There’s something that your employees expect from you and you might not know. They expect that you talk to them. For an idea, in a survey led in the USA, 81% of more than a thousand professionals interviewed said they would rather to work in a company that values open communication than getting perks, such as health insurance, gym membership or snacks. The issue is critical, but the solution may be simpler than you think. It all begins with developing your team management, by putting into practice five tips we give to you:
1. Sit down and talk more often
The majority of employees in the survey report they only discuss their career goals with their managers a few times a year, at most. If this is your case, the tip is: schedule a conversation every three months. Not only to give, but also to solicit feedback. It’s when you can get insights about your leadership or some new project. Beyond this talk, say, more formal, a good idea is to sit down and discuss after a project is completed. What went right and should be kept? And what needs to be improved next time? Express yourself with honesty and calm. However, don’t talk only when you and your employee have time to sit down.
2. Enjoy the little day-to-day moments
If you admit that you are always “too much busy to talk now,” deep down, you know that your team is also suffering from it. And if you believe you can’t do anything about it, remember that it’s at the most informal moments when you exercise your team management. As you walk through the office, grab a cup of coffee or when you don’t know what to do to break that awkward silence in the elevator. Every moment can be useful for you to show interest in the lives of people with whom you spend most of the day.
3. Focus on the best of each one
Knowing the work style of your employees (ask them to take these tests: 1 and 2), and appreciating what they do well, you’ll spend less time trying to fix their limiting points. For example, if you know someone in your team works better if he can come later to the office, or when he has specific goals to achieve, give such autonomy to him. On the other hand, if a team member usually has creative ideas, a nice strategy is to assign him/her to plan innovations for the business.
4. Be sensitive to deal generational differences
Still according to the survey, different generations confessed feel a certain frustration when communicate with each other. In general, older professionals prefer to talk face-to-face and young people are used to text and email. Each way has advantages and disadvantages, but you can include everyone without hurting their productivity, by using an online manager, where tasks must have a responsible and project and you can set specific permissions to send and receive tasks.
5. Share to trust
You have the right not to want to share with your team what you did over the weekend. However, share some life experiences and you will create a trusted partnership. Plus, if you try to keep problems secret, they usually come back to bite you. So, be honest about some difficulties you are facing, such as a big client who’s considering dropping you or a competitor moving in on your turf. And always remember to make time to answer questions and listen to suggestions. This way, you approach the staff, once everyone faces problems, but you are in this together.
Before you start to wrap your head around ways to improve your team management, meet Runrun.it. The team management software that replaces e-mail and follow-up meetings, and takes the communication in your company to the most professional level. Try it for free: http://runrun.it
