How do I improve company and employee relations?
From providing different work styles to embodying the leader you needed yourself, here are 15 answers to the question, “What are some helpful suggestions to improve company/employee relations?”
- Offer Flexible Working Conditions
- Provide Competitive Compensation Packages
- Replace Email/Slack With Asynchronous Video
- Host Team-building Activities
- Show Employees Their Future Is Better Served With You
- Think Holistically
- Always Stick by Your Values
- Acknowledge Every Effort
- Schedule Employee Workshops and Seminars
- Create an Anonymous Feedback System
- Resolve Issues ASAP
- Foster Transparent Communication
- Build an Alumni Network
- Serve Your Employees First, Then Your Customers
- Be the Leader You Always Wanted to Have
Offer Flexible Working Conditions
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In the pandemic and subsequent recession, the pressure on employees to work from home has significantly increased. This has led to several issues that have affected employee relations, including high rates of burnout, slower productivity, and a decrease in employee satisfaction.
To avoid these issues, and to improve company-employee relations, it is essential to create a flexible work environment that allows employees to work in a way that best suits their lifestyle.
This means offering a range of options, including flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, and the ability to take time off whenever necessary.
By doing so, you will maintain a positive work environment that keeps employees happy and engaged, and that contributes to positive company-employee relations.
Matthew Ramirez, CEO, Rephrasely
Provide Competitive Compensation Packages
Offer competitive compensation packages to employees to improve company-employee relations. Providing a fair salary and excellent benefits acts as an incentive and indicates that the employer values their employees.
Companies should also respond quickly to any employee feedback and make sure there is transparency concerning operations and decision-making within the organization. Offer regular company-wide discussions or events where team members can come together for constructive dialogue.
Ultimately, these aren’t hard steps to take, but they will ensure that great relationships are maintained between employers and employees.
Jim Campbell, Owner, Camp Media
Replace Email/Slack With Asynchronous Video
What if there was a way to improve communications between leadership and employees that was easy, fast, and didn’t require long emails or the worry of someone misunderstanding you? What if it could even cut down on the number of meetings you had with your team? This is now possible using asynchronous video.
Using tools like Loom or AirDeck, you can show your screen and your video at the same time. This is a super efficient way to communicate with teams with no large-scale meetings or long internal memos.
By including your video in the screen shares, then emailing the link to your people, employees can read your body language and hear your tone of voice, which can cut down on miscommunication about your intentions and improve communication back to leadership. You can more easily explain complex problems or present intricate initiatives with more clarity as well.
This is a process we use in our company, and I can’t recommend it enough to improve company-employee relations.
Justin Vajko, Founder and CEO, Dialog Employer Branding
Host Team-building Activities
One suggestion to improve employee relations is for companies to invest in interdepartmental team-building activities. This is an uncommon example because it not only builds trust and familiarity between the staff but also strengthens communication skills that facilitate strong working relationships among staff.
Team-building can spur employees out of their comfort zones by presenting unique opportunities such as rock climbing or paintballing, wherein teams must work together in order to succeed. This creates a sense of shared accomplishment that translates into lasting team spirit at work.
Michael Alexis, CEO, Tiny Campfire
Show Employees Their Future Is Better Served With You
Companies enjoy fluid business/employee relations when employees see the company as the best conduit to their ambitions. We can communicate this assurance to employees by having robust employment development and growth programs right from onboarding.
Employees are human, not saints. Now, as humans, they are naturally individualistic, with their future to constantly watch out for. When employees see that a company (thanks to such development plans) adequately caters to their future, they are open to making more concessions to the company, are far more tolerant, and are more willing to go the extra mile to deliver KPIs. This is because they feel secure enough with you to keep all their eggs in the company’s basket.
With no fall-back options, the employee is more open to commitment. In such environments of trust, we significantly eliminate communication mishaps since the employee has minimal discontent with negative emotions to breed on.
Lotus Felix, CEO, Lotus Brains Studio
Think Holistically
Thinking holistically about your workforce means a person-focused approach that understands people do their best work when they’re emotionally and physically satisfied. Owners shouldn’t think about their employee’s home lives as wholly separate from their work selves.
Things like commute time, health and childcare, and time off all factor into their day-to-day ability to accomplish the best work possible, so when you’re looking to improve relations between you and your workforce, start with programs and policies that nurture the whole human.
Rob Reeves, CEO and President, Redfish Technology
Always Stick by Your Values
Companies should always be sure to have a clear set of core values and actively implement them in their operations; doing so will enhance company/employee relationships, foster morale, and promote a positive work culture overall.
These values can act as a sort of company constitution that employees use to evaluate each of the firm’s actions, creating a safe and open work environment for everyone. Encouraging employees to give feedback on the company’s progress towards its core values also provides HR with the opportunity to listen and better adapt company policies around its stated values to ensure they’re not just some pretty words hanging somewhere on a wall.
Ultimately, this will ensure customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and healthier company/employee relations.
