Team Management

At work and in life, we all have to face difficult conversations. For managers, having tough talks with employees can have a big impact on their engagement, development, and the relationships you have with each member of your team. That can feel intimidating, but these tips for having difficult conversations with employees will help you make tough discussions truly productive. That way, you and your employee both walk away with a little more understanding, and a much clearer sense of what comes next.

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10 Tips for having difficult conversations

• 1. Schedule an appropriate time
• 2. Plan your conversation
• 3. Stick to the facts
• 4. Flex your empathy
• 5. Be honest, and be open
• 6. Check for a common understanding
• 7. Brainstorm solutions together
• 8. Build an action plan
• 9. Follow up on agreements
• 10. Develop your feedback culture

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Tips for having difficult conversations with employees

A difficult conversation could be about anything from employee personal issues, to performance troubles, or peer conflict resolution. You might even have to address difficult employee behavior directly. Whatever difficult topic you need to discuss, these tips will help you have a more productive conversation.

1. Schedule an appropriate time 

When having a challenging conversation, be sure to schedule a time to meet in person or over video chat. If you're communicating delicate information, all the nonverbal cues and body language that help deliver your message may be lost when typing through Slack or email.

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with your employee. Set a few talking points in the agenda so you both know what to expect, and ask your team member to add some talking points or questions, too. Of course you want to arrive prepared, and your team members should have the chance to do the same.

2. Plan your conversation 

In a tough conversation, you don't want to appear to be communicating on the fly. It's important to be intentional with what you say, and have your key points prepared. One great way to plan your discussion is to use a difficult conversation framework. You don't need to have an entire speech planned, but take the time to write down what you'd like to get across.

Make sure to give yourself 5-10 minutes to prepare the broad strokes of what you’d like to say. Practice saying the difficult points out loud before you meet with your employee. A little bit of thinking ahead will go a long way when it comes to delivering these challenging messages! 

3. Stick to the facts 

When thinking through your talking points, it's always important to stick to the facts. Point out observable behaviors, and explain the outcome or result of what you’re sharing. The most important thing is to leave emotion and personal attacks out of the conversation. Laying out the facts ahead of time — and weeding out anything subjective or unproductive — helps you manage your emotions during the discussion.

Evaluate your talking points:

• Is it an opinion or perception?
• Can you give a specific example?
• What's the tangible outcome?
• How does this contribute to the discussion?

4. Flex your empathy

As a manager, practicing empathy is one of the greatest ways to connect with your team. Especially when you're having a hard conversation, don’t let professionalism overpower your humanity. As you prepare and deliver a difficult message, make sure to put yourself in your employee’s shoes. Take a moment to imagine that you are on the other side of the situation.

Having empathy for yourself is equally important, so don’t ignore how you feel. It’s only natural for emotions to arise when there’s tension or something important is at stake. Remind yourself that challenging conversations, are challenging. Give yourself a few mindful breaths before the conversation, and go for a walk or decompress once the conversation is done. 

5. Be honest, and be open

To make space for your employee to be honest and open with you, you need to be honest and open with them. Respecting someone enough to be upfront with them shows that you care, so be direct with what you have to say, but always be compassionate. You might even start the conversation by telling them your positive intent.

Vulnerability and an open mind can really help move the conversation along. If an employee made a mistake, you might open up about a time that you made a mistake too to show them its okay. Or if they failed to reach a deadline, you could tell them about a time when you dropped the ball and what you learned from it. A big part of building trust is opening up and being vulnerable.

6. Check for a common understanding

Check in throughout the conversation, and at the end to make sure you’re both on the same page and understanding each other. This means asking them to explain what they've understood, but also asking them to explain more what they're saying. The point is for you both to hear each other out, a conversation shouldn't be one-directional.

Questions to check in:

• How is what I'm saying landing with you?
• Could you explain your point a bit more to me?
• What I'm hearing is that [explain what you understood], does that sound right?
• What are the key points you've taken from our discussion?

7. Brainstorm solutions together

Try to let go of any specific plan you have for the best path forward and open it into a two-way conversation. Ask your employee what they think would be the best course of action or if they see an opportunity to make a change. Of course, share your ideas as well, but bring them up as possibilities rather than assignments.

If there isn't necessarily a solution to be determined, make sure you discuss learnings. What can be gained from the situation, and what might apply to your future work or planning? There might be an opportunity to share what you've discussed with your team or your own boss. Just be sure to give time to a discussion around what comes next.

8. Build an action plan

Once you've discussed some possible next steps, decide on a few that make the most sense to you both and create an action plan together. Write down some action items and come up with a timeline for following through. You might consider setting a goal for your employee.

Be open to taking on some action items, too. There might be things you can do as a manager to be a part of the solution. Whether it's talking with another team member, accessing resources, or connecting them with someone else in the organization, offer to help.

Details matter! Decide on who will do what, when, why, and how.

9. Follow up on agreements

Whatever action plan you create, be sure to touch base with your employee soon after your difficult discussion. Even if you don't set specific action items, it's good to check in at your next one-on-one meeting to see how your team member is feeling, and how things are progressing.

It's also important to hold yourself accountable to the commitments you made. If you told your employee you'd reach out to the HR department, let them know what you found out from that conversation. If you offered to take on a task, tell your team member when it's complete.

How to follow up:

• Just letting you know that [task] is now complete.
• Is there anything you need to accomplish [task]?
• I spoke with [person, department] and here's the information they gave me...
• Great work with [completed task], thanks for making it a priority.

10. Develop your feedback culture

The human brain is like velcro when it comes to negative feedback and hard conversations. Employees may be doing a great job in other areas, but when they hear something negative about them, it can stick and hurt their morale which can then decrease their engagement.

If you create a culture of feedback on your team, then having hard conversations won’t feel so out of place. Make it a regular practice to share both positive and negative feedback with your employees during one-on-ones. That way, they won’t feel as shook or worried when you do have something constructive to share with them.

Make difficult conversations easier and more productive

With these tips for having difficult conversations with employees, you're sure to turn every tough talk into a positive outcome. No matter what needs to be discussed, and how difficult it may be, you can show your employees that you care and support them in moving forward with confidence.

People do their best work when they’re free to be themselves. And for people to feel that freedom to be themselves (yourself included), you need to create an environment that fosters and supports authenticity at work. This is what will take your team to the next level in their collaboration, innovation, and performance.

But what, exactly, is authenticity at work? Why is it so important? And how can you create a more authentic workplace—both for yourself and for your team?

What is authenticity at work?

Authenticity at work is being able to show up as your true, authentic self in the workplace. That can manifest in a few different ways, including:

Showing your personality and being yourself

First and foremost, authenticity at work means being yourself, and showing your true colours. That means not feeling like you have to act a certain way or be someone you’re not. In a world where home and work are blended, this is as important as ever. It’s tiring trying to separate a work persona from an outside-of-work one.

Having a sense of psychological safety

When you have psychological safety on your team, people feel comfortable speaking their mind, making mistakes, and being candid in their interactions with colleagues. This makes space for people to point out potential risks or blockers without feeling like they’re shutting their peers down, and share challenging feedback from a place of compassion.

Being valued for who you are and what you bring

Authenticity is also about being appreciated and valued for the true self you show up as. And beyond being embraced for who they are by their team, employees want to feel that their contributions, ideas, and opinions are valued. Bottom line, people want to feel respected for who they are. Yet, according to Officevibe’s Pulse Survey data…

What does this tell us? There could be a number of reasons for this disconnect, but the point is people perceive their own behaviour differently from how those around them do. This is why stating (and restating) that everyone is safe, welcome, and valued on your team is so important.

Authentic management

As a manager, it’s just as important to manage your team authentically. This is where creating a work environment that welcomes and promotes authenticity starts. It’s important to make sure your team members feel seen and valued for who they are, and not just what they contribute to the team. But the really tough part? Showing that authenticity yourself by owning your mistakes, bringing up your own questions, and celebrating your own wins.

What are the benefits of authenticity at work?

A team and company culture that values authenticity at work has a variety of benefits, including…

• Happier employees: People who feel like they can be themselves in the workplace are happier. And when employees are happy at work, employee engagement, team productivity, and overall motivation goes up.
• Stronger teams: When people feel seen and appreciated for their authentic selves, they form stronger bonds. This leads to better collaboration and higher-performing teams.
• More effective feedback: The safety to be candid with colleagues means people are less afraid to share their true opinions and insights. This leads to more honest, valuable feedback that helps people grow and do their best work.
• More innovation: When people can be authentic at work, they’re not afraid to share ideas or make mistakes. They’re more likely to take (calculated) risks and be creative, which leads to more innovation.

How to be an authentic leader

Authenticity at work starts with authentic leaders. When teams see their managers being authentic, it not only builds trust, but also gives them permission to show up more authentically. So, if you want your team to be more authentic, you need to start with being more authentic yourself.

1. Don’t be afraid to be yourself

A lot of managers think they have to act a certain way to get respect from their teams. You might think you have to be super professional, serious, or closed off. But being authentically yourself can go a long way in building stronger relationships, and deepening respect and mutual understanding. So look for ways to inject your authentic self into your work life.

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For example: You might share some of the things that are important to you outside of work with your team. Whether it’s your family, your pets, or a favorite hobby, spark conversations outside of deliverables. You might discuss current events (and your feelings about them), or bring your personal values, beliefs, and motivators into team discussions.

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2. Show your team it’s ok to make mistakes

When you show your team that not only is it ok to make mistakes, but that mistakes are actually an opportunity for positive growth, it gives them permission to make mistakes, too. Why is this important? People will be honest and own up to things when mistakes happen, and not sweep it under the rug or try to hide it. That means better solutions will be put into place more quickly, because you and your team will be there for support.

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For example: Say you waited until the last minute to assign certain project-related tasks. As a result, your team now has too much on their plate, and too tight of a deadline. Instead of just pledging to yourself to do better next time, acknowledge your mistake with your team, and let them know how you plan to handle it better in the future. Whether that means being more proactive to give them at least two weeks notice when assigning a new task, or helping them reprioritize when urgent things pop up to help reduce overwhelm.

