Encouraging and building strong relationships in your organization can contribute to the success of the employees and the business. According to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs, 54% are not engaged and 17% are actively disengaged. This shows that there is a strong need for strategies to improve engagement. The Corporate Leadership Council 2004 Employee Engagement Framework and Survey found that a significant contributor to stronger employee engagement was the relationship between an employee and their direct manager as well as the relationships between peers. Strong relationships do promote the desire to communication with coworkers and teams members. Strong relationships bring people together and create an environment people want to come to and bring others into. This in turn will have a positive impact on the discretionary effort shown by employees.
Building camaraderie comes from the layering of experiences. It won’t happen overnight, but small steps can make huge contributions. Here are some simple and easy ideas:
1. Start by getting to know your employees. As the leader of the company, set the example. Make a conscious effort to walk around the organization more often and stop and talk to people. Invite other employees into the conversation to create connection. By sharing thoughts, we gain awareness of each other. This process will give employee permission to stop and talk during the day and understand that relationship this is a part of the corporate culture.
2. Create in-house committees. Maybe there is a not for profit organization the company is interested in supporting; or a new business system installation being contemplated; by getting employees involved in the investigation and execution of the idea, relationships can be built from the bond to the common topic.
3. Create mentoring programs. Not only are mentoring programs great to support the professional development of employees and demonstrate the dedication of the organization to its staff, it’s also a great way for people to get to know more about each other. The mentoring relationship organically builds from the sharing of learning and experiences. By encouraging the group of learners to connect, additional relationships can be created from their sharing of information and learning.
4. Cross train employees. This not only works in the company’s best interest to have people who can cover the responsibilities of their co-workers, but it also helps to develop relationships during the training and educating process. Time spent together can build bonds between peers and help to encourage a supportive team environment. Keep in mind that this concept must be implemented in an environment where employees feel no potential threat to the safety of the job. If an employee at any time feels that they are at risk to losing their job, the potential to create relationship will be lost and dissention will be created instead.
5. Encourage employees to add personal touches to their workspace. Family or holiday pictures will give others insight into their personal lives and may create awareness of common interests or bonds.
6. Create an internal blog where anyone can share their thoughts and opinions. Not only will this bring out new insights about the contributors, but it will enable others to share their comments and thoughts on the topic as well, opening employees up to similar interests and views.
7. Create social get-together opportunities. There is no need for elaborate social environments to create camaraderie, just make the opportunity to get together. It could be as simple as a corporate baseball game, or walking fitness group. Get staff volunteers to form a social committee to get the ball rolling and make this part of the company culture.
Make consistent and honest steps in encouraging relationships between employees. The results will be outstanding. Not only will you see the benefits from your staff, you’ll also see the payoff on your financial results too.
Hi Cindy,
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was excellent. In my studies of Positive Psychology there is nothing that makes a bigger impact on well-being than relationships and yet so many employers seem to overlook this fact. Your suggestions are great. Thank you.
Louisa
Thanks for your comments Louisa. I had an email sent to me from a follower of my blog saying that as much as he agrees with the article, he is finding it very hard to implement the suggestions. Here is a corporate vice president who wants to create stronger relationships with his staff, and yet is so overwhelmed by other responsibilities he has little time to do so. My sense is that many managers and leaders are in the same predicament because the corporate culture may not support relationship strategies. There is a real time commitment that is required and if there is a pushdown of work, responsibilities and deadlines, how do people balance their time effectively. Has the economic recession been the cultprit, or is it more of a systemic problem in the business culture?
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