I can remember so many times as a young child when I would go running to my mother crying because one of my three brothers had said something that may or may not have been intended to hurt me. In these situations, my mother acted as the mediator and, after getting the other side of the story from my brothers, would become a sort of translator between us and resolve the problem so that household functions could continue normally. This was a daily occurrence, and without my mother acting as the mediator between us, I probably would not be on good terms with my siblings now.
This type of mediation is often abandoned when we leave our family’s home and enter the workplace and pursue a career. Why have we abandoned such an incredible way of improving relationships? Just because we don’t have our parents facilitate good communication doesn’t mean that we should stop communicating with people that we have to do life with every day.
Everyone knows that the most important element in any relationship is communication. It would, therefore, make sense that workplaces should be centers for good communication. However, any person who has spent any time in an office knows that this is not the case. How many times have you thought that something should be changed about workflow at the office? This can be procedural, about personal relationships between coworkers, or anything else. I know that for me, I am always thinking about more efficient ways to run the office, and I have been blessed to work in many companies that encourage the fostering of employee ideas to ensure the upward trajectory of the business. However, I have also been in situations where I felt like my voice was not heard, which can create underlying tensions that only inhibit success and good relationships in the workplace.
The best solution, in my experience, to make sure that these tensions do not continue and create some very real workflow problems is to have weekly check-ins between bosses and employees. Weekly check-ins, according to Peoplebox, can help to improve team productivity, employee engagement, and create a reduction in manager support issues. For me, it is helpful to think of myself as a cog in a clock; no matter how tiny the cog may seem, every part plays a role in the overall function of making the minute and hour hands tick. In the same way, we all have a role to play in the processes of our business, and if even one person feels like they do not belong, it can affect the workflow of the entire business.
There are many other reasons why this is the best way to foster good relationships among team members, first of which is that these meetings give workers the chance to air their grievances either with each other or with the employer. Once the problem has been identified by both parties, a solution can then be pursued that leaves both sides, at the very least, mostly satisfied. We spend at least nine hours a day in our workplaces, so it is incredibly important to ensure that we are upfront with all of our coworkers to ensure no underlying tension.
Another benefit of weekly check-ins that must be noted is the opportunity for training. In my time working as a Drive Thru Team Member at Chick-fil-A, there was often not enough time to sit down with a manager and ask questions about how to increase efficiency in making drinks, taking orders with greater politeness, and moving the drive-thru along. However, as anyone who has visited a Chick-fil-A knows, there is very little time to stop for work due to the amount of people that come to the restaurant. We had to think on our feet in order to solve problems, which was not necessarily a bad thing, but I probably would not have made so many missteps throughout my time working at Chick-fil-A if there had been more time to sit down and talk about my struggles to perform to the best of my ability.
One of the most important motivations for performing weekly check-ins is the fact that when employees have a good relationship with their bosses where they feel like there is two way communication, they feel more motivated to succeed in their work. I can speak from experience that when everyone is on good terms in both food service and special events industries, there must be good relationships between team members or veiled animosity can cause communication to suffer, and when communications suffers, the food is not served as quickly, the parking services do not run as smoothly, and the reputation of the business suffers.
All of these things seem like common sense, but many businesses do not employ this model to ensure employee satisfaction. It does not necessarily have to be an in-person meeting every week, but even just a survey sent out to employees with the opportunity for face to face meetings. Peoplebox offers an online check-in service which allows employees to constantly update their various profile settings like how they feel about their performance, productivity, and the opportunity to share what may be affecting their performance and productivity. They also include one on one meetings with leadership if the employee desires. Even if companies do not use software to keep up with their employees, all those in leadership should set aside some amount of time where employees can come to them with problems. It is the same idea behind a professor’s office hours; everyone has the opportunity to have their voice be heard by those in authority.
I have had the blessing of working for many people that made communication with their employees a top priority, and I have seen first hand the benefits. People are kinder to each other, and because we have better communication, we perform our tasks more efficiently and with more success. The question every person in leadership needs to ask themself is how they want to be remembered: as the cold and distant boss who didn’t care for their employees, or the servant leader who is loved by their employees because of their efforts to make sure that everyone feels like their voice matters?
For more information on Peoplebox’s weekly check-in system, please visit: https://www.peoplebox.ai/weekly-check-ins/.
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