Anyone who has ever worked for a company knows that an office can be a tense and unhappy place. People from different cultures and backgrounds must come together in an office to accomplish various missions daily.
Employee relationships can refer to how employees interact with one another or the way managers interact with their employees. It can also include the way one team of employees interacts with another team.
No matter what personal conflicts your employees may have, working as a team is critical to the success of your business. There are a few different things you can do to improve employee relationships in your office.
1. De-Escalation Training
Disagreements between co-workers can become heated. In some cases, these conflicts may even become violent. De-escalation training can help your managers deal with these situations when they arise.
De-escalation training will teach your managers a vocabulary for dealing with scary situations. Managers will learn everything from the tone they should use with a disgruntled person to the way they should stand. They will learn how to monitor their heart rate in a potentially violent situation and how to keep team members and the public safe.
When you offer de-escalation training, your company will be considered a safe place to work. Insurance companies may give you better rates and employment agencies may be more inclined to work with you. If an incident does happen in your office and you are sued, the fact that you offered de-escalation training can be used in your defense.
2. Reward Good Performance
Everyone likes acknowledgement for a job well done. If you let your employees know when they have performed well, they will feel appreciated and consider themselves an important part of your team.
One effective way to acknowledge their hard work is through the best employee appreciation gifts. These gifts should not only represent your gratitude, but also be something that the employees would appreciate and find valuable.
When you create an awards program, you should consider fairness. Your managers are only human, and chances are there are some employees that they like better than others. Hence, make sure awards have strict criteria.
People should only receive performance awards that can be measured objectively. For example, if you own a factory, you should give awards for productivity rather than attitude. A contest will motivate workers. They will be competitive with each other in a way that is healthy and beneficial to your company.
3. Regularly Ask For Employee Feedback
You should send out an anonymous employee survey at least once a quarter. Not only will your employees appreciate you asking their opinions, but you can also get important information from these surveys.
If multiple people say the same thing about a policy or manager, you will know to investigate. If people have a similar suggestion for how a certain task should be done, you may want to consider doing it that way.
4. Tuition Reimbursement
An educated employee is a knowledgeable employee. The more training a person has in their field, the more of an asset they will be to your company.
If you have employees who are in school or employees who are interested in going to school, you should offer a tuition reimbursement program. You should only pay back tuition for degrees that are directly related to the work that you do. Employees who receive tuition reimbursement will usually be contracted to work for the company for several years.
5. Let Employees Know Exactly What is Expected of Them
Communication is the key to any successful workplace. An employee may perform poorly because they were not clear about their duties.
When you hire a person, you will send them an offer letter stating the position you are offering them, the hours, the salary, and the benefits. You can also add specific details about the job in this letter.
Most companies offer some training to new employees. Make sure company policies and expectations are reviewed in the training and provided in writing.
The more specific you are with your instructions, the less room for error. If you have to let an employee go, they will be less able to claim wrongful termination if a detailed list of expectations was provided.
You spend about a third of your life at work. When you have good relationships with your coworkers you will have less stress. You will also have a productive workplace that people will look forward to coming to each day.
