6 Ways to Make Your Employees Love You

Taking into consideration how much time we spend working, we can agree on the importance of a well-balanced and healthy work atmosphere. For some people, the office might feel like a second home and it’s crucial that things run smoothly. That includes a satisfying work environment, stable workflow, and strong professional bonds between colleagues.

In addition, the way you, as an employer, treat your employees is an essential factor in your employee retention strategy. This includes working on ways to communicate efficiently and evoke positive attitudes in the people you’re in charge of. Open communication also contributes to work productivity and your employees’ engagement.  Essentially, that means the better you treat them, the more they like you.

So, how do you make your employees love you?

Take a look at these 6 ways you can positively impact your employees and effortlessly keep the workplace up and running.

1. Be a mentor

Young, talented and eager to work employees are looking for someone to lead the way and show them how it’s done. Having someone to look up to will make them feel safe and optimistic about their future in the company.

You need to provide mentoring advice in order for them to respect you and appreciate your time.

That means you should be able and willing to:

• Introduce new assignments
• Explain difficult procedures
• Clarify issues
• Remove problems

Most importantly, your job as a mentor is to

• Teach

Nothing beats the knowledge you pass on to your employees: you’re making them better at their jobs and feeling more self-assured about their tasks.

Teach them everything you wished you knew at the start of your career.

You’ll end up with quality employees and they’ll end up loving you because of your effort. It’s a win-win situation.

2. Be open

Some employers find it hard to maintain the authority over their employees and still be open to communication and respectful of their needs.

This is often due to your insecurities and fear of things slipping out of your hands.

This is also why we often hear stories about the “big, bad boss” who listens to no one and forces his way of thinking, regardless of anyone else’s.

You mustn’t be that guy.

In order to have your employees love you and feel comfortable speaking to you, you need to:

• Listen to them
• Talk to them with respect
• Consider their suggestions and complaints
• Handle your communications professionally
• Create a sense of openness

If your employee is afraid to talk to you or feels anxious with you in the room, you’ve failed.

Make a change and start treating everyone as equals. Maintain your authority and ask for respect in return. However, don’t talk down to anyone or make anyone feel less important and vulnerable.

3. Be thankful

If you’re in charge of a team of people, it’s impossible for them all to bring the same thing to the table. Some of them will work harder than the others, and go to great lengths to contribute to your company’s success.

Recognize it.

If you don’t, those who worked hard and gave it all they had will stop trying. Worst case scenario: they’ll leave you to find a company which appreciates dedicated employees more.

Your job is to acknowledge the effort and reward it in some way. The reward could be:

• A money bonus
• A raise
• An employee of the month title
• Benefits of any kind
• Verbal praise

There needs to be a reward system for those who walk the extra mile. It will make them feel appreciated and inspire others to try harder.

Set up a reward system in your workplace and expect an increase in employee engagement.

4. Grow their talents

Taking a personal interest in your employees’ skills and talents can go a long way, for both you and them. 

Everyone needs a little push. Your job is to push your employees in the right direction.

• Supervise them
• Analyze their work ethics
• Identify their strengths and weaknesses

Once you get to know everyone better, find ways of providing a great platform for developing their talents and help them reach their personal goals.

You can:

• Send them to seminars and workshops
• Organize professional training
• Assign demanding tasks
• Encourage them to fly higher

If your employees feel they are growing to become the best possible version of themselves, they’ll feel taken care of and stay loyal to the company. Therefore, make sure you’ve got this covered.

5. Give Feedback

Did you know that 79% of the modern workforce expects immediate feedback?

Feedback is important to your employees, regardless of its type. You just need to let them know you’re keeping track of their efforts.

Whenever a project or assignment is finished, you can handle feedback in two ways:

• A team meeting
• A one-on-one conversation

Negative feedback

The latter is preferable for giving negative feedback, or how we like to see it: constructive criticism. You don’t want to expose your employee to feeling embarrassed and just wanting to get it over with.

Make sure the negative feedback is delivered smoothly, subtly and in a way which doesn’t upset the employee.

Positive feedback

Positive feedback is praise or acknowledgment of your employee’s success. You give it each and every time it’s deserved.

Keep the two types of feedback balanced and don’t overdo either.

6. Allow fun

The workplace doesn’t have to be quiet, strict and boring in order for it to be productive.

Look at Google. Their employees are said to be one of the most satisfied and most productive employees out there. This is thanks to a company culture which includes a dog-friendly workplace, constant innovation, fun shared facilities, relaxation areas and so much more.

You should allow your employees to be happy and have fun.

Consider:

• Collective lunch breaks
• An office gym
• A game area
• Office birthday celebrations

Make the office more inspiring as a work environment and see where that takes you. Our guess is that it will increase employee retention and engagement.

In conclusion

There are ways for you to improve how you and your employees do things around the office. Putting in an effort in bringing innovation to the company’s policy and rules can create a positive atmosphere and a great team of employees. As an employer, it’s your job to create the best working conditions for everyone and to allow them to learn, grow, develop and enjoy while working.

Now you know the key strategies for making your employees love you and feel good about their job, give them your attention and take care of their struggles, issues or insecurities. Give them the wings to fly higher and they’ll show nothing but gratitude and loyalty. You’ll have a team of people who appreciate you and enjoy their workdays.