Listen to Your Employees - You May Have Something to Learn

Listen to Your Employees - You May Have Something to Learn
When an employee approaches you with a need to communicate
at whatever level, set aside your work for the moment, and
give the speaker your undivided attention. The way you
listen to your employees has a major impact on their morale
and work performance.

Do not interrupt the talker at mid sentence; it's a sign
you're not listening. Allow some pause before jumping in.
Smile and lean forward. It's a sign that you are fully
engaged in listening. Ask questions, even though you
understand what's being discussed. Questions tell the
person that you are listening. Paraphrasing indicates that
you are listening and trying to fully understand the topic.
Questioning also aids retention of the conversation. It has
been said that 50% of the conversation is retained
immediately afterwards. Two weeks later the figure drops to
25%.

Motivation - Most employees have a genuine interest in the
well being of the company. The main motivators are
advancement, type of work, and a company to be proud of. It
has been found that pay, benefits, and working conditions
take a back seat. Listening to your employees is a large
motivator. [Other important motivators are rewards on
performance, accessibility to the boss, and knowing what is
over the horizon.]

Employees want to know that they are contributing to
company success and their suggestions can make a
difference. When they sense that they are ignored or put
down, they can develop a resentment, which impacts their
care for the good of the company. Explain that you are
grateful for their effort and interested in their ideas,
but you may not adopt them without further study.

You will be amazed at the quality of ideas and increase in
productivity when you give your employees respect and
recognition for their dedication and willingness to
contribute.

Not just face to face - Communications can take many forms,
such as larger meetings, phone calls, memos,
teleconferences, or video calls, and personal letters.
Acknowledging these communications assures the employee
that you have listened, you consider new ideas valuable,
and you will give attention to questions in the future.
Providing new communications tools empowers employees to be
more productive and provide excellent service to customers.
Listening to employees is a form of feedback, and the
manager needs to learn the response to his actions.
Feedback from sales people will telegraph what the customer
is saying and what their needs are.

Working closely with employees, sharing information about
the company's goals and listening to feedback and
suggestions will help you to develop a cohesive team that
is committed to achieving company goals. Listening and
sharing goes a long way in assuring success in the
organization.

----------------------------------------------------
For more management and leadership articles, please visit
http://www.CrassCaptain.com . Find Christine Casey-Cooper's
new book, entitled The Crass Captain's Guide to
Organizational Dysfunction, on Amazon soon.