Piotrek Sosnowski, Chief People and Culture Officer, HiJunior
Acknowledge Every Effort
Acknowledging every effort that employees make to improve their companies is the most effective way of improving company/employee relations. I have seen it in my career; when companies take the time to recognize employee efforts, even small ones, they are creating an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and appreciated.
A positive environment is conducive to better productivity, motivation, and engagement among the staff. As employers trust their employees more, with less guidance, employees become empowered and motivated to push further.
Acknowledging each effort strengthens the relationship between employer and employee and fosters a culture of respect, which can lead to improved results for the entire organization.
Ludovic Chung-Sao, Lead Engineer and Founder, Zen Soundproof
Schedule Employee Workshops and Seminars
An example of how to improve company/employee relations is by offering opportunities for employees to attend workshops or seminars related to their field of work. This gives employees a chance to stay up-to-date with emerging trends and technology, as well as build relationships with colleagues from other departments and businesses.
These activities can help build confidence, trust, and respect among colleagues, which can lead to improved communication, collaboration, and ultimately team morale. Investing in employees’ professional development is a vote of confidence in the employee and an intention to commit to the team member’s long-term success and growth.
Grace He, People and Culture Director, Team Building
Create an Anonymous Feedback System
Creating a system where employees can talk about the job with management, without fear of repercussions, can be a great way to improve relations between employees and their company.
There will be times when employees have something to say about their working life; not all of it will be negative, but it won’t always be entirely positive, either. If employees want to reach out to the company with something they feel might be inflammatory, they might not be willing to take the risk if they don’t feel safe.
An anonymous feedback system can be a way to show that your company will listen while keeping your staff protected. This will improve communication about issues across the board and build company-wide trust in the policies your business uses when addressing worker concerns.
Anonymous feedback is a proactive, thoughtful system that puts solving issues over singling out people. Employees will be grateful for this, even if they never use it.
Max Ade, CEO, Pickleheads
Resolve Issues ASAP
Resolving issues as quickly as possible is one of the best practices for better company/employee relations. Conflict resolution is a critical factor for every member of a business. Those in charge need to do their best in this area to ensure that they hear employees. This shows employees that they are appreciated and that their opinions truly matter.
Alexandre Robicquet, Co-Founder and CEO, Crossing Minds
Foster Transparent Communication
Effective communication between leaders and staff is vital for creating a positive workplace and building trust within an organization. Leaders who foster open and honest discussions gain valuable insight into business operations, helping them to identify and address pain points, deliver better customer service, and increase efficiency.
We have also linked workplace transparency to increased employee engagement and happiness. By clearly communicating company values, objectives, and purpose, leaders inspire confidence and ensure everyone is working towards a shared goal.
Open communication can also foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced turnover rates, and overall improved performance. Effective communication is a two-way street, and leaders who listen to and respond to employee feedback create a workplace environment where everyone feels valued and supported.
Natasha Maddock, Co-Founder, Events Made Simple
Build an Alumni Network
Although this may sound counterintuitive, creating an alumni network of former employees can actually boost employee relations with existing staff. It dispels the perception that the organization treats staff transactionally.
In toxic workplaces, exiting staff are seen as traitors who are dead to the organization, making employee relations seem superficial. Instead, maintaining contact after exit highlights that the organization genuinely cares about its people, and this isn’t conditional on an active contract.
It also provides a mechanism to keep in touch with old friends and colleagues, boosting morale for incumbent staff. Losing a work-best friend to another employer can severely reduce morale and engagement, but an alumni network provides a formal mechanism to keep in touch.
Last, it also creates an avenue for former staff to return. Incumbent staff will recognize this, viewing the organization as a more welcoming and inviting place.
Ben Schwencke, Business Psychologist, Test Partnership
Serve Your Employees First, Then Your Customers
The notion that “the customer is always right” has done tremendous damage to employee relations worldwide. It signals to employees that you hold the following viewpoint: “Customers make me money, but you cost me money.”
This mentally breeds tremendous resentment among staff, causing a clear disconnect between employees and the upper echelons of the organization. It gives the impression that all relationships are transactional, ranked solely on how much revenue they can generate.
Instead, management must recognize employees to be their greatest asset, not their customers. When employees are well treated, respected, and thoroughly appreciated, this filters down to the customers, but not the other way around. Therefore, managers must serve their employees first, taking their side by default, not their customers.
Oliver Savill, CEO and Founder, Assessment Day
Be the Leader You Always Wanted to Have
Create weekly touch-bases with your employees and consider what kind of support and collaboration you can offer them during work hours. During these touch-bases, check in with them regarding their workload and their personal well-being.
As a leader and their manager, you can provide the support that no one else can. If they’re dealing with complications at home, or experiencing health issues, offering solutions that are under your control, like taking time off or establishing shorter workdays for a set period, ensures employees feel valued, seen, and appreciated.
Inbar Madar, Founder and Business Consultant, M.I. Business Consulting
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