Attitude Adjustment Alert! 5 Ways to Improve the Relationship Between Managers and Employees

Most organizations bank on better leadership and healthy relationships within the workplace to enhance performance. One survey showed that 28% of companies with high-quality growth have strong leadership. Communication between managers and employees helps build productive professional relationships.  

Let's explore how to build trust between managers and employees.  

How to Improve Manager-Employee Relationships 

Holding regular check-ins with employees allows you to track their progress, discuss ideas and solve challenges. The meetings also let employees air their grievances, concerns, and reservations without the fear of retribution.  

Such overtures help build trust and make employees feel free to open up to you and ask for assistance. You also gain insights into their personalities, motivations, preferences, and capabilities.  

Most employees prefer a managerial style that considers their views and opinions in decision-making. Two-way communication between managers and employees should allow for specific and objective constructive feedback to build trust. Soliciting constructive feedback from your employees boosts employee morale, minimizes misunderstandings, and increases employee retention rates.  

Constructive feedback focuses on behavior, observation, and things within the manager's control. You can also ask employees to give recommendations and specific solutions.  

Employees trust managers who recognize their efforts, innovations, breakthroughs, and achievements. Managers should reward employees who achieve such feats. Public praise makes employees more receptive to feedback, contributing to personal and professional development.  

Recognizing and rewarding employees and teams for great work boosts their morale, motivation, and job satisfaction. Doing so also results in greater productivity because the recognized workers feel they are valuable team members. Launching a rewards and compensation program creates a positive work environment with friendly employee competition.  

Satisfied and engaged workers are more likely to stay with a company. Surveys show that recognition and rewards at the workplace make 82% of employees happier, and 68% are very likely to remain in an organization for at least three months. A lower turnover rate enables your company to save on future recruitment costs. 

Training and development programs show employees that managers and leaders value them. Training also boosts employee engagement, resulting in higher morale, motivation, and job satisfaction.  

At PRO Resources, we provide online and onsite human resources training programs. Our supervisor training options include reducing turnover and increasing retention, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), substance abuse in the workplace, and many others.  

Training and development enable managers to interact with employees, build professional relationships and nurture future leaders. Organizations typically achieve higher employee retention rates by giving employees opportunities for professional development. Research shows that 94% of workers would stay at organizations if offered training and development programs.  

Trained employees are more productive since they employ newly-acquired skills to solve emerging problems. They are also happier because they can achieve their individual and organizational goals and objectives efficiently and in a shorter duration.  

5. Advocate a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Managers who understand how to build trust between managers and employees advocate a healthy work-life balance. A healthy work-life balance allows employees to meet their obligations and helps minimize conflict between managers and employees.  

The benefits of a work-life balance include the following: 

Reduced Absenteeism  

Employees with a healthy work-life balance are less stressed and experience less fatigue when performing their usual roles and responsibilities.  

Improved Productivity 

Flexible working hours are a critical tenet of a healthy work-life balance. Such schedules enable employees to work when they are in the best mood and have the highest energy levels. Offering employees flexible working hours also gives them peace of mind knowing they have accomplished all home duties.  

Showing employees that you care about their family life enables you to build productive professional relationships with them.  

PRO Resources’ wellness program—PRO Wellness— is designed to revitalize teams by making them happier, more satisfied, and healthier. Our PRO Wellness team gives implementation strategies and individualized and group coaching. We work with employees and teams to generate positive outcomes and encourage and boost the morale of your employees.  

Improve Your Relationship with Your Employees 

Understanding how to improve manager-employee relationships begins by considering the opinions of your employees in decision-making. Holding regular one-on-one check-ins with individual employees at your organization allows you to build trust and understand their concerns and challenges. Allowing constructive feedback helps you overcome your shortcomings and become a better manager. 

And remember, PRO Resources is here to help. A PEO offers a variety of solutions that improve worksite functions, like better hiring and onboarding, training, and taking on HR tasks which free up management to focus on team building and happy employees.  

Sometimes, teams don’t always get along, especially if no prior attempts at improving relationships have been made. And let's face it we're human, and issues outside the business can affect the attitude at the workplace.  It could be that a team member is just having a bad day, or it is something bigger that is the underlying cause— like depression, drugs/alcohol, gambling addiction, or martial issues. That’s where employee counseling and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by PRO Resources can assist.