Contributed Collaborative Post
When you really think about it, how well do you actually know your employees? Who is really working for you?
If you’re honest, you probably don’t know a great deal about your colleagues. And that’s a shame, because getting to know them well actually brings a host of benefits.
For example, you can check who’s on your team and rule out the idea that some people might be a threat. You can also find people with specific strengths, boost performance and, ultimately, reduce turnover.
The purpose of this post is to provide you with some practical and down-to-earth tips for getting to know your employees. Here’s what to do:
Practice Active Listening
Your top priority should be to practice active listening. You want to ensure that you’re paying attention to what your employees are saying. While it might be tempting to interrupt them, don’t!
If you want to get to know them better, try asking open questions. Then, listen patiently as they explain their situation to you,
If you can summarize what they’ve said after they say it, that can help, too. That gives them the impression that you’re really listening to them and care about their situation.
Do Pre-Employment Checks
It’s also worth doing “know your employee” (KYE) checks with tools like PrivateID before bringing people onboard. You want to make sure that they have the proper documentation and don’t pose you a threat.
These checks are important on the business side because they prevent you from hiring someone who could potentially undermine you from the inside. With KYE, you can glean information about their performance at companies they used to work at and whether it is worth taking the risk of hiring them or not.
Learn Their Strengths And Interests
Another strategy you can adopt is to learn their strengths and interests. Once you know and understand these, you will often discover a lot more about them (many times things you didn’t expect).
These conversations are an excellent segue into discussions about their work preferences and career aspirations. You can then take this information onboard and use it to remove barriers to success for them, allowing them to be the best that they can be.
Understand What Motivates Them
Another thing you’ll want to know is what motivates your team. What really makes them excited and want to get up in the morning?
It’s worth mentioning at this stage that most of your employees will be disengaged from their work, so asking them how you can help them is a good idea. If you can figure out what they want and find rewarding, you can change their workflow and reduce turnover.
Foster Open Feedback
Finally, you can try fostering a culture of open feedback at your business. Again, these conversations provide you with more insights into your employees’ working lives and what they want.
If you can conduct an anonymous survey, that’s a great idea. These are handy for sensitive subjects or when you want people to feel free to be honest with you.
This is a contributed collaborative post
