7 Tips for Encouraging Meaningful Relations between a Company’s Employees

A company’s employees function in the likes of a sophisticated mechanism: if the pieces don’t work well together, it all stops and falls apart. The bonding between these pieces is essential. To make it strong, it takes more than the standard ‘team building’ activities. It’s about the everyday decisions and measures, that encourage the creation of meaningful relations between colleagues. If you are an entrepreneur or manager and don’t know how to get started in this regard, see the tips below:

1. Speak about the company’s values

Each company is built on certain values. If you speak about these, you will not only paint a better picture of your goals, but you will also instill these values into your employees. They will thus know what is expected of them and these values will become everyone’s guidelines. Since they have this in common, they can work together more harmoniously, with a deeper understanding of the scope.

2. Constant recognition

Employee recognition is critical and, contrary to common belief, it does not create animosity. It may make some jealous, but in the end it has a positive effect on motivation and productivity. Recent date social recognition programs have helped employees build connections with their superiors, as well as with each other. Recognition tools are friendly solutions that can enable colleagues to recognise each other’s good work and that feels very reassuring.

3. Irregular bonuses and awards

Routine, even when it’s extremely positive (like when we are talking about receiving a fixed salary) can be very demotivating at times. It doesn’t push the employee to accomplish more but makes one lazy. On the other hand, rewarding accomplishments as these happen is a great strategy. It’s an irregular system of rewards that gives out bonuses and recognition when it may not be expected.

4. Social media participation

A company’s staff should be encouraged to participate on its social media profiles, interact one with another or with the customers. It boosts their morale, makes them feel more important and creates an opening to the world. Social media activity is out there for everyone to see and employees love to have a platform like this for their various forms of contributions. Plus, it’s fun and gives colleagues something to talk about.

5. The common space

Common spaces are important to cohesion, socialisation and collaboration. Make sure your employees have one such space available, where they can gather during their common breaks.

6. Feedback

Encourage feedback between workers – how do they feel about how the other has performed? What do they think of their ideas? How would they do better? Creating feedback loops of this kind helps employees know each other better and strengthen the bonds of collaboration.

7. Be an inspiring leader

Be or appoint an inspiring leader who can let some emotion through instead of being robotic. This will make the atmosphere friendlier and facilitate meaningful relations. Human emotions should not be ruled out of the workplace.

Applying these tips helps not only improve the relationships at workers’ level in a company, but also vertically, by enhancing the connections between superior and inferior roles. Thus, the benefits are many and once you have these meaningful relations, they will start working for the long term, given that you nurture them.