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Tips to encourage authenticity on your team

Being an authentic manager is a great way to lead by example. But if you want to reap all the benefits of an authentic workplace, you also need to foster a culture of authenticity on your team.

3. Encourage productive discussions

How we communicate is a big part of authenticity at work; your team needs to feel safe and supported in speaking their mind and sharing their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. To promote this kind of culture on your team, you have to create space for more candid discussions.

Let your team know that you want them to share their opinions—even if those opinions might challenge your ideas, goals, or direction for the team. When your employees do share their opinions, engage with them enthusiastically. That way, they’re encouraged to share more authentic opinions in the future.

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For example: If someone shares an idea that isn’t going to necessarily work for your team, use it as a jumping off point, and turn it into a conversation. Let it spark a discussion and encourage your other team members to engage and build on the idea. Watch as they pinpoint problems and seek out alternatives, and let them know how impressed you are.

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Continually remind your team that there is always time and space for them to share their thoughts and ideas, even if they’re not always comfortable doing it directly in a one-on-one or team meeting. A private, secure employee feedback platform like Officevibe can make space for real talk, and spark conversations that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

4. Get to know your team members, for real

Authenticity is all about showing up to work as your true self. But if you don’t know those “true selves” on your team, it’s harder to encourage people to bring their whole selves to work every day. That’s why, as a manager, it’s so important to get to know your individual team members. Spend time in one-on-one meetings getting to know your team members. Find out who they are and what makes them tick, and then look for ways to build that into their work.

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For example: If you find out one of your team members does stand-up comedy, give them plenty of opportunities to lead presentations—and to work in a joke or two. If you find out an employee is spending their off-hours working on their first book, make sure you’re creating opportunities for them to show off their writing skills.

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The more you get to know your team members, the more you can create opportunities that speak to who they are—and the more you’ll build a team full of true selves.

5. Create opportunities for your team to show up authentically

Creating work opportunities that speak to who your employees are is a great way to foster authenticity in the workplace. But if you really want your team to feel comfortable being who they are at work, it needs to extend beyond their work duties. As a manager, you need to create opportunities where “who they are” takes center stage—and they can be celebrated for it.

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For example: If your team members are passionate about their hobbies, you might host a team talent show, where each employee gets to show off their hobby/passion/talent to the rest of the team. If you manage a team of enthusiastic readers, you might start a team book club, where you and your team read a book once a quarter and get together over lunch to discuss.

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Bottom line? Creating opportunities at work for employees to show up as their real selves—even (or especially!) if those opportunities aren’t directly tied to your team’s job descriptions—is a great way to encourage authenticity at work.

The best workplaces have teams full of true selves

Being able to show up as your true self and empower your team to do the same is a must for building a more authentic workplace. And authentic workplaces outperform the competition, retain their top talent, and create the conditions for great work.

As a manager, you want to build a high-performing team. But generally, teams don’t perform at a high level straight out of the gate. Usually, they have to go through some growing pains to figure out how to work together (and how to work well together) — also known as the storming phase.

The storming phase is a normal part of team development, but it can be challenging. Let’s take a look at how you can support your team through the storming phase, so they come out of the storm a stronger, more effective, and more cohesive unit.

What is the storming phase?

The storming phase is the second of the four stages of team development, a concept by psychologist Bruce Tuckman that outlines how teams grow and develop.

Tuckman’s stages of team development:

Forming stage

The forming phase is when the team is initially coming together. Group members are excited to get started, but aren’t super clear on what the team will be doing, how they’ll work together, or how they as an individual fit into the big picture.

Storming stage

The storming phase is when things get…well, a little stormy with the new team (we’ll dive deeper into this stage momentarily).

Norming stage

The norming phase is when the team really starts to come together. This is the stage where team members get more comfortable working together and have a better understanding of the team’s goals and direction.

Performing stage

At the performing phase, the team is a cohesive unit that understands how to collaborate to hit goals. The team is performing at its highest level.

While the four stages of development are typically used to describe newly-formed teams, they also apply to more established teams. For example, when a team goes through major changes, they may go from the performing stage back to the storming stage. So understanding how to navigate the storming stage is a must, whether you’re managing a new or established team.

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Why does the storming phase happen?

There are a few different reasons the storming phase happens, including:

The team is still building trust.

Trust is a key element in high performing teams. But when you first bring a group together (or when their established norms get shaken up), a foundation of trust hasn’t had time to develop. That lack of trust can lead to conflicts and challenges.

Employees are still figuring out how to work well together.

People work differently; they have different work styles, different ways of collaborating, and different ideas about the way things should (or shouldn’t) be done. It takes time for teams to get on the same page about how to work well together. And until they do, the team dynamics can be a bit challenging.

You’re still figuring out the best way to manage them.

Just like it takes time for your group members to figure out the best way to work together, it takes time for you to figure out the best way to manage them. There’s always some trial and error in figuring out what management style works best for your team.

What happens during the storming phase?

During the storming phase, your team has had some time to get to know each other and start working collaboratively. Overall, the team is past the “getting to know you” jitters. They’re feeling more comfortable sharing their opinions — and challenging the opinions of their fellow team members. Things are moving forward. But as their work has ramped up, they’ve bumped into inevitable challenges, delays, bottlenecks, and conflicts.

Signs your team is in the storming phase:

• Increased frustration
• Increasing complaints from team members
• Decreased productivity
• Disengagement from work
• Interpersonal conflict between team members
• Lack of respect towards management/leadership

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Real-world example: Picture this

You put together a new team to spearhead a marketing pitch. At first, everyone is excited to work together, assemble the pitch, and land a new client. But after a few weeks, things start to change. Team members disagree on everything from which ideas to pitch to how to design and organize marketing assets.

People are frustrated, both with each other and with leadership. Individual team members are pulling you aside to complain about the work, the project, and their co-workers. Things aren’t getting done — and every day, it seems like the team is more frustrated and less engaged.

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All the challenges, frustrations, and setbacks the team (and you) are facing? They’re clear indicators the team is in the storming phase.

How do I get through the storming phase?

The storming phase is a normal part of team formation, but that doesn’t mean it’s not tough, both for you and your employees. As a manager, you want to be the one to bring the solutions and get everyone working together. But a big part of getting through the storm is getting your team to sort things out among themselves.

Here are a few strategies to help you better navigate the storming phase and lead your team through this time of growth and change.

1. Focus on building trust

How you build trust will depend on the team. Some teams will appreciate you trusting them to do their jobs how they see fit. Others will develop trust more quickly and easily when you set clear expectations and provide structure and oversight. Some employees will build trust by throwing themselves into partnering on projects. Others will prefer to ease into collaborative work slowly to get a better feel for their new teammates.

The point is, building trust is a crucial part of getting through the storming phase. But to effectively build that trust, you need to…

2. Get to know your team members (and help them get to know each other)

Getting to know individual team members gives you the insights you need to foster trust, and structure your team in a way that empowers their best work. Spend time getting to know your new team members.

Find out things like:

• What are their personality types?
• What are their goals, for themselves and for the team?
• How do they do their best work?
• What work styles do they find frustrating?
• Do they prefer having structure and direction, or more autonomy?

When you know and understand people on a more personal level, you’ll manage the team more effectively.

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For example: After getting to know your team, you may identify a potential personality clash between two employees. With that information, you can structure the team in a way that minimizes collaboration with those two team members — and minimize team conflict as a result.

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As important as it is to get to know your team members, it’s just as important for them to get to know each other. Make sure you’re carving out time for team building activities, social interactions, and 1-on-1 collaboration opportunities to help build trust within the team.

3. Create a team culture of honesty and transparency

When you create a team culture that values honesty and transparency, you create a sense of psychological safety for your team. That sense of safety makes people feel comfortable speaking openly and honestly, helping to build trust and push the team through the storming phase.

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For example: If employees feel like they can give you direct feedback on what's not working, you can work to fix those things. Even better, you can get team members to work collaboratively with you towards solutions.

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So, how do you create a culture of honesty and transparency? It starts with you. If you’re open, honest, and transparent with your team, it gives them permission to do the same. Be as candid as possible when discussing issues with your employees. Ask for feedback, and make sure they know it’s valued (even if it’s hard to hear). Address issues and conflict immediately and directly (instead of aggressively or passive aggressively), and encourage your team to do the same.

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4. Continually work on better collaboration

These strategies will help you move your team through the storming phase. But getting your team to the performing stage isn’t a one-time accomplishment. To keep your team performing at a high level, have them continually reflect on what’s working and what’s not working. Support your team in using those insights to improve and encourage better team collaboration.

Check in frequently with your team, both individually and as a team. Retrospective meetings are a great opportunity for everyone to work together to make improvements. It’s also important for you to touch base individually with employees in one-on-one meetings. They might share things they don’t feel comfortable sharing in a group setting.

Ask questions like:

• How is the team working well together?
• Where are they struggling?
• Are there any systems or processes you can change to better support them?

Out of the storm, and into performance

The storming phase can be hard on teams. But now that you know how to better navigate the storming phase, you have everything you need to effectively navigate the storm — and emerge on the other side as a stronger team.

Your team has behavioural patterns. If you reflect on them, they'll tell you a cohesive story about their strengths, needs and performance.

To properly and clearly identify these in group form, we use the 4 stages of team development.

This is a concept that psychologist Bruce Tuckman came up with to properly understand the progress of various teams and the development of key contributors.

{emphasize}The stages are: forming, followed by storming, norming and performing.{emphasize}

Identifying each of the 4 stages of team development helps you underscore your team's needs during each one.

Then, as soon as you outline the stage your team is in, you can confidently address their needs and set them up for growth throughout each forthcoming stage.

Let's learn about 4 stages of team development.

The forming stage

As its name suggests, the forming stage is formative. It's the time where your team learns about upcoming projects and structures. Here, it's typical for teammates to feel excited, anxious, and curious about what lies ahead.

No matter what their feelings are, one common denominator is: teams look to their leaders for information.

It's up to you to provide clarity, ensure team alignment and employee motivation.

When your team learns more context about what's required of them in this stage, they'll feel more confident.

As a result, you'll establish yourself as a leader of a team rooted in transparency and trust while you communicate clear expectations and team principles.

