Negosentro | How To Be A More Effective Leader At Your Organization | The most important asset you have in any business is the people. The human element is an incredible thing. Good people who are happy and productive can lead to success for any organization. Conversely, unhappy employees can be inefficient, cause issues for the organization, or just plain decide to leave for greener pastures. This can be costly—recruiting, onboarding, and training frequently can end up costing quite a bit over time—and is terrible for morale around the office. Managing people effectively isn’t always easy. Some organizations are experiencing a mass exodus of employees to now, due to a combination of factors. Some of it has to do with bad bosses, untrained managers, and a startling lack of respect or recognition in the workplace.
Lead By Example
There’s a fundamental difference between a good manager and being a “boss.” A boss just overseas people and tell them what to do. A leader actually helps develop their team. Leaders will often work side by side with their direct reports to help them be the best they can be. There’s constant training, learning, feedback, and hands-on interactions when somebody is leading. A boss typically just sits in an office and doesn’t really interact with their team. This completely spoils morale and causes as many issues that can impact the company. Part of the Great Resignation is happening because of bad bosses and the lack of good leaders. So, leading by example and setting clear expectations will often lead to better results from your employees. Respect, trust, and training are the tools you need to bring meaningful leadership to your team.
Define Expectations
Studies have been performed consistently, year after year about the various reasons people leave companies. Sometimes, it comes down to a lack of respect from management or being mistreated. More often than not, however, it’s a lack of transparency and communication with employees. Transparency leads to nothing but positive benefits at every stage of employment from recruiting to working on daily projects. A clear expectation, simply stated, is important. No one would enter into an employment contract, buy homeowners insurance, or purchase a car without having clear expectations upfront. Why should it be any different in a business setting? Expectations are a two-way street. Defining them lets employees know what they need to do in their roles and how their work benefits the organization as a whole. For management, clearly stating expectations creates accountability. Clearly stating expectations and being transparent about what employees need to do will help create a better office culture and help you retain employees for a long period to come.
Actually Listen To Employees
Sending out surveys, putting up a suggestion box, and engaging in employee recognition are all helpful. But when things come down to the wire, actually listening to your employees and being receptive to their suggestions is an inherently good thing. Employees can be a valuable source of ideas. Imagine there’s a problem that needs a rapid solution. Instead of relying on top down processes and bureaucracy to get it done through committee, you can crowdsource information from employees. Listening to what they have to say is invaluable because they’re the ones running your organization. More often than not, employees are the ones interfacing with customers or interacting with the vendors. They’re the ones who are going to be working on solutions to issues that come up throughout work. Listening to them also opens up a community of sorts that allows free collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking to take center stage at the organizational level. Employees who feel like their voices are being heard are going to contribute more value to the organization and be able to not only perform better, but also stick around for a while to help the company grow and become more profitable in the long run.
Talk To Employees Often
In the seminal business text How To Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie says something that should resonate with all managers, especially in terms of how they interact with employees: “Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” This means providing quality feedback that helps them perform their jobs up to company expectation and in a productive manner. It’s valuable because it identifies any key issues they might have while also highlighting what they’re doing right. Talking to employees is all part of developing a high quality office culture. This is where regular check-ins—just a few simple one-on-one conversations with employees—can be very beneficial. Regular check-ins are crucial to employee development and helping them thrive at any organization, so be sure to utilize them often!
Use Employee Recognition
Leaving and communication are only two ingredients in a much larger dish. Utilizing the power of employee recognition—recognizing and highlighting success/achievements for your staff and encouraging employees to do the same for their peers—is a proven way to increase loyalty, productivity, and morale at an organization. All it takes is implementing an employee recognition platform to make it easier for employees to recognize each other’s accomplishments and contributions. Software can also make it easier to communicate as a team, analyze how often feedback is being performed, offer rewards, and generally Foster a happy office environment. Recognition is a powerful tool that ultimately leads to a stronger team more profitable company, so taking this type of approach is the optimal solution to employee morale and retention problems.
