8 Ways to Listen to Your Employees and Manage Them Better: 1. Don’t surprise them. If you want to hear most of the concerns of your employees, you should be able to advise them ahead of time. I would not recommend an ‘emergency’ meeting for such. You need to give them time to think about their concerns. You can also suggest that they write all of their concerns prior to the meeting. 2.Encourage a face to face conversation. I know that being a boss is not an easy task. Meetings with clients eat up a lot of your time. Your reports are as high as your office desk. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t meet your subordinates. What’s a 15 – minute conversation with them? If your schedule is extremely full, you can squeeze it during breaks. It doesn’t have to be a formal chat. A casual dialog is also encouraged. 3.Stop signing papers. If you are talking to your workers, you should focus. Even if you have piles of documents to sign, or if your desk is awfully cluttered, let those tasks wait. If you are multi – tasking, it will give the impression that you don’t care about your employees and that you are not really concern about them. And don’t forget to establish eye contact. 4.Stop thinking that you’re the boss. Yes, the fact remains that you are the boss. But if you are having a conversation with them regarding their concerns, learn to be at their level. Think if you’re in their position. Smile and don’t give that ‘I’m – your – boss’ stare. That’s how you are going to understand them. 5.Don’t be afraid to clarify. If you are having a hard time grasping the concerns of your employees, you can always ask questions. However, use the proper tone. There might be times that you don’t like their suggestions or that you don’t think their concerns are valid. That can be irritating but don’t let that get into you. Don’t frown or show facial expressions that will give an idea that you are irritated. Smile most of time and occasionally nod. 6.Avoid giving negative remarks. Let me give you an example. What if your employee says, “I think you should give more incentives. That would make employees more productive.” Don’t say “Why would I give such? Don’t you know that our company needs more money now?” That’s going to discourage your employees to become open about their concerns. You can just say, “I will consider that. After all, I would like my employees to become productive and happier. Let me check with the finance department if we can have incentives. Thank you for your suggestion”. See, you are being honest and you are respecting your worker’s opinion. 7.Take down notes. Yes, it is a must that you take down notes, most especially the things which you think are very important. Your meeting has a purpose, and that’s to improve the whole working environment. In order to make actions for improvement, one must know which concerns are to be acted upon. 8.Make this a regular activity. Make sure that you have a regular ‘check – up’ session with your employees. Ask them if they see improvements. This isn’t hard, right? Sometimes, it’s good to talk to your employees first before your clients. They are the heart of your business. Earn their respect by respecting them and their thoughts as well.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 23:38:26 +0000
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