This is the foundation that will set up the next stage successfully.

{emphasize}Officevibe helps you lead through difficult conversations using our helpful 1-on-1 tool.{emphasize}

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This way, you can prepare for conversations that build trust while supporting your team and leading through each team development stage.

Sign up for free!

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Scenario: You're leading your team through the forming stage

Your team is new and excited to learn about upcoming projects as well as about each other. You outline the work, as well as key milestones, deliverables and objectives.

You recognize that your team is new, and want them to feel supported, motivated and psychologically safe. So, you host a meeting where your team can get to know one another, their work style, and the way they feel appreciated.

In this meeting, you take notes from each team member and apply these to your team principles. This way, each employee knows they can trust you, and each other going forward.{emphasize}

Signs and questions to look out for in the forming stage

What are the signs of a team in the forming stage?

• Nervousness
• Trepidations
• Concerns

Every manager's leadership style is different. No matter your style, here are helpful questions to ask your team:

• How are you feeling about what's coming up?
• Do you feel you have what you need to succeed, if not, how can I support you?
• How do you feel you can best support each other?

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The storming stage

Your team will experience obstacles in the storming stage. This is because they've begun working. While originally things had been going according to plan, roadblocks crop up during this stage.

Your team needs to communicate clearly and, rely on one another rather than turn on each other. This is a crucial point in team development where leaders can pinpoint bottlenecks, areas of improvement and couple them with team strengths to build forward momentum.

The thing is, not every team is cut from the same cloth. Some team members may see your involvement as micro-managing or frustrating.

This is where it's important to level with individual contributors and truly get to know what's going on. This is a great time to reflect on what makes a high-performing team able to accomplish tasks and move through obstacles.

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Scenario: You're leading your team through the storming stage

It's been a few weeks, and your team has gotten to know one another. Especially as it relates to their working style. The problem is, they're coming up against harsh deadlines, and mistakes have been made along the way.

You recognize this isn't any one team member's fault, but you want to make it right. The last thing you want to experience is team members who de-value one another or collectively fall behind.

You approach your team to learn about their bottlenecks, roadblocks and concerns. You come to realize that, by involving yourself, they're burdened by an apprehension to speak up and would rather spend time rectifying the situation.

You book 1-on-1 meetings with team members to learn about each of their experiences. As you do this, you recognize clear and consistent points with each team member and the benefits of hosting a team retrospective.

This way, they'll remain high-performing while re-establishing trusted connections.{emphasize}

Signs and questions to look out for in the storming stage

What are the signs of a team in the storming stage?

• Hearing frequent complaints, frustrations, or bottlenecks
• These can be among team members, or from employees who come to you directly.

Questions to ask:

• Are you available to talk about this in our 1-on-1?
• How can I support you during this time?

In a group setting try asking:

• What does a high-performing team look and feel like to you?
• How can you help each other lean into what you believe makes a team successful?

The norming stage

Team development is more apparent in the norming stage. This is because your team recognizes how they can trust you and each other in order to complete tasks, move towards their objectives and rely on each other for help.

After the storming stage, they recognize behavioural patterns, strengths and develop foresight for upcoming roadblocks.

The norming stage is more harmonious since teams understand why it's important to ask for help, and how to come to you with questions when they need guidance.

This is the perfect team development stage to learn about how your team overcomes obstacles and bonds through shared experiences.

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Scenario: You're leading your team through the norming stage

Picture this: Your team has come a long way and knows how to communicate their needs effectively.

Not only are you proud of the team development they've exemplified, but you're also proud of their individual capacity to stay in integrity with the quality of their work.

They feel confident and comfortable when approaching you with concerns and questions.

At this point, you recognize that your team has grown significantly and is capable of achieving big things together.{emphasize}

Signs and questions to look out for in the norming stage

What are the signs of a team in the norming stage?

• Your team asks questions formulated in ways that are rooted in emotional intelligent practices.
• Teams are autonomous, they know where to look for what they need and when it's appropriate to put their hand up for help.
• Employees rely on each other, collaborate effectively and there's a more lighthearted feel to the group.

Questions to ask your team when they're in the norming stage:

• Do you feel confident and comfortable coming to me with questions and help?
• What did you learn about yourself and one another so far? This gives them an opportunity to recognize their abilities as well as those of their teammates.

The performing stage

When your team has grown through the stages of team development they establish a state of "flow". This means they understand how to work together in a cohesive way that helps them reach their goals.

The performing stage is a clear indication that your team is in a state of alignment. They not only understand how to ask for help, but they've also developed a gauge for when it's an opportune moment to speak up, and involve you.

In the performing stage, you'll notice fluidity with communication and overall conversations. This is demonstrated through high morale, productivity and engagement. It's an ideal state for any manager to witness their team's growth and ask reflective questions.

In this stage, your team is able to evaluate both sides of the coin: what went well and what didn't and outline what they need in the future.

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Scenario: You're leading your team through the performing stage

It's crunch time and you check on your team's progress. As you communicate with them you notice how confidently they articulate their ideas.

How they trust each other to remain accountable for their tasks without dropping the ball. In fact, momentum doesn't only seem high, it feels favourable.

As you learn about their progress, you ask them questions about their processes and notice how they collaboratively provide constructive answers.

Here, psychological safety isn't only a prerequisite, it's a principle embodied by your team.{emphasize}

Signs and questions to look out for in the performing stage

What are the signs of a team in the performing stage?

• Cohesive and clear communication. This is indicated through the project stage which is either completed or very nearly there.
• Your team feels confident, excited and satisfied with their work.

Questions to ask your team in the performing stage include:

• How was your experience on this project?
• What did you enjoy the most? What was the most arduous?
• How did you overcome adversity both individually and as a team?
• How can I improve my support for the team and yourself individually next time?

The team development loop

Every team has different needs when it comes to their development. Which means, you may experience these stages in sequential order, or find yourself in a loop with one or more of the stages outlined above.

Each stage of team development doesn't necessarily take just as much time as the one that comes after it, nor the one before it.

We know this might sound confusing. Here's the thing, the line between certain stages can get blurred since team members evolve at different times.

When this happens, it's important to take stock of what your team needs.

Ultimately, the goal is to make sure you can provide psychological safety as a baseline, evaluate team patterns of behaviour and notice when you're in a negative cycle.

Remain solution-oriented and ask questions that will prompt clear and actionable responses.

They'll look to you for guidance and support, and when you establish a trusting two-way conversation, you'll pave the way towards their professional growth.

After all, their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals is a reflection of a management job well done.

As a manager, having a keen sense of empathy will help you to see the world from your employees’ eyes. This in turn will give you a clearer vision of what they need from you to be successful. In today’s complex workforce, where multi-generations work together to tackle tough problems (like making it through a pandemic!), the ability to foster empathy is a coveted power skill for managers looking to help their teams thrive.

In fact, “87 percent of CEOs believe empathy has a substantial impact on their company’s financial performance”.

If you’re a manager, new or seasoned, taking the time to deliberately develop your empathy in the workplace will help you connect with your team and build stronger relationships at work. Empathy is the igniter for trust and connection, which are the two “must-haves” needed for every team to perform at their best.

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In this article you'll learn:

• But what is empathy anyway? 
• 3 tips to develop your empathy (with tips from real managers) 
• How empathy will help you overcome management challenges 
• In a rush? Save the key points only 

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But what is empathy anyway? 

When we perceive that someone in our environment is going through some kind of emotional distress, typically as humans we respond with empathy, sympathy, or compassion. These experiences all make up what we call emotional intelligence! To better understand how to respond with empathy, we must first understand the nuanced differences!  

• Empathy — “I understand you”. This is the ability to understand and internalize what another person is going through emotionally. It helps us gain insight into what drives their actions and behaviors. 
  
• Sympathy — “I feel for you”. This is a heightened awareness of feeling for someone’s sorrow or concern. 
  
• Compassion  — “I want to help you”. Feeling for someone with more distance from the emotion, still with a desire to take action and help alleviate a person’s pain.

While these are all important skills to master, empathy has been identified as one of today’s top power skills for managers around the world. For this article, we spoke to real managers to give us insights on how they use empathy to manage their team successfully.  

3 tips to develop your empathy in the workplace

As a manager, developing these skills should be top of mind if you want to create a team built on trust, connection, and open communication. Here are some tips to help you flex that empathy muscle!  

1. See things from your employee’s perspective by getting involved in their day 

While this may seem obvious, putting yourself in your team’s shoes will help you remember what their day-to-day struggles look and feel like. One of the quickest ways to build empathy for your team and understand what they need is to go through what they are going through. 

We spoke with Mario the manager who explained to us that his team was working slower than anticipated and not on schedule to submit a project. Before getting upset with them, he knew he needed to understand where they were coming from. 

🎙 “I would show up on-site as early as they did so that I could spend the day working with them. This helped me better understand their roadblocks so that I could help them find a solution. I knew that I would not be able to move the project along any quicker without really understanding what my team was going through.” - Mario

How to build your empathy in the workplace:  

• Work on a difficult project with your team to understand where they need help and where challenges are coming up. 
• If one of your teammates has a difficult stakeholder they work with, attend some of those meetings and help them produce strategies to successfully deal with that stakeholder. 
• Make sure your employees always understand exactly what is being asked of them. Sometimes problems occur when the expectations are unclear, and employees don’t understand what they need to deliver.  

{highlight}💡 Tip: Before drawing conclusions about someone’s behavior or outcomes, ask yourself if you’ve done enough to empathize, and consider alternative explanations. This is all part of taking on their perspective!{highlight}  

2. Sharpen your active listening skills  

Active listening is a structured way of listening where you give the person in front of you your undivided attention while mirroring and validating what they say.  

Sam the manager explains that when he notices someone on his team acting out of the norm, he will often ask them questions to better understand what they are going through beyond work.  

🎙 “Once they start talking, I will simply listen. This helps them feel comfortable opening up and I often respond by letting them know that I am here to support them. I encourage them to take the time and space they need to express themselves and don’t judge or question their feelings.” - Sam 

To practice empathetic listening with your employees:  

• Increase focus during your 1-on-1s by turning off all your notifications, putting your phone away, and zoning in on your employee.  
• Actively listen to your employee by mirroring back what you’ve heard. Respond to their concerns with phrases like “I understand what you’re saying” or “that must be challenging for you”.  
• Avoid arguing or putting up defences with your employees when they state a complaint or frustration in the workplace. Simply be there to hear them out, ask probing questions to better understand, and leave room for them to speak.  

