Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business. It’s as simple as that. Healthy, engaged employees are your top competitive advantage.”
– Richard Branson
Billionaire Richard Branson doesn’t believe clients come first. He believes that employees come first, and the natural byproduct is that employees will take better care of the customers. It may seem counter intuitive to some business practices, but you can’t argue with his success.
A great mark of leadership is caring about your employees. An employee who knows their manager truly knows them and fights for them will look out for the interest of the organization. It’s a win-win.
Relationships take work. As you put effort into building relationships, you will often see better results from your team.
5 Ways to Grow Workplace Relationships:
- Spent time individually with team members. Taking a few minutes out of your busy day to talk to employees is always a great investment.
- Ask quality questions and listen closely as they answer. Everyone wants to be known and heard.
- Seek feedback. Oftentimes, employees can see things you can’t. Trust their opinions and watch your business grow!
- Fight for them. Look at your processes from the perspective of your team members. What small (or big!) changes can you make to improve the overall morale?
- Develop your communication skills. Every leader has blind spots and can be perceived differently than they intend to. Investing in yourself in this way will pay huge dividends, both immediately and for years to come.
When you take the time to build relationships, everyone benefits. People want to know you care about them personally. When this happens, the workplace is a better place to be. Clients are happier. Business grows. Richard Branson is surely proof of this!
Take good care of your employees, and they’ll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back. – J.W. Marriott