The employee-employer relationship: where’s the romance?

Some of your employees have been with you for years. All those early mornings together. All those lunches. Maybe the spark has gone. But like any relationship, it needs work. It’s time to make them a priority and get the love back.

When you first start a new job, it’s the honeymoon period. Everything is new and exciting. Maybe you miss a couple of one to ones, but it’s fine. You don’t know what’s going on with the business, but you don’t care – you just want to be a part of it. You’ve got glazed eyes and you just want to do great stuff together.

Then a few years in, your one to one is cancelled, AGAIN. The business has changed direction, AGAIN. You just don’t know what it wants any more. And it never listens. It just wants to talk. Never cares what’s going on with you. So you switch off. In fact, your eyes have started to wander. You wouldn’t do anything, clearly, but you were contacted by a place down the road. They seemed really keen and said some stuff that got you excited.

This employee-employer relationship – it is a relationship. Yes, it may differ from the one with your partner (no lawsuits please) but it’s still based on some of the same principles. Consider these fundamental needs:

• Trust

  A strong relationship means being able to depend on each other. You want to know your employees will go the extra mile when it’s needed, and you must do the same for them. In order for them to really feel comfortable with you, you need to treat them consistently and stick to your word. You make a mistake – you own it. You break a promise – you tell them why. Honesty and transparency is what will bring you closer and strengthen your trust with each other.

• Good communication

  Most problems can be overcome with good communication. Through listening you can develop a good understanding, and through talking they can understand you. Which will all make your relationship stronger. It’s simple really, tell employees what’s happening with you, and listen to what they have to say in return. Setting up strong two-way communications will help you keep a strong bond as time goes on.

• Mutual respect

  Treat others as you want them to treat you. That includes your employees. You wouldn’t want your employees to be dishonest, disrespectful and ignore the challenges you’re facing. The same is true when the roles are reversed. Treating them like adults and showing them respect will help you connect. And showing appreciation and making them feel important will make the effort they put in seem worthwhile.

And then the spark

A strong foundation is great. But we all need a little excitement too. Think about the things you can do to wow your employees. Dress up the office for special occasions. Bring in little gifts to say thank you. Make them laugh. Tell them how great they are. Do fun and exciting things together.

If your relationship with your employees is dry and boring, then you can expect uninspiring results. And people will walk away.

But build strong foundations and regularly make an effort, and well, something beautiful may blossom. You might have something truly long term – and you might just bring out the best in each other. And if that doesn’t sound romantic, then I don’t know what does.

Except maybe Love Actually. And a candlelit dinner.

The point is this. Happy employees take some investment. Some time, some money, some thought. But the effort you put in will come back with interest. So, think about how you stick to your word, how you listen, and how you really improve your communications. If you’re lucky, they might just think you’re special. And if they talk to their mum about you, well then, they could be around for good.