Are you as a leader asking the right questions?

Gone are the days where work is work and home is home, the two are very much intertwined now. A sign of a good leader today is that they should know their employees and know their personal lives.

Many times performance issues at work stems from what’s happening in their employees personal lives. Many leaders are quick to run to HR and do up improvement plans but have you actually pulled your employee aside and actually talked to them and asked is everything ok.

As we live in a world of texts and emails, have we forgotten how to talk to each other? One of the most powerful tools of a leader is the ability to listen and ask the right questions. You might be able to find out the reason why their performance has slipped, then you can work with the employee to find a solution or a way to ease the load on the employee. For example, Mary’s mum might have medical issues and needs to see the dr once a week but Mary has no one to take her mum to the dr while she is at work. Mary has had to put her mum in a taxi each week and send her to the drs while she is at work but this is a big cost burden to Mary and she’s stressing about her mum getting to and from the dr. As a Leader, if you had talked to Mary and found this out, then you could find a solution together. You could ask Mary how long it would take to go pick up her mum, take her to the drs and return her home and get back to work? Mary says 2 hours every Wed for next 6 weeks. Then as Mary’s leader, I would find cover for 2 hours once a week for Mary or if she didn’t need cover, let her go and then let her make up the hours during the week to get her work done. By doing this, you will find that Mary’s productivity will also increase and she will be happier at work, as she feels supported by her leader. Flexible working arrangements are becoming increasingly popular as people try to juggle work and family.

Leaders should be checking in with their staff regularly and asking the questions, how are you? How are you liking it here? Are you happy? Just a quick 5 minute one on one with the staff. It’s like a quick pulse check, it will also give you credibility among your staff and shows them that they are valued. It also opens the door for conversation if the employee has any grievance then that’s the time to raise them

Employee retention is the biggest risk factor for any organisation. By having leaders who know their employees well and who checks in regularly with them to see how they are doing does actually promotes a good mental health environment and makes the employee feel valued. Feeling valued is one of the factors in retaining staff.

By having the two way communication between leader and employee there is also the possibility that there will be less risk of prolonged absences from the workplace. The employee however has to feel comfortable to trust their leader with the information and trust has to be earned however once you have their trust you will have the two way communication. As we know great communication is the main pillar for a successful team.

So start to get to know your employees.

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