The more valued that an employer feels in an organization, the more productive they are. That’s why so many of the biggest brands in the world take proactive steps to build stronger relationships with those that they employ. Closer relationships between the workforce and the organization they work for has been shown to improve:
- Productivity
- Efficiency
- Conflict minimizing
- Company loyalty
For those brands that want to operate at peak performance levels, it is therefore vital that relationship development is a priority. Here are some of the most effective methods for ensuring that your business has the right approach when it comes to building stronger relationships with your workforce.
Workforce Motivation
Never assume that your employees are only at work because they want the paycheque at the end of the month. Humans are a lot more multifaceted than that, and assuming that it is only financial motivation that will inspire them is one of the fastest ways to damage your relationship with your teams. There are some proven ways to encourage motivation, and they don’t have to be about financially incentivizing their roles. Often, simply highlighting the biggest and best accomplishments is enough of a motivator to start building brand loyalty and creating the foundation for those closer relationships.
Setting Goals
One of the most effective ways to encourage a strong employer/employee relationship is to have company goals that everyone can contribute to. Making team members feel like they are part of the future of the business on a larger scale can immediately boost their personal feelings towards the brand, and that’s good news for both loyalty and productivity. Take steps to ensure that your business goals are widely known throughout your company.
Use Technology
Ideally, your HR department should already have removed their outdated manual admin and people management responsibilities. Employees want HR teams to be easily accessible at all times, and those admin tasks can too often take HR teams away from the front lines of the employer/employee relationship. Using employee relationships management software in your HR department is now essential for better managing and meeting the needs of the workforce.
Encourage Delegation
If there’s one way to erode close relationships between the workforce and the company, it’s not giving workers the autonomy they need to get through their workloads. Far too many managers micromanage their teams, and this simply causes resentment, as well as raises the potential issue of mixed messages and a lack of team development. Make it a priority to ensure that department heads know when to take a step back and let the employees work independently. This will mean assigning tasks that will challenge employees, and learning to take responsibility should mistakes be made. This level of support will go a long way toward building more positive relationships.
Communication is essential for improving in-house relationships and brand loyalty. Ensuring that lines of communication are always open and that your teams are constantly reminded of the business goals that they can contribute to will be highly dependent on the technologies and business strategies that you adopt. Take the time to build closer relationships between your business and your employees, and your workforce will be the key to future growth as well as your most valuable resource.