This is especially important now as employees are living in unique situations and sentiments in their personal lives. It’s important for managers to be able to think beyond performance and recognize people’s struggles beyond the screen.  

Another great way to really listen to your employees is by seeking out feedback to really understand their pains. You can do this easily using Officevibe. We give managers autonomically generated insights on all your people to help flag issues as they arise so you can flex your empathy muscle where it matters most.  

3. Ask yourself difficult questions  

Sometimes it can be hard to walk a mile in another person’s shoes when you’ve truly never had a similar experience. This is when asking yourself some tougher questions can help you shift your perspective and understand a situation from another angle.  

Jason the manager says that asking yourself tough questions is the basis of understanding how other people feel and can help you let down your defenses. He says: 

🎙 “Once you can understand how your team feels, they'll open up to you easier as they trust that they can speak without repercussions. When I'm in defense mode, it's hard to hear what they are saying, because I feel triggered. When I let my defense down and take their perspective, we get better work done together.”  - Jason   

Reflection questions to build empathy as a manager:  

• How is what I am saying or doing as a manager going to affect my employees on the receiving end?  
• How might I feel if what was happening to my employee was happening to me? 
• How would I want to be treated if I was in the same scenario as my employee?  

These questions can help you dig deeper as a manager and help shift your perspective and foster healthy dialogues between you and your team. It's also important to ask your employees what they need from you. Remember to ask how you can help and be mindful not to assume that you know what they need! This is all-important when developing your overall emotional intelligence.  

How empathy will help you overcome management challenges 

Empathy is not only good for the health of your employees, but also for the health of your company. There are many ways that fostering empathy as a manager can help you address management challenges while also transforming your business. Let’s discuss a few!  

Business innovation 

Building products with empathy for the end-users in mind is needed for products to launch successfully. When empathy is built into your culture, it will transcend your business process. A Nielson analysis reports that ¾ products fail to launch successfully when empathy is not kept in mind!  

{highlight}💡 Tip: Remove barriers that get in the way of your employees doing their best work and focusing on user needs! This can include things like lengthy processes, outdated hardware, or unnecessary administrative work that blocks their creative flow.  {highlight}

Improvement in leadership  

In a recent study on empathy in the workplace, employees believe that their managers have the greatest impact on building a culture of empathy. Building your empathy will take your leadership skills to the next level!  

{highlight}💡 Tip: Show them that you care about their wellbeing by being flexible when things in their personal life come up and prioritize work-life balance. {highlight}

Increased psychological safety 

Part of what builds psychological safety is both trust and feeling understood. When employees feel safe, they are more comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and being vulnerable with their team. This in turn leads to more creative, innovative, and inclusive work.  

{highlight}💡 Tip: When you disagree with an employee, before stating your disagreement, seek to understand them first by asking them open-ended questions. {highlight}

Developing empathy as a manager won’t be something you do overnight. Rather, by remaining consistent and always asking yourself what you can do to better help support and understand your employees, your efforts will permeate throughout the team to create a culture of empathy.

Too busy? We got you.

You can save the image below (drag to your desktop or right-click and save) with the main and most actionable points from this article, and/or send them to your email.

For managers, learning how to be a better listener for their team can be challenging. You want to offer endless support, but your responsibilities are stacking up and it’s tough to find the time. When your team was smaller you were able to check in with everyone more often, but you have less bandwidth now.  

No matter how busy things get, it’s crucial to give employees a voice. They need to know you are open to hearing their perspectives and ideas. They need to know that even though you might be less present at times, you’re still “all ears” when it comes to their needs and pains.  

Did you know? 85% of Officevibe users are satisfied with how frequently they communicate with their managers.  

We’ll walk you through how to be a better listener for your team. This will help you learn more about their needs while ensuring they feel understood.  

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In this article you’ll learn:  

• The benefits of taking the time to listen to your employees  
• 5 ways busy managers can be better listeners for their team 

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The benefits of taking the time to listen to your employees  

When teams are led by managers who take the time to listen, there are several positive effects as a result. On a personal level, employees feel supported, which sets the bar for a high-performing team. As a result, being a good listener goes a long way. 

Here are the top 5 benefits of being a better listener for your team: 

1. Fosters stronger connections

Employees notice when a manager converses with them rather than speaks to them. Managers with effective listening skills take an interest and develop strong connections with their team when they understand their needs.   

2.  Builds confident employees

When employees can share trepidations and progress with their managers, they build trust. This results in higher confidence, which encourages employees to share their input and take risks.  

3. Levels the playing field

The dynamic of manager-to-employee can develop a sense of hierarchy that may stilt conversations. When managers level with their team by listening intently, employees open up much more.  

💡 Bonus: Being vulnerable by drawing on personal experiences helps to humanize  conversations. Be sure to strike a balance between being open with your team and giving  employees the ability to express themselves.

4. Creates supportive workplaces

When teams know that they can count on their managers to listen, they feel supported. That sense of stability and reliability is key for performance. Employees who can express themselves authentically are happier at work, more engaged, and willing to contribute to a positive workplace culture.  

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5. High performing teams

Managers who listen and act on the needs of the team inspire employees to achieve their objectives. Being curious about your team and their needs helps them divulge what they need to succeed. When employees feel supported with the tools and resources they need, they’re more likely to reach their goals. A true, win-win! 

Listening to your team’s needs doesn’t have to break the time bank. Officevibe encourages employees to share their voice using the anonymous feedback tool. This increases their ability to divulge information they wouldn’t otherwise share.  

Has it been a while since you checked in with your team? Officevibe has got you covered. With pulse surveys, you can listen to your team in real-time and gather important data to drive successful teams. 

5 ways busy managers can be better listeners for their team

Practicing listening habits can be tricky, especially for managers who are short on time and resources. Having a versatile approach to effective listening helps busy managers understand their team’s needs via different types of listening skills.  

Here are top 5 tips for effective listening  

1. Contextualize the conversation: Be a generous listener 

Before beginning your discussion, remember that context matters. Putting yourself in their shoes helps to empathize with their point of view. Knowing where an employee comes from helps shape conversations in a cohesive way. Listening generously means you’re aware of the circumstances of an individual, in addition to what they have to say.

Tip: Being a generous and active listener means arriving with the contextual knowledge of the discussion. Take in where they may be coming from and allow the person to express their points without being interrupted.  

2. Be mindful of interruptions: Listen to understand rather than to respond 

When employees confide in you with valuable information related to projects or team dynamics, it’s important to allow them to finish their thoughts.It’s human nature to feel the need to jump in with a solution-oriented mindset. While that’s encouraged, it’s equally as important to listen to understand their point of view rather than listen with the intent of fixing the issue right away. 

Tip: When an employee expresses themselves, allow them to finish their full stream of thought. When they’re ready for you to respond, ask them how you can best support them with an answer. This will guide you to find a solution that suits the situation. As a result, employees will learn to be solution oriented while giving you the ability to fully hear them out.  

3. Be receptive: Pay attention to nonverbal cues 

Body language and nonverbal cues are helpful indicators that listening is taking place. Evaluate your body language and make sure you’re demonstrating receptive nonverbal communication. You can do this by making sure your facial expressions respond, professionally, to what is being discussed.  

Tip: Make sure your arms are uncrossed, and that you’re leaning slightly forward to demonstrate that you’re present. Absorb what an employee is telling you and develop eye contact to let them know you’re paying attention.   

4. Be perceptive: Listen to what’s not being said 

As a manager it’s important for you to look out for your own nonverbal cues, as well as those from your team. Picking up on body language and tone of voice from employees is important. If they hint towards an issue a few times in the same conversation, ask if they need to discuss that particular topic more. Often what isn’t being said can ring louder than what they’re verbally communicating.  

Tip: Prevent making assumptions by asking them if there’s more they need to discuss. If so, let them know that this is a safe space for them to share their thoughts and ideas. If not, let them know that you’re here to listen and provide access to resources where they can share anonymous feedback, like Officevibe’s anonymous feedback tool .  

5. Confirm key points: Repeat what’s been said  

When employees elaborate on their grievances, they speak with the intention for you to understand them and help them get back on track. This may be difficult, especially in a remote context when technology glitches can throw off our ability to hear people out as they had originally intended.  

Tip: Towards the end of the conversation, summarize the issue at hand, the solutions discussed and any next steps. This encourages employees to confirm what they need and gives them agency to express themselves if they’ve been misunderstood.  

Being an effective communicator also means being a good listener. When managers adopt this mindset, they open the door to dynamic conversations that positively impact their team. After all, communication is at the heart of every healthy relationship.  

Which interpersonal skills are most highly valued by workplace employers? You might be surprised to learn that communication and interpersonal skills rank at the top of the list.

Despite their importance, Harvard Business Review reports that: 

2/3 of managers are uncomfortable communicating with employees.  

It’s not always easy to know how to approach conflict, communicate change, or provide negative feedback. And you might not think you need to learn how to improve your interpersonal skills so long as the job gets done, but the truth is that at the base of performing teams are solid relationships.  

Good news! These interpersonal skills are identifiable and learnable. With a little practice, you can get better at key management skills such as active listening, communicating, building relationships with employees and offering vital feedback.  

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Why interpersonal skills are essential for modern managers? 

Interpersonal skills are the “soft skills” that make it possible to work with and lead others. These are sometimes referred to as social skills, people skills, or even life skills, because they apply to all facets of your life, not just the workplace. They include skills like effective communication, empathy, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and so on. All skills that facilitate better human interactions. If you want to get the best performance out of your team, you need to know how to successfully manage relationships.  

What instances do managers need to apply interpersonal skills?  

