posted by Angela Huffmon on December 8th, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Recently, I made an entry on my Facebook page that during this holiday season I had met a few very rude people while doing my daily errands. A couple of my “friends” made comments that those rude individuals must have forgotten the reason for the season. Well what exactly is the reason for the season? I’m a Christian so I would say of course the reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The result of celebrating this holy event is that we become happier people. We are kinder and form closer bonds to friends and family and even perfect strangers. The whole idea of the meaning of Christmas started me to thinking about whether or not we form closer bonds with the people we work with as well. This is the perfect time for you as the manager to get to know your employees better. Getting to know what motivates them would benefit your working relationship in many ways.
How can you form a closer working relationship with your employees? First understand that most people are more than willing to share how and with whom they will be spending the holidays. You, as their manager, will have a chance to find out about their interests and hobbies. When your employees discuss the toys they will purchase for their children, you can inquire as to the ages and birthdays of their kids. This will give you an opportunity to connect with your employees. Then, during the year, you can send birthday's cards for their children. Sending your employee's children birthday cards may seem like it's a lot of extra work, but it's easy to setup in your planning software on your computer. The extra effort will demonstrate to your employees that you care about their lives. In addition, during the relaxed holiday season, while talking with your team members ask simple questions such as what they like to do for fun, and where they like to eat. These pieces of information will help later when it’s time to dispense rewards for great work. This will give you an opportunity to personalize rewards for what each of your employees will value and appreciate.
The benefits of putting in the extra effort to bond with your employees is:
¨ Fewer manager/ employee misunderstandings
¨ Less sick days taken by your employees
¨ More productive workers
¨ Increased employee morale
¨ More positive and motivated office environment
If you are truly serious about creating a happier place for you and your employees to work, making a connection with them is important. Of course, you aren't going to pry into their personal lives, but listen when they talk about what's important to them. This will help you to understand what drives and inspires them. Many managers scratch their heads trying to figure out how to motivate their employees. What they don't know is that by simply listening to their employees they can uncover the information they seek. Christmas parties are an ideal opportunity to get to know your employees. This will build a stronger bond between you and create a greater since of unity. As Mr. Publilius Syrus once said, “where there is unity there is always victory,” and that is the reason for the season.
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