The Love & Hate Employee-Employer Relationship

Employees complain about having a bad boss that is either not in touch with reality or not supporting their needs. Working relationships have similarities with intimate relationships. Consider these three elements that are applicable regardless of what stage you are with your Employee-Employer Relationship.

Trust

Most people will argue the foundation of any relationship is trust. Do employees trust that employers have their best interests at heart? Some feedback I received over the year from my client’s employees have gone a little like this …”It amazes me that they want more from me, tell me I should be happy I have a job, and oh by the way….we will not be providing increases this year. However, the executive team still receives increase, bonuses, and the company continues to expand. Why should I trust someone who treats me that way?” Although the employees have some merit to what they are saying, employers could do a better job with helping them understand the company’s strategy. The organization’s vision and goals loses its understanding as it trickles down the organization. Employees need to understand how they contribute to these strategies, be able to provide input up the hierarchy, be heard, and provide input on how some decisions are made. Trust needs to be demonstrated and earned with both parties.

Engage

Getting engaged is a big step toward a serious commitment. Organizations should revisit what happens in dating relationships. People get to know one another to determine if they have enough in common, shared values, beliefs, and vision/goals. Employers have been lacking in this area of their relationships. We are familiar with the characters XOXO (Hugs and Kisses). We are not encouraging you to love on your employees in that manner but would like to share some business characters with you.

ETRM (Environment, Time, Reward, Motivate). You can get them engaged and share your enthusiasm for having them in your work relationship with these letters.

E. Setting the right environment is a major hygiene factor. Managers are responsible for providing a work environment conducive to productivity. How is the ambience in your workplace?

T. Spending time with them to find out how happy they are and how things can be improved.

R. Reward in a way to preserve equity.

M. Everyone needs motivation rather it’s initiated internally or externally.

Prenuptial Agreement – Employment Contract

Signing an agreement before the commitment begins has been taboo and very controversial in relationships. This same sentiment has happened in working relationships. Asking employees to sign agreements like Non-Disclosure Agreement, non-compete clause, or other employment contracts may seem like there is a lack of trust. However, many businesses that use them have seen where trust increase and expectations are clear. This increases the chance of having a quality work relationship. The employee receives more of a guarantee on receiving their wages and the tools and information they need to do a quality job.

How do you handle these challenges in your office? We would love to hear your comments.

Performance Checkup: What’s in your box of chocolate?

Our clients engage us to work closely with them on a challenge they are facing within their company. We work with many organizations and industries to invest in their employees and improve performance. We take our work seriously and go in with not only our experience but the sensitivity we know it will take to help them work through it in a results-oriented manner. And, at the same time we always respect their privacy which is why the following example does not mention the company or any details that would lead you to presume who it is.

Challenge
With one client, we addressed the concerns of management and their communication with their employees. Feedback and discussions can be counter-productive when you are unable to drill down to the real issues and receive meaningful feedback to address a particular problem. Managers are faced with limited time, multiple tasks, meetings, and increasing interruptions from all angles. Actually “hearing” the concerns of your direct reports to solve issues and provide direction on how to best handle challenges is important to managers. However, they are often overwhelmed with white noise and long winded conversations that do not provide the information they need to resolve the issue. Many times this can force a situation to escalate when it could simply be addressed in a manner that leaves everyone feeling much better – which means everyone can move on to complete the other important tasks at hand.

Solution
In separate sessions with employees and managers, we facilitated on-site training providing them with the skills to effectively listen. We provided targeted development to a group of employees and then separately to a group of managers listening to what their barriers were in regard to listening. We then assessed their listening strengths and style to determine areas for improvement. We worked closely with them introducing our powerful communication process and model to enhance their listening ability. Once we left the facility we provided additional long-distance coaching as needed.

Results
Both groups discovered techniques to drive conversation to the information needed to effectively address concerns. They also learned their listening skills were not as sharp as they once thought. The participants appreciated the fact that our process was easy to learn with quick results improving their communication skills and promoting productive dialogue. The managers have since reported during the distance coaching and follow up process that the strategies and techniques are working positively outside of the classroom. They are now more aware of the distractions and behaviors fostering negative attitudes that were once counter-productive. By continuing to implement the techniques they learned in this program communication is enhanced which in-turn means a higher-level of production for the company.