• Actively listening to employees during 1-on-1s 
• When an employee is underperforming and you need to address the issue 
• When you need to resolve a conflict between two employees. 
• Giving constructive feedback aimed at helping an employee develop  
• Nurturing positive team dynamics, relationships, and collaboration  
• Communicating clear individual and team expectations that resonate 

The first step to better interpersonal skills is being aware of the critical or moments in which you need to apply them on the job. Whether it be high-stakes conversations or knowing how to mobilize your team through change. Build the reflex of taking a moment to think before communicating when it comes to moments and interactions that matter most.  

Top 6 interpersonal skills for managers to hone in on  

Almost 100 years ago, Dale Carnegie advised readers that they could “win friends and influence people” by learning to be a better communicator. While that basic philosophy still remains in place, here are six examples of specific interpersonal skills you need to succeed as a manager.  

1. Effective communication skills  

Effective interpersonal communication heads the list of valuable interpersonal skills. It consists of both listening and speaking effectively. Being a good listener means that you are able to receive and understand the speaker’s intent. You listen for words, inflection, tone, and even facial expressions to make sure you completely understand. If the intent is not clear, then you ask clarifying questions. 

Did you know? 85% of Officevibe users are satisfied with how frequently they communicate with their managers.   

The other side of the communication equation is speaking, or the ability to clearly transmit information. As a manager, you need to be clear when sharing expectations or communicating change. Look your listener in the eye, convey your point with clear words, eliminate jargon, and outline actionable items. 

💡 Tip To become a better listener, focus attentively on what your employee is saying and not on what you want to say. Be present, study their body language, and then summarize what you heard to demonstrate that you were listening.  

2. Conflict-resolution  

It can be difficult to communicate effectively and provide clarity when conflict arises or when tempers are flaring. These can be trying situations but mediating conflict and navigating difficult conversations successfully are the cornerstones of growth and development on your team. Without them, teams will only tiptoe around success. 

Managers need to model how to approach difficult conversations around conflict so that employees can have them amongst each other as well. Being able to challenge one another and discuss the elephant in the room respectfully are must-haves for better team performance. 

This interpersonal skill requires that you be open-minded to alternate perspectives, empathetic, and as mentioned in point one above, able to listen as much as you speak. 

Basic tips for having difficult conversations:  

• Both parties should establish talking points ahead of time.  
• Focus on specific facts and behaviors rather than perceptions and feelings. 
• Aim for a common understanding of both sides, not winning an argument.  
• Be solution-oriented and work together for the benefit of all participants.  

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3. Self-awareness  

This is at the base of strong emotional intelligence. Before you can seek to understand what motivates the people around you, you need to understand yourself.  

This clarity over what drives and affects you will allow you to have control over your emotions. It also allows you to self-reflect, and therefore improve. Leaders with self-awareness are able to admit when they are wrong and flag their own blindspots. It is a trait of true leaders. Those with high self-awareness also possess the ability to better understand others, which, as a manager, is an interpersonal skill that drives connection.  

💡 Tip: When it comes to your own emotions, you can improve self-awareness by intentionally noting events that trigger certain disruptive emotions. Once you understand, you can learn to regulate your emotional responses and focus on logic-based solutions. 

4. Body language  

Non-verbal communication is almost as important as verbal communication. You send out positive and negative signals through facial expressions, the way you sit, or how you use your hands. Sometimes, disinterested body language speaks much louder than your voice.  

While we need to pay attention to the words we say, we also need to be mindful of how we express ourselves with nonverbal cues in order to ensure that our intended message and our perceived message match.  

💡 Tip: In a remote context, pay attention to your posture and eye contact. Nod to demonstrate you have processed information, or smile to show engagement. Notice what you are doing when your employee is talking and ensure it reflects your attention. You may be listening but resting your head in your hand might show boredom, for example. 

5. Empathy 

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but being able to take on another perspective gives you a leg up when building relationships. Imagine seeing through your employees' eyes?  

Empathy is a skill that allows you to break from your own perspectives and beliefs, which as a manager is essential when you have a time filled with unique individuals, expertise and points of view. 

💡 Tips: If you are communicating with a conflicted employee, before reacting, try to remember when you were on that side of the desk. You might have been inexperienced or afraid, so it’s possible this person feels the same way. Give the team member a chance to express their feelings or ideas, and then provide input, without judgment.  

6. Relationship management 

Relationship management is one of the most important of your managerial interpersonal skills.  

Did you know? 86% of employees using Officevibe trust their direct manager

Building and nurturing solid relationships with both your team and upper management requires that you intentionally build trust. This is done by taking time to get to know your colleagues as people, not just workers.  

You’ll find that strong relationships can lead to improved collaboration, smoother conflict resolution, and a happier team overall. But, how can your track relationships? Officevibe offers a suite of tools for managers that help monitor and improve the quality of team relationships.  

Use our anonymous feedback feature to learn the state of relationships on your team, and where you need to put efforts to improve them.

Remember that while guiding your team to reach goals is part of your job, the other part is putting your people skills to work to ensure collaboration, connection, and chemistry. As you learn how to improve your interpersonal skills, you’ll be able to use your hard skills to more effectively guide your team to success. 

Workplaces thrive when teams collaborate to accomplish shared goals. One of the main challenges for teams is they’re made up of unique individuals with their own style of working. Furthermore, remote work poses additional challenges to traditional employee motivation techniques. Methods that managers relied on for employee engagement may not work as well in a remote work environment. To prevent this, managers must understand which employee motivation techniques are applicable to each team member.

We’re exploring 4 different professional personalities and the motivation techniques applied for each one. Bonus: we're tackling how to adapt towards these, remotely.

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Employee motivation strategies for different personality types

1. Creatives

Creatives are known for drumming up plans and ideas. They're the first to throw out suggestions in meetings. Creatives are typically perfectionists, reworking the fine details of a plan. They can't help it; their brains are hardwired for brainstorming out-of-the-box solutions.

Creatives become engaged employees  in a flexible work environment. Rather than stick to a routine; they're inspired by change and growth. To increase job satisfaction with Creatives, managers must find ways to harness their solution-oriented mindset. 

Motivation techniques for Creatives: 

• Put creatives on projects that highlight their strengths.
• Assign creatives detail-oriented work and projects that are stimulating.
• Encourage Creatives to lead out-of-the-box brainstorm meetings on the team.
• Remote work tip: Keep Creatives in the Flow state, and allow flexible scheduling

2. Rising Stars

Rising Stars love what they do, their main motivation is to get better at it! They thrive on productivity. Rising Stars win fast, and often. Whether that means landing a new client, staying late to finalize a critical deal, or wowing the crowd in a presentation.

They take their careers seriously and invest in professional development or networking opportunities. Rising Stars are hard workers who shine brightest when they reap the reward for a job well done. 

Motivation techniques for Rising Stars:

• Praise Rising Stars both publicly and privately during 1-on-1 meetings.
• Create "stretch goals" that challenge them beyond their daily mandates.
• Listen actively in 1-on-1s to really understand their development goals
• Remote work tip: Provide ad-hoc outlets where Rising Stars can engage with colleagues. Group chats work perfectly for hard workers to integrate downtime in between tasks! 

3. Difference Makers

Difference Makers have a higher calling. They are often drawn to non-profit work, being of service, and purpose driven roles. These employees want to make a difference in the world and bring about positivity.

Motivate a Difference Maker by getting to know them. Learn their values, and the causes they care about. Knowing this information incentivizes their work. Find ways to direct their strengths toward organizational goals that dovetail with their values. Purpose led Difference Makers who contribute towards an organizational goal, are known for their high morale! 

Motivation techniques for Difference Makers: 

• Tap into Difference Makers for long-term plans and visionary thinking.
• Offer constructive feedback to help them improve, so they feel more impact.
• Connect their work to the larger purpose of the team and organization.
• Remote work tip: Host meaningful informal gatherings, like a Zoom happy hour. 

4. Directors

Directors are known for mentoring their peers. They gravitate naturally toward leadership or project management roles. Directors are typically charismatic, visionary thinkers as well as detail-oriented, logical types.

Without leadership opportunities, Directors get restless. The best way to keep them focused and increase their job satisfaction is to give them responsibility. They shine best while leading a project, team, or chairing a committee. 

Motivation techniques for Directors: 

• Assign Directors leadership roles and responsibilities.
• Give them tools to stay connected to the team, like collaborative software tools.
• Use 1-on-1 meetings as mentorship opportunities to help them develop as leaders. 
• Remote work tip: Tag Directors to host Zoom meetings or guide retrospectives.

{highlight}Unlock your employee's potential with our inspiring quotes and empower them to reach new heights of success and productivity.{highlight}

How to use Officevibe to motivate teams

Officevibe's employee engagement solution helps managers cut through the noise. Our tools enable employees to express how they feel. By taking pulse surveys and applying honest feedback, we allow managers to pinpoint team motivational strategies that are applicable for high-level engagement.

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6 questions for managers to grasp their employees’ motivation: 

1. Do you enjoy the work that you do? This key data point enables managers to engage with employees who aren't feeling fulfilled by their duties.
   
2. Do you feel you have enough freedom to decide how you do your work? Generally, when employees feel micromanaged, they quickly become demotivated.
   
3. Are your responsibilities clear? Without clarity, employees will not feel empowered to perform tasks. Evaluate where gaps in communication may exist, then clear up confusion individually or with the team.
   
4. Are you satisfied with the frequency and specificity of feedback coming from your direct manager? Incentive, reward, and recognition are part of a motivation technique. Get a pulse on employees' needs by asking them this question.
   
5. I feel my work serves a purpose. This sliding scale question gauges motivation levels. When employees feel a sense of purpose they feel fulfilled. Without purpose, motivation will be low. 
   
6. How well does the organization use your strengths? This allows managers to know if employees feel they're working up to their strengths.{highlight}

You can ask these same questions to your team! Officevibe's employee engagement solution generates real-time engagement data at a glance allowing managers to quickly take action, discuss results as a team, and nurture alignment and connectivity.  Imagine having a weekly, high-level view of what's going well on your team and where people are struggling? This is every manager's ticket to success.

Here's an example of a simple report that shows the fluctuation in metrics on your team 👇

How TOAST Studio managers used Officevibe to increase motivation

Alexandre Gravel, Co-president of Montreal-based content agency Toast Studio, manages a team of 35 employees. According to him, Officevibe has been a difference-maker when it comes to understanding his growing team. 

