Employees have a lot of thoughts. Clearly, many of those thoughts about the company or their boss are not good ones, but there is another kind of very common thought that nobody voices, even though people probably think it.
Most of those thoughts go unshared, especially with the boss.
Sometimes silence can be a good thing, but silence can also hide an understanding of what your employees really think and what they really need from their boss.
Especially if they are thinking these 6 things, which Jeff Haden has written about on LinkedIn:
1. “You say you respect me… so give me something important to do.”
Giving an employee a critical task is a definite sign of respect. What’s more, workers need some objective, a goal to reach, to feel motivated. Do it as often as you can.
2. “You say you trust me, so give me something important to do… and let me decide the best way to do it.”
As Steve Jobs put it: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do.”
When you assign a project to workers, you should respect their abilities and trust their judgement to do the job their own way. Workers care more about things when they are in charge of them and feel able to do them well.
People appreciate respect, and they love trust.
(See: 10 things good bosses give their employees)
3. “Please don’t tell me everything about your personal life.”
Talking about things unrelated to work helps build a personal relationship, but many bosses make the mistake of talking about themselves when they don’t know the other person well. Workers, especially new ones, have no interest in hearing about the boss’s holiday, antiques collection or beach house.
New workers want to feel that they belong in the company, but what they want most of all is to know how they are doing.
Long-standing workers want to know that their boss cares about them; talking about yourself shows that the only person you care about is you.
4. “Can’t you see I’m really busy?”
Here is what happens. You start talking, the worker stops what they are doing to chat with you… and when you leave, the work has piled up and they have to catch up.
Workers want to talk to their boss, but when they don’t have work to do. Sometimes there is a simple solution, especially if the employee’s job involves physical tasks: help them while you talk. Not only will your employee appreciate a bit of help, but the conversation will feel less forced. In other settings, you need to choose the place carefully.
Never interrupt a busy employee just because today is the day you decided to take a break.
(See: 10 ways you, as a boss, are making your employees less productive)
5. “Actually, I’d like to work here for a long time.”
People change jobs several times over their lives. Some do it for the money, but many others leave because they can’t stand their boss.
Whatever industry your company is in, high staff turnover does not have to be a fact of working life. Find out why employees leave and deal with the causes. Changing jobs is stressful, so most employees won’t start looking for another job until they are given a reason to.
Watch, listen, act intelligently… in short, do your job well, and most employees will prefer to stay.
6. “This gift card is nice, but a simple ‘thank you’ would do.”
Every time you hand out pay cheques you are implicitly saying thank you, but not really.
Find reasons to thank your employees as often as you can. Look for an achievement, however small, and express your appreciation: “Thanks for landing that difficult client”, “Thanks for letting me know we have a problem in the warehouse”, and so on.
Saying thank you benefits both of you: the employee feels appreciated, and you get a great way to start a meaningful conversation.
See also: 10 things inspiring leaders do differently at work
Featured image: Dimitry B., CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
