Knowing how each member of a team feels and thinks is not easy without the wonderful superpower of telepathy. Can you read their minds? No? Well, then we have another question for you: How often do you ask your collaborators questions at work? Curiosity is essential for building thriving organizations and fostering strong, healthy relationships among colleagues. Giving and asking for feedback from our colleagues, the people we may have in charge, and, of course, our bosses generates commitment, fuels innovation, and helps all employees (including you) give their best.
One of the best ways to retain talent in your organization is based primarily on letting employees know that you care about them and their work. At Hrider we want to help you build a strong and inspiring work culture that increases job satisfaction and the engagement of your team. That's why we're going to offer you an alternative to telepathy: asking questions.
-
How are you doing?
Start with the most basic (without ceasing to be the most important). Asking a person how they feel increases motivation and job satisfaction because they know they are being listened to and valued beyond their performance. The answers to these questions help with self-assessment and provide valuable information for the rest of the team, creating more unity and consolidating a more effective team. Positive psychology clearly relates employee satisfaction to success and the achievement of objectives. The benefits of having a satisfied team are innumerable: creativity and innovation, a stronger organizational culture, commitment, low rotation…
-
Do you like your current responsibilities?
On many occasions, poor performance is caused by dissatisfaction with the assigned tasks. Therefore, ask each person if they feel good about the tasks in their position. You can facilitate role changes so that they can develop other skills or simply designate new tasks or objectives that generate greater motivation.
-
How can I help you?
This question is essential so that your team knows that you are there for precisely that, to help them. In addition, this question frees your collaborators from the feeling that they are the ones who have to do everything and reminds them that they are not alone.
-
Do you have any ideas to improve the work we do?
The best source for innovation for the product or service you provide is within your organization, but if you don't ask, you may never get the necessary feedback to improve. Whether the ideas are feasible, or more or less useful, they are all valuable, so never stop giving them the opportunity to contribute their ideas.
With this question you can also encourage leadership. Placing the members of our team in the role of leader from time to time empowers and contributes to the emergence of ideas with greater confidence.
-
What are your short- and long-term goals?
This is not a question to ask only in a job interview, as people grow professionally, their interests and situations change. If you do not know the objectives of your collaborators, you will not be able to help them by providing them with the tools or the environment to achieve them.
-
How can I be a better leader? What can I improve?
We already explained in another post that leaders are also human; therefore, being a leader is not incompatible with being imperfect. A leader, like any other team member, has to have the ability to improve. And what better way to do it than with the help of your collaborators.
-
How was your weekend?
It seems like a very nosey question but caring and knowing about the lives of your employees shows that you care about their happiness and helps you understand their circumstances. You may discover that they need more flexible hours, that they need vacations or perhaps that they should telework a few days a week. You will be able to identify the diversity of interests and knowledge that each one cultivates in their free time! (remember that the diversity of talent is one of the new keys to competitiveness in an organization)
There is one thing much more important than having telepathy and that is to be aware that the happier your employees are, the longer they will be in the organization and the better their contribution to global challenges.
Asking questions regularly is a quick and easy way to stay up to date. But to get feedback we must favor environments where people can express themselves honestly, where they feel involved and where transparent communication.
Does this sound like something that could (or should) be encouraged among collaborators? Are you willing to promote this culture in your organization ? At Hrider we help you!