"It helps me get important information directly from my team members which allows for a deeper understanding of their different personalities and other dynamics at play. With this knowledge I can better offer support to my employees, who can choose to remain anonymous or not, and build much better team cohesion."

Tailoring employee motivation techniques to individual personalities, ensures that managers encourage employees to feel seen and heard. 

Empower your team while cultivating trust and strengthening collaboration. Try Officevibe, to boost employee engagement, teamwork, and empathetic leadership.

Employee motivation isn’t very hard to get right, but, unfortunately, many companies are still stuck in the past.

It’s not all about money. People have an innate desire to grow, learn, and make a real difference in the world. If companies were smart, they’d work to create the type of environment that allows for that continuous development to occur.

Dan Pink’s famous TED talk on motivation is one of the most powerful pieces of research on what really motivates employees.

I’ll explain the three secrets to team motivation based on Dan Pink’s research, and give you tips on how you can implement them into your work culture.

Now let’s learn exactly how you can implement these into your workplace.

How to motivate employees in the workplace

Based on Dan Pink’s research, there are three things that you need to focus on to have sustainable employee motivation.

1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose

Things like perks, bonuses, and salary increases might get you an increase in employee motivation, but it will be short term. No one wakes up in the morning excited to come to work because there’s a foosball table in the kitchen.

It’s a nice to have, but if it was taken away tomorrow, your employees should still be motivated about what they’re doing. They need to believe that they’re valued and respected.

Showing that value and respect is easier said than done, but it is possible.

Fear, lack of trust, and lack of communication are the main reasons why so many companies still get this wrong.

Your employees are smart.

They have good ideas, they know what to do, and they genuinely have your company’s best interests in mind.

Let’s go through each of them in more detail.

1. Autonomy

Employees need autonomy to do good work. They need to shown that respect of you getting out of their way and letting them work on a project from beginning to end. If an employee knows they’re going to be critiqued or that you’ll end up changing the work anyways, there’s no way they can get as excited or motivated about it.

Many companies make the mistake of doing what I call “quasi-autonomy”, where they’ll tell an employee they have autonomy, but then give “constructive feedback” midway through the project. Ultimately, this is rooted in fear. Fear that the employee might not do exactly what you expect. But what if what you’re expecting isn’t even the best way to do it?

There’s a lot of psychology behind being able to see a project from beginning to end yourself. When I studied a high-performing team, I believe the fact that the team had total ownership was a big reason for their success.

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How to give autonomy at work

• Employees want to know you’re there to help them if they need anything, but they don’t need you checking in on them all the time. Trust that they’ll do good work. Make it known that they can choose to work however they please, as long as the work gets done.
• Micromanaging someone takes all the motivation away, because at that point, you might as well be doing the work yourself. Again, you want to be there just in case, but ideally they shouldn’t come to you at all. Learn how to hold employees accountable without micromanaging them. Set goals with them from the start (like a due date) and then let them run with it.
• You want to make sure that you’re using your talent in the best possible way. Yes, everyone has to work on things that they don’t enjoy, and that’s fine, but there needs to be some balance where an employee can suggest ideas and then see them through. You want to create a culture of continuous feedback, where you allow employees to share ideas without fear of retribution.{highlight}

2. Mastery

Dan Pink explains this perfectly. People have an intrinsic motivation to become better at whatever they do. If I’m a writer, I want to become the best writer possible, whether my boss tells me to or not. This is important for you to understand, because you can help your employees master their skills without them fighting you on it.

When people plateau, they get bored. When they get bored, they’ll lose motivation and eventually start looking for work elsewhere. Everyone needs to be stimulated.

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How to help employees with mastery

• Empower your employees by investing in them. Pay for courses they could take, send them to conferences if it helps them learn, and even mentor them (or set them up with a mentor) to improve their skills. Give them the resources they need (hint: ask them) to become the best employees they can be. It’s in your best interest to invest in them, the ROI will be worth it.
• Everyone on your team (including you) should be working towards developing a growth mindset. Employees need to understand that experimentation is the key and that failure is okay.
• The way to truly master something is by testing ideas you have and learning from them. Help your team establish a process for testing things and work with them to define ways that they’ll learn from these tests.{highlight}

3. Purpose

At Officevibe, we don’t sell survey software - we’re changing the world of work. Employees need to feel like they’re part of something bigger so that they can get excited about why they’re coming into work every day.

If I believed that the reason I was getting up in the morning was to sell someone a tool to collect feedback, the excitement would fade pretty quickly. The fact that I’m able to say that we’re making people happier at work by giving them a voice is what gets me out of bed every morning.

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How to give employees purpose

• Social responsibility is incredibly important to employees, and one way to make your brand more socially responsible is by allowing employees to volunteer their time to an organization in the community.
• Keep reminding employees about why your company exists. It’s not to sell survey software, it’s to make work better. Print posters and put them on the wall if you have to, but people should be reminded of this every day.
• Look for ways that you can go even further with your mission and core values. Ask employees how you can be even more purpose-driven, it will not only increase motivation, but loyalty as well.{highlight}

Employee motivation theories

Arguably the most popular theory on motivation in general is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The most fundamental need (at the bottom of the pyramid) are physiological things like food, water, housing, etc. While this is true, it has led managers to making one of the biggest mistakes about employee motivation. Since money is required for things like food, water, and housing, if we give employees more money, their needs will be even more satisfied.

But that’s wrong.

It’s true that everyone needs to earn a living. They have to pay the bills.

People also have to feel that they are fairly compensated for the amount of work that they do, this is what’s known as equity theory. If it’s not an equal exchange, then the focus will be exclusively on that. But once the subject of compensation is taken off the table, what motivates employees long term are intrinsic motivators.

It’s pretty well known that more money doesn’t ever lead to anything effective. What usually ends up happening, is we adjust our lifestyles to account for the increase in money, so it makes no real difference. We’re often still in the same position financially at the end of the day. What makes people happy is the feeling of pride from accomplishing something amazing.

In one study that Dan Pink talks about in his book Drive, he looks at what happens with rewards and kids drawing.

Researchers divided the children into three groups.

The first was the “expected award” group. They showed each child a “Good Player” certificate and asked if the child wanted to draw in order to receive the award.

The second group was the “unexpected award” group. Researchers asked these children simply if they wanted to draw. If they decided to, when the session ended, the researchers handed each child one of the “Good Player” certificates.

The third group was the “no award” group. Researchers asked these children if they wanted to draw, but neither promised nor gave them a certificate at the end.

Children in the “unexpected award” and “no award” groups drew just as much, and with the same enthusiasm as they had before the experiment. But children in the first group showed much less interest and spent much less time drawing.

The prizes had turned play into work.

In another study, two Swedish economists found that offering a small payment in exchange for giving blood decreased the number of people willing to donate by half. The researchers suggest “the payment tainted an altruistic act and ‘crowded out’ the intrinsic desire to do something good.”

Elevate employee engagement and create a motivated workforce with our handpicked collection of 70 uplifting quotes.

A smart way for teams to get a more complete picture on an employee is to use 360 degree feedback.

Traditionally, employees get feedback only from their direct managers, which creates a 1-1 feedback process. To get a more complete picture, you want to get feedback from as many sources as possible.

There are many pros and cons to using 360 feedback that we’ll go through, but one important thing to understand is that it’s used to measure an employee’s strength and weaknesses, not their performance.

This is why it might not be the best idea to include 360 feedback as part of an annual performance review. If you’re planning to use it, it might just be part of your overall feedback and performance management process.

In this post, we’ll explain what 360 degree feedback is, talk about the pros and cons, give you some examples of questions, and some pro tips to get you started quickly and easily.

Before we do, make sure to grab this free guide on how to give better employee feedback.

What is 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is when you collect feedback about your strengths and weaknesses from everyone around you, hence the name 360 degree.

As a manager, if you were the one receiving 360 reviews, you’d collect feedback from your direct manager (if you have one), your employees, your coworkers, and potentially even your customers. Many times there is also a self-assessment that is included in the process.

It’s important that the process is anonymous and that everyone rating you gets the same questions about you. At the end, one person (usually your manager) will compile all the results and discover any patterns about where you could improve.

Remember, a 360 review is about strengths and weaknesses.

{emphasize}A performance review is about the job someone is doing, a 360 review is about an employee’s skills.{emphasize}

The goal is to help anyone in the organization (senior leaders and employees) improve their personal skills and behaviors at work. By combining multiple sources of feedback, you’ll get a more complete picture of the employee.

Pros of 360 degree feedback

There are many pros to 360 feedback, they’re an amazing tool to use, but it’s important for you to remember that it’s all part of a larger feedback process which includes employee surveys, one-on-ones, annual reviews, etc.

1. More Complete Assessment

Because you’re collecting feedback from so many different sources, you have a broader (and potentially more accurate) assessment. You’ll likely notice recurring themes and patterns that you should be focusing on.

{emphasize}According to Officevibe data, 18% of employees feel like the feedback they receive is lacking precision.{emphasize}

By implementing 360 degree feedback and increasing the number of respondents, you are more likely to have a better picture of your employee's work and relations, hence making the feedback more specific. Also, it’s likely that colleagues or customers have feedback that you might not have, so you’ll get a more complete picture of your employee's strengths and weaknesses.

2. Create Better Teamwork

In theory, if everyone identifies their strengths, weaknesses, and behaviours that they need to work on, they’ll end up becoming better coworkers and the team will be happier and more productive.

3. See How Others See You

It’s great to see how others perceive you. The 360 review gives colleagues a chance to anonymously express how they feel about their coworkers, something that doesn't regularly happen at work.

If you’re able to handle feedback and not get too upset about it, you’ll want to know how others see you. The key to handling feedback is to develop a growth mindset and look at it as an opportunity to grow.

4. More Feedback Is Always Better

One of the biggest issues that employees face in their workplace is a lack of frequent feedback. Employees crave feedback, and the 360 review gives them a chance to get more of it from more people.

Employees will likely also perceive the feedback as more fair since it’s coming from multiple sources.

