Aside from it being a moral responsibility, treating your employees well has a great impact on the success of your organization. Unhappy workers won’t be productive or feel inclined to achieve their full potential.  If you want to truly engage your employees, you must treat them the same way you treat your customers. Doing so will improve both employee satisfaction as well as customer service.  Here are a few actions to take to improve your relationship with employees.

Show up on time and bring your whole self.
It’s hard to have a relationship with employees if you’re never in the office.  A great manager shows up on time, gets involved in projects, and is the hardest worker in the office.  Say please and thank you just like you would to your customers.  Have an open door policy for communication and respond promptly to employee emails and requests.  Take a look in the mirror and make sure you’re being a role model and advocate for your employees.

Relate to your employees.
It’s important to keep in mind that your employees come from many different backgrounds and career paths.  Find out what each employee desires, their projected career plan, and what they hope to get out of the current position.  You can then relate to the employee’s ambitions and keep them motivated by having them work on projects that are beneficial to both their career goals and the organization.

Let there be a personal aspect to work.
The key to treating your employees well is to show how much you care about them as people—not just as workers.  Part of this is understanding that in today’s workforce, a lot of individuals start their day by communicating with their networks via various social media platforms.  You need to be accepting of this fact, because it’s actually good for you, your employees, and your business.  When employees tap into personal channels their creativity flows, and you get a sense of who they are both personally and professionally.  Allow your employees to pour both their personal and professional sides into their work and they will feel appreciated and supported.

Show appreciation.
Showing appreciation can be as simple as saying thank you for a job well done.  When employees are given positive feedback and know you’re not just taking them for granted, they’ll put much more effort into their job.  Try finding non-monetary ways to keep employees fulfilled and show appreciation.  Recognize their hard work in the all-staff meeting, offer flexible hours, or let them work half-days on Friday.  These are all ways that will show you truly appreciate the work they’re doing.

If you respect your employees and treat them as unique individuals rather than machines, you’ll improve office morale and have higher productivity rates.  Start improving employee relationships before making your next hire to reduce turnover.

If you’re looking for additional staffing at your organization, let the experienced recruiters at RealStreet Staffing help. Whether you need a single scheduler for a week, or an entire construction management team for a year, RealStreet Staffing can tailor staffing options to fit your needs. Contact us today to learn more.