How To Improve Your Relationship With Your Employees

Building rapport is an essential skill for managers to possess in their professional lives. There are lots of ways to improve your rapport with your employees, but the basic principles involved in building rapport remain the same.

That's not to say that all the principles involved in building rapport will work in every context. But if you do one or more of the following:

• Choose your relationships wisely
• Choose the right method of communication
• Learn to identify potential problems before they escalate
• Learn to appropriately defuse an argument
• Talk about personal issues with your employees
• Get to know your employees to a personal level

These are all vital skills to develop in your leadership and management style. So how do you do it?

Choose your relationships wisely

You need to be able to choose your relationships wisely. There are obviously times when it makes sense to take the counsel of your employees.

But when it comes to your more casual relationships, you can be wrong if you don't think carefully about the person and the situation.

Also, the higher your employee's level of responsibility, the greater the risk that things will get out of hand if you allow them to stay on in their position as a result of your relationship.

Learn to identify potential problems before they escalate

Being able to identify problems before they escalate is really important.

A good relationship, whether it is a relationship with a co-worker or a relationship with a client, is built on the foundation of trust.

How can you be confident that things are going to work out well when they need to?

An employee is more likely to stay loyal to you and to be honest with you if they have your trust.

Learn to properly defuse an argument

If you ever find yourself arguing with an employee in front of other colleagues or customers, it's time to think about how you handled the situation.

When you fight with someone, it's pretty hard to fix the problem when you are acting like a teenager.

That's why it is so important to learn how to defuse an argument with a co-worker in a mature way that can then be forgotten about.

Talk about personal issues with your employees

If your employees feel like they can share anything with you, then you will make your company a happier place to work.

This is why you should be talking to your employees about their personal lives. You should also ask about their hobbies and interests.

Even if you are just casually chatting about your day, it can help to put you on the same page.

It can also help you to keep an eye out for warning signs that your employees are having problems at home.

Get to know your employees to a personal level

The most successful managers will not just learn how to defuse an argument with an employee, but will also ask questions that help them understand the person.

You want to be the type of person your employees can go to when they need help.

These conversations will help you to build trust with them, and they will help you to understand them better as well.

These are all vital skills to develop in your leadership and management style. So how do you do it?

Set clear communication rules

The first and foremost step you can take to improve your relationship with your employees is to start setting clear communication rules.

Having formalities in communication always helps because it makes the work environment work more smoothly.

The team should be given the information they need so that they can perform their jobs and give you feedback.

Why set standards for communication?

Well, it's because it works. Using these standards is bound to get you more results.

In fact, if you say what you want and let your employees know about it clearly, they will be more likely to follow your directives.

Build rapport

Another important factor to improve your relationship with your employees is to establish a solid rapport with them.

You can do so by not being critical and sharing with them your personal experiences.

You can also share stories that can help them gain perspective on work life.

Share your knowledge

Being generous with your knowledge and listening to others' experiences can help you improve your relationship with your employees.

You can do so by sharing stories about yourself or being open to other people's feedback.

Turn workplace into your personal world

When you feel comfortable, you can easily talk to your employees without being a boss.

Make yourself available to your team members and let them know they are your top priority.

"It takes courage to turn your workplace into your personal world"

Not everyone is good at doing this, but the ones who are good at it have a very positive impact on their employees' lives.

They have a great influence on their lives and can break the ice. They are also able to help the rest of the team.

You can be one of these types of leaders and you can expect your employees to work towards making you happy too.

Empower your team

Like we said earlier, building rapport is a great way to boost your relationship with your employees.

Another important factor that can help you improve your relationship is to empower your employees.

You can do so by asking for their opinions on various work-related matters and being genuinely interested in their opinions.

Allow employees to speak up

Finally, and perhaps the most important factor is allowing employees to speak up.

It is only through this that they can get a direct view of the kind of leaders they should look for.

They can easily decide which kind of leaders to go for based on what they witness in you.

If you learn to listen, allow your team members to speak, and stand up for them, you will see them work better.