Otherwise, how else will you know where the team is falling short or if someone is not happy with their job?

Align with the vision

Make sure that the mission and vision of your company are clearly communicated to your employees. Getting everyone on the same page ensures that every member of the team is actively working towards achieving the same goal. A good way to do this is to try something fun like a weekly quiz or an informal meeting to discuss if things are flowing as per the vision and how it can be course-corrected if not.

Innovative approaches to indirectly remind them, is better than trying to drill it into their head by repeating it over and over.

Trust your team

If there is one thing that breeds resentment and mistrust, it is micro-management. Your job as a business owner or manager is to make sure that the employees know what they need to do, give them the tools they need to do it and help them if they hit a snag. Hovering over them and following up on every detail, every second of the day just to make sure that they are working shows them that you do not trust them.

Obviously, you will have to follow-up with the progress, so rather than micro-managing, hold a weekly review meeting or even a daily one to make sure that everything is still on track. It is true some work situations need more extensive monitoring but remember, everything should be in moderation.

Recognise and appreciate

If you walk into a car dealership or big commercial grocery stores, you might come across those plaques on the wall that says ’employee of the month’ with a picture of the employee. The reason for this type of recognition is that these companies have realised that there is a fundamental psychological link between work performance and praise. People want to be appreciated and seen; especially when they put in so much work and it is only fair that they get that recognition.

A few ways in which you could introduce this into your workplace are by maybe sending them a gift basket, a paid vacation to an exotic and fun location, or even a nice little in-office celebration in their honour. After all, it is the thought that counts.

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Building relationships in the office is similar to the way we do it in the real world - it is about being human at the end of the day.

Constant feedback and collaborations

A good way to nurture a healthy and positive relationship with employees is to give them constantly, or at the very least, regular feedback on their work. Ensure that you do not say anything in a condescending manner or demeaning tone. Keep it professional and constructive. Be it praise or constructive criticism, it shows them that you are taking the time to give their work the attention it deserves. It is also a great opportunity to bounce new ideas off each other and work on collaborative projects.

Make an investment

Go the extra distance and put some real-time into your employees by helping them develop within the organisation. You could offer them opportunities to develop their skills by

- - Paying for a workshop on a particular topic.
  - Send them to a conference
  - Offer them a gym membership to help them stay physically active balancing out the stationary nature of the job.

Do not play favourites

A really quick way to ruin relationships with your employees is to show favouritism. People may not always appreciate a slap on the wrist or firmness, but they do appreciate fairness and consistency. Show your employees that there are no exceptions if there needs to be a rule in place. Even when considering giving someone leeway for special emergencies, be sure to keep it fair to everyone and give others the same consideration as well.

At the end of the day, the types of relationships you cultivate in the workplace will set the tone for the organisation as a whole and the organisational culture will follow. Organisational culture is extremely important for a healthy work environment and the overall image of the company. Go read our article on organisational culture to learn more about it.

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