*Hint: As Dan Bobinski wrote on Management-Issues last week, you can't. However, you can control your communications team building culture and the mechanisms therein to greatly increase the chance that your people will choose to listen.
The key is that they must make the choice to listen. Once you get them over this hump, employee engagement – and with it, commitment and productivity – will be much enhanced.
The three overall strategies Bobinski shares represent a good starting place. To help you go further with specific action steps, I've compiled a list of some of the listening tools the small businesses we've honored use, which I've written about before:
- Clearly communicate departmental objectives, and solicit input from your employees on what they can do to help achieve them.
- Ask employees for advice in areas where they have expertise.
(Source)
- Create a committee of employees at different levels and areas of responsibility that has "New Ideas" in its title – and as its objective.
- Same as above, but with the title/objective of creating and implementing workplace team building activities.
(Source)
- Implement "lunch & learns."
- If your firm is small enough – have your CEO conduct one-on-one career advancement meetings with those interested in a leadership role.
- "90 percent solution" – give employees 90% ownership in each project.
- Do 10-minute daily stand up meetings in departments.
(Source)
Are there innovative ways, in addition to the ones listed above, that you succeed in getting employees to tune in to your leadership and your mission and goals?
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for How to Make* Employees Listen