5. 360 feedback is anonymous

In most cases, 360 feedback is anonymous. This can sometime be an advantage of 360 feedback as some employees might feel more comfortable giving feedback. This is especially the case for constructive and negative feedback.

If some of your team members are scared to share negative feedback about a colleague, then 360 feedback can be a safe space where they are able to flag these issues to their manager and the colleague in question.

Cons of 360 feedback

360 feedback isn’t perfect, and unfortunately many teams will implement it for the wrong reasons. You need to be very careful when doing this. If your culture already has an issue of trust or the team isn’t getting along well, this might only worsen the problem.

1. It Can Create A Negative Culture

If the feedback received is negative, it can create a lot of resentment on the team, where the receiver is angry at their colleagues or customers, inducing emotions like fear and anger.

To prevent this from happening, you can teach your employees about constructive feedback. This will help your employees to turn a negative comment into an actionnable statement and will be much more beneficial for the concerned employee and your team in the long run.

2. It Might Not Be Accurate

The feedback that’s received might not be 100% accurate. Your colleagues might want to be nicer that what they really feel, or maybe due to internal politics they’re dishonest to be mean.

If you’re on a small team and everyone’s friends with each other, can we really be that critical of each other?

On the flipside, if you’re on a very large team, do the people reviewing you really know you well enough to give you an accurate assessment?

Remember, feedback is often about perceptions. Because a certain employee feels some way about a colleague, it might not be the absolute truth. In the case of negative feedback, make sure you take the time to discuss it with the concerned employee to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

The point is, be careful with the data you’re collecting.

3. Too Focused On Weaknesses

The review can focus too much on an employee’s weaknesses and not enough on their strengths, which can be pretty discouraging.

It’s okay to highlight areas for improvement, but remember to focus on strengths and how that strengths can be leveraged more on the team.

4. You can't track anonymous feedback

Anonymous feedback is great to make your employees more comfortable to share their opinions, but it can sometimes be a double edged sword. If a critical issue arise during a 360 feedback loop, it's impossible for you to know the identity of the employee sharing the negative feedback. This makes it harder for the manager to address and solve the conflict effectively.

5. It's time consuming

While the assessment you obtain might be more complete, this quality of information comes at a cost. First, it takes time for your employees to fill feedback surveys. For the manager, analyzing the feedback and finding insights from the surveys is also a time consuming task.

If you chose to conduct 360 feedback for many team members, the time taken by all parties is multiplied. Since managers usually have busy schedules, it's important to ask yourself if the insights coming from 360 feedback are worth the time invested into it for you and your employees. Typically, they are. And the juice is worth the squeeze because gaining different perspectives and revealing your own blindspots is essential to better understand your team.

Should you implement 360 feedback on your team?

As presented earlier, 360 feedback comes with many pros and some cons. If you’re wondering whether or not to implement 360 feedback on your team, the answer is it depends.

Different teams have different challenges, and as a manager you know what’s best for yours.Collecting 360 feedback is great every 6-12 months to get a high level view of your team’s performance through different eyes, but, collecting frequent ongoing feedback is essential to have an real-time view of your teams pains and sentiments.

Here are a few situations where 360 feedback might benefit your team:

• When you notice team dynamics issues and need to grasp how employees are collaborating with their peers.
• Before performance reviews or compensation adjustments so you have an accurate picture of their contribution
• Before promoting an employee internally so you see what areas need refining before shifiting roles.

Keeping a balance between different feedback collection methods will help you have an accurate view of your team and its needs. For situations where 360 feedback might not be the best option for your team, you can use Officevibe's feedback features to take the pulse of your team without loading your already busy schedule.

360 Feedback sample questions

Since managers have busy schedules, implementing a new feedback process can be time consuming.

The exercise of 360 feedback can give you the opportunity to address some critical areas such as autonomy, expertise and impact. In order to save you some time, here are a few sample questions you can use for your 360 feedback review:

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• Does this employee seem motivated at work?
• Do you feel like this team member is autonomous on their day to day?
• When conflicts arise, does this employee handle it well?
• When challenges arise, does this employee take the initiative of proposing solutions?
• On the daily, do you consider this employee to be proactive or reactive?
• Does this employee's work impact colleagues outside of his direct team?
• Is this employee committed to the success of the organization?
• Does this employee display leadership skills?
• Is this employee in charge of his/her professional development?
• Have you experienced any problems with this employee personally?
• Does this employee pay attention to detail in their work?
• Is this employee a good communicator?
• Does this employee manage their time well?
• Do you trust this employee that they’ll do what they say they’ll do?{emphasize}

Tips to get started with 360 feedback

If you’re looking to get started with 360 feedback, here are a few tips to keep in mind as you get started.

Set Goals For The Process

You need to have a reason for why you’re doing what you do, how you’ll use the results, and what people should expect.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What skills/strengths are important for us here? (hint: tie them to your core values).
• What are we going to do with all of the data we collect? How will we keep that going over time?

Remove The Fear

If you’re just getting started with 360 reviews, it’s natural that employees might be a bit nervous or scared about what to expect. It’s your job as a manager to remove that fear and explain exactly how to process will work.

Explain how the anonymity works, that they should be honest, why you’re doing this, etc.

Keep The Survey Short

One last tip to keep in mind is not to make your survey too long. Survey fatigue kicks in very quickly, and with something like this you want the information to be as accurate as possible.

Take the survey a few times yourself to see how long it is and where you could potentially remove to make the process as simple as possible.

Do You Use 360 Degree Feedback?

Anything to share with our community about how you do it at your organization?

Every manager wants to lead employees who are committed and connected to their work. In other words, they want a team of engaged employees. But why, exactly, is this so important? What are the benefits of employee engagement?

Many things play into employee engagement. Things like how happy employees feel at work, how connected they are with their peers and manager, and how often they feel recognized and appreciated for their contributions are just a few factors of engagement.

When employees are truly engaged, teams go from being good to being great. Challenges turn into opportunities, outcomes turn into achievements, and people give it their all. Let's explore this more closely.

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Managers are often told that they need to work on employee engagement. However, the concept of engagement is sometimes hard to understand. We built a list of 10 important benefits to help you understand what employee engagement really looks like.

10 Benefits of employee engagement

The reason employee engagement is so important is simple: it affects all aspects of work. Benefits around engagement impact employees, teams, managers, and the organization as a whole.

1. Better team performance

Employee engagement doesn't just benefit individual employees – it benefits the team. This is because engaged employees perform at a higher level. And when you have a group of engaged employees working together, the team naturally performs at its best as well.

Not only that, but employee morale can be really contagious. When team members are surrounded by driven and motivated peers who care about what they do, they're more likely to feel engaged in their own roles. Individual engagement leads to team engagement, and individual performance improves team performance.

2. Increased employee productivity

Highly engaged employees are more efficient and produce higher-quality work. Why? Because they're personally invested in their job, and their performance matters to them. They're aligned with the team and business goals, and accountable for their individual contribution. This means increased productivity on your team and greater returns for your business.

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Check-in on employee engagement in every one-on-one meeting. If you spot a drop in performance or productivity, it could be an indication of disengagement.

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3. Achieved team objectives

Speaking of hitting targets, employee engagement plays a huge role in your team's success and achievements. As a manager, it's natural to focus your attention on your team's goals. But this doesn't mean you should neglect the employee engagement side as it has a direct, positive impact on your objectives.

It's a two-way street: team members that are aligned on goals feel more engaged, and engaged employees are more motivated to work towards common objectives.

Team members who believe in the vision will help you get there. And they do so because they are engaged in their work and aligned with your business strategy.

4. Less workplace stress

Engaged employees and disengaged employees alike are susceptible to stress at work. The difference lies in how it's managed, as well as the outcomes of that stress. And as a manager, your support will play a huge role here.

For engaged employees, some stress at work is usually much easier to manage and could even become a motivator. Employees who are engaged tend to be more self-aware and can better detect when their stress levels surpass a healthy threshold. They're also more prone to seek support from managers and peers when needed.

On the other hand, when engagement dwindles, stress can become unmanageable and sometimes even detrimental to people's well-being. And this is especially true when employees do not feel a sense of belonging at work and feel unsupported.

Be mindful of when and how you push people. Stress can be a sign that we're on the brink of something amazing! But it can also completely hinder us from reaching those achievements. Make sure your team members know that you have their backs and that stress is only okay if it's propelling them forward.

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💡Not sure how to detect signs of stress? Use our free survey template to help you assess your team's stress levels and uncover the root causes.

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5. Lower risk of burnout

Employee burnout, which the World Health Organization defines as an “occupational phenomenon… resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” is one of the biggest issues facing today's workforce.

When employees reach the point of burnout, it has serious consequences – for them, your team, and your organization. Burnout is bad news. But the upside? By keeping your employees engaged with their work and monitoring stress levels on your team, you're helping significantly lower their risk for burnout.

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Burnout symptoms to look out for: 

• Mental and physical exhaustion
• Lowered productivity
• Decreased sense of accomplishment
• Decreased job satisfaction
• And – you guessed it: lack of engagement with work

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6. Lower employee absenteeism

Absenteeism has become a big issue in recent years. In the United States alone, nearly one million people skip work each day due to stress. And alarmingly, those who take time off for mental health reasons are seven times more likely to be absent in the future.

When workloads become overwhelming and work-life balance feels unattainable, engagement falls and absenteeism takes a hike. So how can you help as a manager? You can improve employee engagement by fostering a motivating environment that prioritizes health and well-being. You'll see your engaged employees excited to show up for work (online or in person), innovate with ease, achieve goals, and perform at the highest level in no time.

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Reach out to employees when you notice changes in their behavior like taking more sick days or participating less in team meetings. Avoid coming from a place of frustration or judgment, and come from a place of care. Maybe something is going on that you couldn't have spotted otherwise, and you might even be able to help.

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7. ... And lower employee presenteeism as well

As Investopedia clearly puts it, presenteeism is "the lost productivity that occurs when employees are not fully functioning in the workplace because of an illness, injury, or other condition." These days, presenteeism is most often due to mental health issues like stress and anxiety. It traps employees in a negative loop where their challenges contribute to low productivity, and their low productivity causes more anxiety. The catch-22: employees dealing with presenteeism just end up "working" more to compensate.

