Effective Ways to Stay Connected with Your Employees

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A recent study found that 70 percent of American workers claim they don’t feel engaged at work. A lack of engagement can lead to an employee becoming unhappy. The longer an employee feels this lack of engagement, the higher the risk of them finding a new job will be. Instead of losing valued employees, you need to work on effectively communicating with team members.

Business owners usually have a very full plate, which can make effective communication difficult. This is why setting employee communication guidelines and utilizing the power of technology is so important. Simply ignoring the need for change when it comes to employee communication can create lots of problems. If you are looking for ways to stay connected with your employees, consider the following tips.

Set the Tone For Great Communication Right Away

Hiring new employees is something millions of business owners do each year. Utilizing the power of applicant tracking systems is crucial when trying to find the most talented and qualified candidates. Be sure to check out the information contained in what is ATS software – Applicant Tracking Systems to find out more about these systems and how they can make the hiring process more efficient.

As you start to interview candidates you found with the help of applicant tracking systems, you need to be mindful of what you say. Ideally, you want to use this time with a potential hire to get a feel for their personality and skill level. You also want to let them know right away how passionate you are about employee communication. Setting the tone for great communication right out of the gate will help you gain the trust and admiration of your employees.

Remote Workers Need Technology to Stay Connected

In the past, business owners were bound by their geographic location when it came to hiring employees. As technology has advanced, more businesses have started to take advantage of remote workers. Hiring an employee who doesn’t have to commute or come into a physical workspace can save you a lot of money. The key to having success with these remote employees is by embracing the power of technology.

Luckily, there are tons of cloud-based project management programs on the market. These programs can help you assign tasks to a remote worker and track the progress they are making. Most of the project management programs feature chat features and message boards. Using these features can help you keep a consistent dialogue with your team members regardless of where they are located.

Focus on Being Transparent

Being a business owner is one of the most challenging jobs on the planet. As you make changes to how you do business, you need to keep employees up to speed. If your team members feel like you are keeping things from them, they may take this the wrong way.

One of the main things you can do to keep everyone on the same page is hosting meetings regularly. Before these meetings begin, take the time to make an outline of what needs to be covered. By doing this, you can keep your meeting short and concise. Ignoring the need for this type of outline will result in unproductive meetings that seem to drag on. Getting input from your team members regarding the subjects they want to talk about can help helpful. In most cases, employees can offer a fresh perspective on what is going on in your industry.

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Respect Your Team’s Personal Time

Keeping your employees loyal and happy is easy if you focus on helping them create a work/life balance. Without a proper work/life balance, members of your team will start to feel overwhelmed. Developing a rule to not contact your team members after a certain time each day is crucial. Respecting their personal time can show them you actually care about their well-being.

Improving Employee Communication Takes Time

The changes you make to the way communicate with employees will take time to bear fruit. Being patient will help you avoid making mistakes as these changes progress. Keeping a constant dialogue with your team regarding how they are faring with recent communication changes can help you see where changes need to be made.