As a manager or business owner, retaining employees may be one of your biggest challenges. High turnover rates are costly. Think about the expense of sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding a new hire. Those costs add up and they add up quickly. One of the best ways to avoid those high turnover rates is to get to know your employees.
Employee engagement is a hot topic among HR departments these days, and there’s a good reason. Many employees want to know that their employer cares about them and they want to work for a company that offers more than just a paycheck. By getting to know your employees you can create real engagement that can improve office relationships, increase productivity, and reduce turnover.
Company Events and Functions
Whether it’s the annual Christmas party or the Friday pitch-ins, company events and functions are a great way to get to know employees. Don’t separate yourself during these events. Instead, embrace them as opportunities to talk to your employees and let them know you are interested in their work and their lives.
Daily Office Walks
Do you stay in your office all day? How many employees do you talk to this way? Get out of your office and walk around. By doing this, you’ll get a good feel for what employees are working on, how they’re doing, and what the general mood of the office is that particular day. Make a goal of doing this every day, every few hours, or at least once a week, and you’ll see improved relationships.
Meet With People
If you just recently started at the company on a managerial level, holding one-on-one meetings with those who report to you is a great way to get to know someone. Don’t make these meetings interviews, but rather make them conversations. Get to know their personalities, what they do at work, what they love about their job, and their career goals/aspirations.
Surveys
This method may be a little more formal than the other suggestions listed here. However, conducting an anonymous survey could allow you to get to know employees through their opinions and suggestions. Employee engagement is all about improving the workplace and providing a better work environment in order to keep employees happy and working. By conducting surveys, you can learn about the areas in which you need to improve most.
How do you get to know your employees? Leave your stories and suggestions in the comments section below!