In professional life we are involved in many different types of communications on a daily basis, but the interaction between employers and employees is critical in order for a business to run as smoothly as possible. Building positive relationships with your employees is crucial for keeping workplace satisfaction high, which in turn helps you maintain sufficient levels of productivity.

Unfortunately, not every business owner or manager understands the best strategies for improving the dynamic of their workplace.

The Importance of A Strong Employer Relationship

While there are many variables that go into determining how a particular employee’s tenure at their company will end up, one of the easiest determining factors is their relationship with their supervisor. Over the years, research has determined that the relationship employees have with their supervisors is one of the most telling factors when it comes to determining whether or not they will end up staying with the company. Major global staffing company Kelly Services listed “negative relationship with direct manager” as its top reason why employees quit their jobs.

If employees are dissatisfied with management or the broad direction of the company, it is still possible for this unhappiness to affect their daily performance. For this reason, it is critical that you put some emphasis on building positive relationships with your employees.

Creating Brand Advocates

Another crucial reason that building positive relationships with your employees is something you should be devoting some time towards is a concept known as brand advocacy. In a marketing context, brand advocacy is what happens when a customer enjoys a company’s products or services so much that they become a public supporter for the brand, suggesting them to friends and family members and engaging with them online.

What many marketing gurus and business owners today forget about, is that the biggest brand advocates don’t need to be searched for at all – they are already in place. Employees that are happy to come to work each day because they are pleased with the way their employer treats them will let their enthusiasm for work show in all of their interactions. In turn, this creates a positive image of your organisation in the minds of those who are unfamiliar with it.

Small businesses in particular rely on positive word of mouth to attract more customers. Along with having a good product and good customer service, you can aim to spread positive word of mouth from inside the business.

Boosting Employee Productivity

Building positive relationships with your employees is also critical so that you can maintain sufficient productivity and profitability for the business. This is because employees that have a good relationship with their employers tend to be more engaged, which increases their performance. There is an abundance of research on the importance of employee engagement as it relates to productivity. Data shows that highly-engaged employees take over 60% less sick days each year.

Although you may understand the reasons for building positive relationships with your employees, it is still imperative that you have a strong understanding of how to build these relationships. The specific strategies that you take for improving employee-employer relationships will vary depending on the nature and structure of your organisation.

Tips for Improving Employee Relationships

In general, there are a few things that almost any company can do to improve relationships with its employees:

• Improve your communication: make sure that you actively talk to your employees about things going on at work and try to get an understanding of their feelings. The more input your employees have, the better they will feel about their relationship with employers
• Always recognise accomplishments that your employees make, both with their other employees present and in private meetings with them. Simply showing that you are aware of your employees’ value  will go a long way to improving employee-employer relationships
• With a sufficient understanding of the importance of maintaining good relationships with employees, almost any employer will be able to foster a strong positive dynamic in their office that leads to higher productivity and less turnover