E-Tip #394: 5 Easy Tips to Improve Relationships at Work

No matter what size company you work at, you have probably seen a disconnect between management and team members. Although most organizations work hard to avoid this, it can happen for various reasons. To help you and your organization avoid this disconnection, we put together 5 proven tips for helping improve everyone's relationships.

5 Easy Tips To Improve Relationships At Work:

Tip #1: Clearly Outline Everyone's Goals - It all starts with managing everyone's expectations. To make this happen, first help your team understand their goals, and then write them down. Not only that, have them reinforce their goals by reading them daily.

Tip #2: Improve Feedback (Both Ways) - It does not matter what your position is in your organization; it is always good to give everyone honest feedback...even your manager. To be taken positively, make sure it is given respectfully and in the spirit of helping them or the organization. Are you on the shy side? If you are, it might be helpful to have a one-on-one meeting with your manager. If there is a suggestion box, you can even drop a confidential note in it.

Tip #3: Involve Everyone In The Communication Loop - Many team members can work on a project as a group; however, it can sometimes lead to a breakdown in communication when people are not kept in the loop. And by default, this can cause serious fragmentation in the team, loss of motivation and back-stabbing. To avoid this, plan your project meetings accordingly, send out follow-up emails after the meetings, and make sure everyone has a say in the project's goals.

Tip #4: Delegate Responsibility For Problem Solving - As in tip #3, it pays to spread responsibility throughout the team. Selecting one or two people to solve a particular problem and not involving any other team members can have a detrimental effect on the likelihood of the tasks being completed in a timely manner. Involving others can add ideas and insights that will result in a better solution as well.

Tip #5: Develop And Train Key Staff To Help Your Retention Rates - Face it; good employees are difficult and costly to replace. In fact, it can take up to six months to train a new employee. Create an employee retention/succession program with the HR Department, and you will see dividends for years to come.

Executive Summary: By taking into consideration the tips mentioned above, the relationships between management and team members can improve. Remember, make sure that goals and expectations are clearly outline, like assigning more than a few people to solve problems-involving many ideas and insights into the problem solving process. Also, it is just as important to make sure that everyone is involved in projects; keeping employees out of the communication loop can have negative effects on relationships.  Another consideration for building positive relationships is to provide positive feedback- the key word here is positive.  Lastly, train and develop staff, and focus on what needs to be done to retain these employees.


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