Other than your immediate family, the people that you interact with most frequently are your co-workers. If you are a supervisor, it is your obligation as an employer to maintain positive and supportive relationships in the workplace.
Some ways to continually build on your employer employee relationships include:
- Keeping the lines of communication open and make your expectations clear. Provide feedback on how your employees are doing.
- Always be open to suggestions and employee feedback; regardless of whether the feedback is positive or negative. Asking your employees for their opinion will make them feel involved and valued. As an added bonus, your employees’ feedback may help to revitalize your business by uncovering ideas that will increase efficiency, customer service, or save money. You’ll also uncover issues that likely would never have been brought to your attention until the issue mushroomed into a bigger problem.
- Avoid favoritism. Be consistent with how you manage your employees.
- Lead by example. With few exceptions, the rules in place for your employees should apply to you; particularly when it comes to company or departmental policies. Avoid creating a double standard in the workplace.
- Be respectful to your employees. Supervisory status is not a license to treat your employees unfairly.
- Don’t make decisions that either negatively or positively impacts your employee’s status at work solely on the basis of gender, age, race, or other arbitrary reasons. This is especially true when it comes to promoting or terminating an employee.
- Don’t tolerate mistakes on the job. Feedback and communication is key. Deal with issues in the workplace before those issues get out of hand.
- Acknowledge your strong performers. Share your concerns with poor performers in private and hold them accountable for improving their performance while providing support and guidance.
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Dianne Shaddock
President and Founder at Easy Small Business HR
Get more tips on interviewing, hiring, managing and engaging your employees. Dianne Shaddock is the President of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips and the author of the eGuides, "How To Supervise: What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took the Job", A Step-By-Step Guide For New and Seasoned Managers and "How To Find and Hire the Best Employees".
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