Let’s be honest, most leaders are typically strong armed by the HR department to have a 1:1 meeting with each team member once or twice a year to check the mandatory box for the annual performance review process. As an HR professional who requests more frequent meetings; I have found consistent feedback from the leadership world; I don’t have additional time; it is a wasted effort, and I have too many other pressing deadlines. My response to leaders, "Can you afford to lose your people?" In fact, Gallop Analysis reveals "Employees Leave Managers Not Companies". For this reason alone, investing in employee appreciation is critical. In fact, employees who feel appreciated and valued at work perform better and prove to be more productive.
An easy way to get started is to calendar a 1:1 meeting with each team member weekly, even if it is for a quick 15 minutes, and incorporate these initial first steps:
1. Take Time to Build Rapport
Find out what makes for a good work day for them, the tasks or aspects of their role that they find most/least enjoyable, and why. Solicit their ideas and what they are really passionate about.
By taking the time you will show you care and value their input.
2. Uncover Individual Strengths & Motivators
I recommend asking each team member the following:
Strength(s): Think about their job responsibilities and have them choose at least three strengths related to their work performance.
Motivator(s): To choose one primary motivator from the list below:
1. Challenging Work
2. Recognition
3. Employee Involvement
4. Job Security
5. Compensation
This step provides clarity as to the best way to manage, assign responsibilities based on strengths and to motivate each team member.
3. Establish a Forum for Leadership Feedback
I recommend asking a few questions like; Describe the best ways for me to recognize, acknowledge and reward you for a job well done? Describe one thing that I could do that would make a difference for you.
As a leader, it is critical to receive feedback that enables us to modify how we individually manage each team member based on the support and acknowledgement needed.
Building great relationships with your team is crucial to building outperforming teams and delivering business results. These three ways are a good start to foster rapport, open communication, and build a solid foundation for higher employee retention and to boost employee engagement.
Marcus Buckingham states in perfectly: “Great leaders rally people to a better future.”