Building Strong Working Relationships
The workplace, where productivity, deadlines, and deliverables are at the forefront of everybody’s mind. While these are crucial for growth, the missing element often overlooked is connection. In creating a resilient culture, you can grow your business sustainably.
Your action to foster working relationships can create an environment where employees collaborate and support one another. This investment can transform your business, bridging gaps and building strong bonds that can adapt and achieve shared goals.
Why are Working Relationships Essential?
Tegan Nardone, Owner of JoltHR, shares a story about hiring a potential employee for a client. This potential employee agreed to every term of the job offer throughout the interview process. After being hired, the employee began renegotiating the salary terms, despite the previously agreed-upon terms.
“Sometimes a request to renegotiate salary is about more than money– it’s a signal that there may be deeper concerns beneath the surface. It could be uncertainty about their value, frustration with company culture, or even a need for clearer communication…”
By establishing a system of open communication and building rapport with this employee, Tegan learned that the employee wasn’t worried about salary, they weren’t sure about the company as a whole.
“When an employee or candidate brings up compensation, take the time to ask thoughtful questions and understand what they’re truly looking for. Addressing these underlying issues can lead to solutions that go beyond a paycheck and build a stronger, more aligned team.”
Often relationships between employees and managers are strained due to poor communication, not because managers don’t care about their employees. Tegan also said:
“Do your employees believe you care about them? You know you care about them, but do they know that? There is a large disparity between the number of managers that say they care about their employees and employees that think their managers care about them.”
Every member of a team must make an effort to communicate to build stronger working relationships.
Actionable Steps to Boost Team Connection
We have discussed the importance of intentional actions to build relationships, here are a few examples that you can quickly implement to improve company culture.
Encourage Open Communication
Clear communication builds trust and breaks down misunderstandings before they grow. As you establish regular communication through check-ins and feedback channels, your team will grow together with your business.
Organize Team Bonding Activities
Intentional activities give employees a break from their day-to-day tasks to connect. These aren’t the cheesy activities you see on TV and can be as simple as virtual coffee hours. Other ideas are team lunches, collaborating on break room snacks, or get-to-know-you questions in team meetings.
Offer Genuine Recognition
Simple acts of recognition from you can make a significant impact on team morale. Whether it’s a shout-out during team meetings or a handwritten note of appreciation, recognizing contributions motivates employees to go the extra mile. Consider asking employees how they prefer to receive praise to further personalize recognition.
Emphasize Gratitude
Gratefully recognizing one another’s efforts and celebrating successes draws team members together. Leaders who practice gratitude for employees and their efforts (not only in November) set the tone for a supportive environment.
Foster Empathy
The workplace can be a big stressor in your team’s lives, and empathy can help improve morale and build strong working relationships. Tegan, speaking at Work Elevated Conference 2024, discussed how to be a catalyst for positive working relationships by providing digital empathy in a remote work setting. Business leaders must be able to empathize with employees in every setting.
Benefits of Building Healthy Work Relationships
Investing in the time and effort into building a culture where strong relationships thrive will yield remarkable results. Your teams become more resilient, cooperative, and motivated. With solid connections, employees will be more engaged, and find greater satisfaction in their work, and by default, productivity will improve.
You will see consequences by neglecting work relationships. When your employees are disconnected from you and one another, collaboration comes to a standstill. Frustration will build for all parties and stress will start to cause burnout and poor performance.
Intentional action from you as a business leader can make a massive difference in crafting the culture you want in your company. If you don’t know where to start, a JoltHR professional can build you a customized plan to build stronger relationships within your team.
