Why and How to Know your Staff Better?

 We Can MANAGE – Whom we Know, With How much We Know and What We Know !!

Ask any number of bosses if they know their subordinates and they will say off-course they do. Do you know:

• About your Subordinates’ birthdays?
• The names of their children?
• Important anniversaries in their lives?
• What date did they join you, get last promotion, achievements at work?
• Their aspirations for the future?

Why to know?

Bosses who walk around their patch regularly. Stop to chat briefly at coffee time and take a personal interest in their staff generally have good rapport with their staff. This in turn leads to positive Assertive Behavior.

Even with small number of staff, it is useful to keep a notebook or a card index of important personal details, interests and major achievement to help you to build up a picture of the whole person. Without this positive effort, we see only the tip of the iceberg of each individual.

Reflect for a moment on following suggestions:

• A good boss/subordinate relation is is often the most important factor in job satisfaction.
• “The Boss” is a powerful influence in most people’s lives.
• The power of shared values as motivators and developers cannot be over-estimated and they can only be transmitted through sound relationships based on mutual knowledge and understanding.
• Your subordinates probably have same ‘hang-ups’ and worries that you have.
• They want to know you too, because they can relate better to someone they can understand as a person.

How to know?

The better we know people, the easier it is to engage their interest in the work and goals of the department, and to develop their abilities and intent to achieving them. Effective Communication, whether verbal or written, always begins with putting yourself in other persons shoes.

You typically almost half of the week with your staff. Hence is is important to know your staff at least half as well as you know your family. Some of the activities are suggested below:

• Do not delegate interviewing your staff.
• Be part of their induction process.
• Do create weekly and monthly interaction/training/development platforms.
• Water Cooler and Coffee break chats are very good and effective tool. Never undermine.
• Periodic family meetings or get-togethers do wonders. One a quarter or twice annually.
• Do create a process, where you have recorded information and timely updates on staff’s important dates – Birthdays, Anniversary, promotion, achievements etc….
• Do make sure that you wish them or congratulate them on their special dates..

Can you think of any more? Please do share what you can think of.

You can’t relate to the unknown, and you cannot develop what you don’t relate with.