Unlike absenteeism, the signs of presenteeism aren't stark, so it often goes unnoticed by managers until it becomes a bigger problem. The good news is that measuring employee engagement can help you detect whether your team is struggling and can point you in the right direction to improve your employee's experience at work.

Healthy and engaged employees that feel supported by their managers and peers naturally perform better at work. So, next time feel your team's productivity levels dipping, remember to create a virtuous circle of employee engagement.

8. Higher employee retention and lower turnover rates

If you want to build a high-performing team, you need your employees to stick around. It's hard for teams to do their best work if employees are constantly cycling in and out. When long-standing employees leave, they take valuable knowledge and expertise with them. Plus, training new hires is a significant investment of time, energy, and resources.

An engaged, satisfied employee who's committed to their objectives is less likely to leave. So by improving employee retention rates, you'll have more engaged employees that make your team stronger, more experienced, and better equipped to hit targets.

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Conduct stay interviews regularly. Unlike exit interviews, stay interviews help you spot a disengaged employee before a valuable team member leaves. Every three months, ask your employees what's keeping them at the company and what they enjoy about their work.

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9. Strong ambassadorship and employer brand

A great employer brand is key to business success and it starts with high employee engagement. An engaged employee is more likely to vouch for their organization, and this ambassadorship is worth more than gold in today's labor market.

In fact, highly engaged organizations are usually raved about externally on job search platforms like Glassdoor and through word-of-mouth. So if you're looking to be on everyone's list of dream workplaces, you'll want to make sure your ambassadors are satisfied and motivated at all times. Employee engagement surveys are a great tool to keep these metrics in check.

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📏 Measure employee engagement by calculating your employee Net Promoter Score. This metric will paint a clear picture of your team's ambassadorship levels and their likeliness to promote your organization as a great place to work.

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10. Easier recruitment

It's no surprise that when your employer brand shines, HR's job becomes way easier in the recruitment process. Candidates want to be 100% sure when deciding to join an organization, so they're sure to scour online reviews or their networks for the scoop on what it's like to work at your company.

If your employee engagement is strong, you have nothing to fret about. In fact, your employees are probably doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting top talent simply by speaking highly about their positive experiences at work. And considering that 66% of candidates want to hear more from employees, you'll want to continue involving engaged employees throughout your recruitment.

How to improve employee engagement in your team

Your employee engagement strategy is a part of how you manage your team and doesn't have to add to your workload. Here are some engagement ideas you can try.

Make a healthy work-life balance non-negotiable

No matter how much employees love what they do, if they're overwhelmed or always on, they're going to burn out and disengage. Strong company culture will encourage a healthy work-life balance, which leads to a more engaged workforce. This is especially important on remote or distributed teams, where it's easy for the line between “work” and “home” to blur even more.  As a manager, you can make balance the norm on your team.

Set clear, firm expectations and boundaries around work communication, business hours, and taking time off. Openly encourage people to take breaks, book long weekends, and pursue their passions outside of work. Make sure that everyone feels comfortable logging off early if they've completed their work for the day.

{emphasize}

Ask the right questions to learn more about your team's well-being with these employee wellness surveys.

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Measure employee engagement, and talk about it

An employee engagement survey is a great way to collect information on how your people are feeling. Measuring employee engagement helps you spot any issues before they spiral into bigger problems. Officevibe's employee engagement software sends weekly surveys to every member of your team so you can keep a pulse on engagement levels.

Plus, you can collect employee feedback on an ongoing basis. From there, you can plan (and keep track of your notes) directly in the one-on-one software, so engagement is always a talking point.

Help your team set - and achieve - their goals

Your team will be more engaged when they feel like they're making meaningful contributions to collective business objectives.

First, help them understand those objectives. Then you can work together with them to set team goals that are aligned. Finally, set individual goals with team members so they have a clear path forward and something to strive toward.

You can set and track individual goals with each employee using Officevibe, and connect them to team goals in the app. Plus, it's easy to set smaller action items in every one-on-one, and then add it as a talking point for your next meeting so you're sure to follow up. This makes goal progression a part of every discussion, so employees feel supported and empowered.

Employee engagement leads to higher-performing teams

Employee engagement is a crucial part of high-performing teams. Now that you know the benefits of employee engagement, you can put these suggestions into practice – and watch your team thrive as a result.

Want to see where your team stand? Sign up for Officevibe and start measuring your employee engagement today.

The 21st-century workforce understands that strong and authentic relationships between managers and their teams are the drivers of team performance, employee engagement, and overall feelings of high morale and satisfaction at work.

But like all good things, relationships take work. The actual term "employee relations" has long been associated with HR professionals, pertaining to a company's effort to maintain positive relationships between managers and employees. But we all know that front-line management has the greatest and most lasting impact when it comes to relationship-building with employees.

Did you know that 86% of employees around the world who use Officevibe say they trust their direct manager?

We want to help you build this same trust. We’ll look at 4 important actions you can take as a manager to create positive employee relations.

4 important steps for managers to create good employee relations

1. Understand how your team views their relationship with you

Before you can work on building better relationships or solving interpersonal problems, you need to understand how employees are feeling about their relationship with you, their team, and even the organization. This means surfacing things like how much they trust your leadership and whether they feel you really understand their pain points. 

But how can you really know how your employees feel? Our tool can help turn this intangible feeling into meaningful data.

Here at Officevibe, we use our Pulse Survey Tool to measure how employees are feeling about their relationship with their managers by sending survey questions such as:

1. My direct manager cares about my wellbeing
2. My direct manager treats me with respect 
3. My direct manager is someone I can trust

Our feedback reveals some useful results! For example,

90% of employees using Officevibe feel like their managers treat them with respect.

2. Make connection a priority, especially while remote

Be intentional about connecting with your team on a personal, human level. This is especially important now as we no longer have watercooler chat or coffee breaks in the office to build that emotional capital. It’s hard to know what your team is going through and it's not always easy to see what people are living beyond our brief screen interactions. Taking the time to connect holistically, not only about work, is essential for positive workplace relationships.

Some interpersonal touchpoints to help you build relationships:

• Monday morning team check-in: Start the week off with some social interaction and see what your team got up to over the weekend.

• Bi-weekly individual check-ins: Schedule time to catch up on work AND non-work-related events. You can ask questions like:
  • How can I help make your life easier during this pandemic?
  • What’s been challenging you recently?
  • Where have you been thriving?

• Career development conversations: Check-in monthly with each employee to see how they are progressing with their career goals. You’ll notice that the more time you take to build a solid overall relationship, the easier it is to be candid with employees during performance discussions, even difficult ones.

• Host a (virtual) team get together: Schedule regular moments for your employees to mix and mingle as they would in the office. By scheduling and attending these events, you humanize yourself and show your team that relationship-building is top priority.

3. Be clear about your expectations and needs

Being kind means being clear! No one likes to guess if they’re on the right track or doing the right thing. Ambiguity causes friction. One of the best things you can do to ensure positive employee relations is to provide clarity from the get-go about what you expect from your employees. Putting care and time into properly mapping out and explaining your expectations is a clear sign that you respect your employees.

Document your expectations: By creating proper documentation, you can ensure the standards and expectations you set forth for each team member continue to be communicated within your team.

• Your team norms or values to live by
• Roles and responsibilities for each employee
• Clear individual and team objectives
• Core working hours 
• Key work processes
• What communication on the team should look like 

The more clear information employees have to succeed and grow in their roles, the more time managers and employees can spend developing meaningful relationships and trust in one another—the trust needed for employees to take risks, innovate, and develop.

4. Reward employees with feedback and recognition

When managing a team, especially one that is dispersed, gestures of thanks and kind words can go a long way. Employees want meaningful feedback and to know their contribution is seen! This means there is a huge opportunity for managers to build strong employee relations simply through recognition.

Schedule yourself time to do this: Sometimes, things like giving feedback and recognition can slip through the cracks as it doesn’t hold an “urgent” status. Schedule yourself time every week to send a message or even better, book a call with employees to share your feedback and recognition.

Use a few of our sample employee feedback examples for fresh new ideas on how to deliver feedback and recognition.

Recognize achievements beyond numbers: Take the time to call out good behavior like strong leadership skills, teamwork, or collaboration within your team. Recognize the process and show your team that you appreciate their hard work!

Watch out! Areas that might hinder relationships 

There are times when employee relations on your team may need some course correcting from you as a manager. Issues like disengagement, low employee performance, people feeling left out or misheard, or teammates not respecting deadlines or team values may require you to step in. 

Areas managers need to look out for include:

Micromanaging your team

To help people feel engaged, drop any micromanagement and empower your team to be autonomous in their work. This can be harder during remote work when managers have less visibility on what’s going on.

This article on employee autonomy might help you keep your micromanagement tendencies at bay.

Tip: Create regular feedback loops between you and your employees during 1-on-1 meetings to ensure that they have the necessary information they need to iterate on their work without you constantly checking in

Playing favourites

It is generally obvious when a manager chooses favourites, and it can completely demoralize the rest of the team, ruining employee relations altogether. 

Level the playing field by:

• Offering equal opportunities to each member of your team (even if you don’t think they would be interested). 
• Spending an equal amount of time in 1-on-1s with each employee. 
• Taking the time to get to know each member of your team on a more personal level.

Making decisions in a silo

When you make decisions that affect your team without seeking their input or giving them visibility to the process and impact, employees feel disconnected from their work. Before making decisions, first seek to understand more about how this might impact your team, and solicit ideas whenever possible.r employees

• Use 1-on-1s to share information and hear your employees' ideas based on their expertise. 

• Use Officevibe’s Custom Survey tool to ask questions specific to your team to collect honest insights and crowdsource ideas.

Show employees that you care about them as people, not just as 9-5 workers. Expressing that their fulfillment is important to you, on a professional and personal level, is a big statement that will elicit their respect and keep them engaged.

Focusing on building meaningful employee relations with your team will pay off in more ways than one. High performance, employee engagement, employee retention, better communication, less workplace conflict and ensuring your team feels appreciated are just a few. Putting emphasis on positive employee relations will help ultimately you succeed in your leadership role.