Healthy relationships between employees and company leadership can significantly impact organizations overall. Without strong employee relations, your entire workplace could suffer from a negative ripple effect. Focusing on building and empowering these positive relationships reduces turnover and conflict while improving employee satisfaction and productivity.
Employees want and deserve to feel happy, successful, and valued. They want to feel like they are thriving at work and contributing to something worthwhile. There are five key ways that HR leaders can support these desires and ensure a sustainable and healthy employee/employer relationship:
- Create a diverse and supportive employee-centered company culture
- Encourage open communication to engage workers
- Establish reasonable employee workloads
- Provide opportunities for professional growth and development
- Support the development of managers and their employee relationships
1. Create a diverse and supportive employee-centered company culture
A strong, company-wide culture of respect sets the tone for healthy employee/employer relationships. When the company culture is genuine, employees feel empowered to do their best work and speak up if they are unsatisfied. While many companies opt for quick fixes like bonuses (which are nice, but isn’t enough to retain employees long-term), more sustainable solutions include making an effort to strengthen relationships, listen to employees about their real needs, and prioritize employee well-being.
Employee satisfaction and well-being must be thought of as a workplace practice, not as a line item in a benefits package. For the entire company to succeed, employees must be equipped with the resources they need to be successful in their professional and personal lives. Aligning employees of all seniority levels with the company’s core set of ideals engages workers by creating meaning and motivation for work and providing opportunities for ongoing and open dialogue regarding well-being. This in turn can reduce work stress and burnout, resignation rates, and persistent skill shortages.
Creating a respectful, inclusive culture also ensures that employees feel welcomed and accepted to show up as their authentic selves, which in turn can help leadership develop a more complete picture of all employees’ wants and needs. Demonstrating that you value diversity can also empower employees to utilize their talents to the fullest.
2. Encourage open communication to engage workers
The best way to create a diverse and supportive employee-centered company culture is to engage workers in ongoing, open, and two-way conversation. Creating meaningful channels for communication allows workers to express their ever-evolving feedback, preferences, and needs without worrying about repercussions. Transparency builds trust, prevents misunderstandings, and shows employees they are valued as stakeholders in the larger organization. By opening up communication, employees will feel more comfortable sharing ideas for solving problems and streamlining workflows.
The most successful leaders also invite diverse groups to co-develop solutions and refine existing programs. They also make time to hold regular one-on-one meetings with employees during which you can get to know employees on a personal level while discussing performance and goals, both personal and professional. CHROs and managers can add their support for establishing open communication by listening, creating a process for feedback, and taking action in a deliberate way that demonstrates employees are being heard while also supporting the well-established values that are foundational to the company’s success.
3. Establish reasonable employee workloads
When clear communication is in play, employees will know what is expected of them. When employees are clear on their responsibilities, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, which supports employee well-being as well as productivity. However, unreasonable and unattainable goals are overwhelming and only adds to employee stress, frustration, and resentment. Work with employees to create goals and discuss the support they need to achieve them.
Additionally, regular and sincere recognition of a job well done helps improve performance, build strong relationships, and shows employees that their efforts are valued and that you are paying attention. As does constructive feedback. CHROs and managers should also regularly reassess responsibilities, rethink how you measure performance/outcomes, and offer employees flexibility.
4. Provide opportunities for professional growth and development
Study after study has shown that a sense of belonging drives organizational performance. Employees want to feel like they’re contributing to the organization’s purpose, mission, and goals. Organizations can provide greater value to employees by supporting the intersection of work and life fulfillment with opportunities for growth and development, including upskilling and reskilling. Investing in the right training helps employees find meaning in their work, enhances engagement and connection, and shows a commitment to your employees’ personal and professional goals and development. A great starting point is to use the open channels of communication you’ve established to uncover the biggest perceived skills gaps.
5. Support the development of managers and their employee relationships
Don’t overlook other managers throughout the company. Having strong leaders aligned with your company’s culture will only strengthen the employee/employer relationship as managers are often the first line of communication and support for employees. According to research by Springboard, companies often focus on developing junior talent ahead of managers, yet employees at this level report not having enough time to dedicate to upskilling.
By investing in the development of your managers leadership skills — in addition to your junior employees—and ensuring current and future managers are equipped to lead, you can foster professional growth across the company and your managers’ ability to bolster their own employer/employee relationships with direct reports. Developing leadership skills like social and emotional intelligence and eliminating toxic management habits like micromanagement will support overall employee well-being, creating a positive culture at the top of your organization that will trickle-down and set the standard for the rest of the company.
Employee-employer relationships are a delicate balance between two unique sets of needs and priorities. It’s a constant commitment to conversation, consideration, and compromise. Much like personal relationships, the strongest professional connections are those based on mutual respect and trust. When employees feel valued and companies create a positive work culture, everyone succeeds.
Aligning employees of all seniority levels and backgrounds with the company’s core set of values and uniting your workforce around a common purpose can help engage and empower workers, create meaning and motivation for their work, provide opportunities for ongoing and open dialogue. This in turn can reduce burnout and persistent skill shortages, while retaining top talent.
If building a strong culture, developing your leaders, and retaining your best employees is a focus for you this year, you’ve come to the right place. Simply fill out this contact form and one of our experts will get back to you as soon as possible!
