How To Make Your Employees Love You

Guest Post – How to Make Your Employees Love You

Having your employees love you isn’t something you can take for granted – you need to keep them constantly engaged and earn their appreciation. If there is no long-term effort to invest time and energy in motivating your workers, they will not respect you as a leader and their productivity will drop. Moreover, they’ll be highly critical of you to others.

Of course, you don’t want to become a boss who creates resentment. Read on and discover some simple personality traits and methods you can apply to make an outstanding boss whom employees will love.

BE TRANSPARENT AND CLEAR

First off, employees need to know what’s expected of them. Therefore, you should always communicate company goals to your staff, explain the importance of those goals for the business, and make clear how each person can contribute on a daily basis. Efficiency comes from each individual’s understanding of their own performance objectives, so make sure to always be clear.

It’s also important that you be true to your own management principles: self-contradiction only erodes trust. In the end, your best policy as a leader is to be honest and fair. Be aware that unrealistic expectations will only lower employee morale.

Key traits: honest, fair

KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYEES
Make an effort to develop personal relationships with your staff. You can find small ways to show you care about them as more than just labor. For example, learn their names, remember birthdays, and send cards or gifts on special occasions. This makes them feel respected as human beings.

Your authority doesn’t extend to their personal business, so don’t judge or interfere. But if you take the time and trouble to connect and communicate with your employees, you give them a sense of personal value. This helps to build and sustain employee morale.

So, get in the habit of greeting your employees with a smile, or providing a bit of cheer when they need it. If you’re accessible, friendly, and communicative, they’ll like you on a personal level.

Key traits: friendly, communicative

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Your employees naturally want to advance their careers and develop their skills. If your people begin to feel they have no chances for improvement, their morale will be low. On the other hand, the possibility for advancement is a good motivator.

What you can do is provide training opportunities for your employees, and there are many options to pursue. Consider online resources such as MOOCs (massive open online courses): technology-based learning is more convenient and cost-effective. You can also leverage good old offline possibilities like industry seminars or language courses.

In any case, be sure that the training you provide is dynamic, innovative, and genuinely helpful to keep employees interested. The more you contribute to their personal skills, the more they will love you. In return, you get more productive and more versatile employees.

Key traits: dynamic, helpful, innovative

GIVE THEM THE DESERVED TIME OFF

Try to encourage employees to take some time for themselves: it’s important for job satisfaction and productivity to develop a healthy work-life balance. Vacation is an important part of this, so make sure to give your employees their deserved time off.

Even when things get hectic, don’t give them the impression that you discourage time off. Forcing employees to work, work and work some more without rest degrades morale. If you want your staff to really love you, be flexible, tolerant, and supportive of their personal needs.

Key traits: flexible, tolerant, supportive

ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EFFORT

Employees should always be praised for a job well done. Recognizing their achievements reinforces positive behavior: they will want to accomplish even more. Moreover, exceptional performance should be rewarded. Small rewards like a gift certificate or a free meal will do wonders for your employees’ motivation.

On the other hand, negative feedback should be done in private and with fair consideration. Being appreciative of good work and considerate in addressing poor performance will benefit employee morale. As a boss, you will be highly regarded – there is no question about that.

Key traits: appreciative, considerate

BE A TEAM PLAYER

Encourage teamwork and be a team player yourself: employees who are empowered team members will work with more energy and focus. A culture of mutual cooperation and support creates positive attitudes and a smoother workflow.

You could also implement policies allowing staff to take time off for noble causes, such as attending charitable events. This lets them feel that the company supports and respects their social concerns. Allowing employees to help others gives them greater self-esteem, and it also makes it easier for them to bond with each other. When they are sociable and cooperative, they are also more motivated and productive.

In the end, you can also encourage team spirit with fun activities such as an after-work drink or a Christmas party. The more fun you are, the more your employees will like you.

Key traits: sociable, cooperative, fun

CONCLUSION
Business leaders who demonstrate appreciation and concern for their employees are the strongest and the most liked leaders. Try some of the above suggestions, maintain positive traits, and your employees will come to love you.