Professional relationships are essential to an employee’s happiness, but it’s more than just “getting along” with your coworkers. As humans, we crave connection and community. Unfortunately, for many employees, the workplace can be a lonely place. According to a recent study done by industrial-organizational psychologist Justin Deonarine, a disconnected corporate culture can result in high turnover, low morale, lack of productivity, unhappy employees and potentially dissatisfied clients.
While leaders are juggling many balls in the air, they play an integral role in professional relationships. Being a good leader means caring about the people you are leading. In this blog post, we will discuss how relationships between employees and senior leadership can improve employee morale, produce a great company culture and help improve overall business operations.
Improve employee morale
According to a recent study done by Gallup, highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability. One way for a company to obtain this and improve employee engagement is through senior leadership cultivating relationships with employees. For executives, it is important to take the time to recognize your employees. In the workplace, employees want to feel appreciated, recognized and rewarded for their work. Employees who don’t know how they are doing might not feel confident in their work or find the morale to continue working hard.
For large corporations that have over 5,000 employees, it can be difficult for senior leadership to build a relationship with each individual employee. However, showing interest in an employee’s personal life is one way to make them feel appreciated. Remembering important events in their lives such as birthdays or work anniversaries can show that employees’ work in the organization is valued. Another way building relationships improves morale is by checking in with new hires. Senior leadership should reach out to new hires and welcome them to the team. This gives employees an opportunity to ask questions and get to know the leadership team on a more personal level.
Produce a strong company culture
Companies across all industries are realizing the value of establishing a strong company culture. It is often said that company culture begins at the top — in order to produce meaningful change in an organization, the company needs buy-in from the senior leadership. While there is no magic formula for creating a successful company culture, executives can start by building personal, meaningful relationships with their employees.
One way leaders can do this is by being attentive to an employee’s needs. In any organization, you are employees are going to come from a variety of backgrounds and situations. By offering employees the option of a flexible work arrangement, it shows that your company’s senior leadership is caring and understanding of your employee’s needs. Due to personal reasons, employees may have to leave work early, come in late or work from home. For senior leadership, it is important for senior leadership to recognize their whole life shouldn’t revolve around the business. Like them, employees have families and obligations of their own. Getting to know an employee on a personal level and building relationships with employees, it provides insight into what is best for your company and overall creates a better culture.
A connected culture can help employees feel valued in their role, recognize how their role impacts the overall organization and make them excited to provide a great experience to their customers. Organizations that ensure their employees thrive will always be ahead of the curve.
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