People join companies but leave bosses.

It’s an old adage in HR sectors but it’s nonetheless true. Employees are often the largest overhead in a business, so ensuring the relationship between employer and employee is an effective one is essential.

First up, a good employer will be able to ascertain the needs of the business and exactly which sort of employee is needed, getting the right person for the right job is the first step, but a step which needs to be carefully considered.

Does your company need somebody who is customer facing? Then make sure the person you hire is good with people. Forcing square pegs into round holes will only cause issues further down the line. Ensuring a potential employee is a right fit for a business is really done at interview or even trial stage, look behind their resumé, look at the person. Make sure they’re right.

So you’ve hired the right person? Job done, right?

Wrong!

It is imperative that everybody is singing from the same song sheet, outline job roles. Offering your employees responsibilities is a fantastic way to engage them whilst also giving clear outlines of expectations. In addition to this, it gives the employee a sense of ownership over something, nobody wants to be the person who lets the team down! Often overlooked, but setting goals is also of the utmost importance, people work in different ways but if the employee feels like they’re working towards something, aiming for something then you’ll find they’re much more likely to go that extra mile in pursuit of personal achievement. Responsibilities, expectations and goals can be looked at and adjusted in the long or short term, depending on your needs but make sure to get everything down in writing.

Interestingly, a study showed that employees value sincere appreciation and active engagement over their paycheque. Highlight when they’ve done a good job, when you’ve noticed they’ve put the effort in – but make sure that’s it’s sincere! It’s all about respect. Think back to a bad boss you’ve had, think how it effected you personally and they way you went about your work. Well the shoe is on the other foot now. Yes you expect a job to be done – if you’ve communicated their responsibilities and your expectations effectively this should be clear – but nobody wants to work under a draconian rule, it’s unlikely you will get the best out of your workforce this way.

It’s a delicate balancing act, you want to garner respect without being forceful, if you find yourself being overly forceful it’s likely that something has gone wrong much earlier in the process. Speaking of being forceful, it’s fine to be angry, it’s human, but it’s how you express that anger or annoyance is what we’re focussing on. Remember, you’re not infallible – thinking that you are can often lead to malcontent. If you’ve flown off the handles, apologise, not necessarily for getting angry, but for the way you went about expressing it.

So, three take aways from this week, communication is key – be an effective communicator. Using that effective communication you can offer sufficient, helpful and important feedback. Finally, ensure everybody (including yourself) is fully clued up on responsibilities and expectations.

Look forward to next week where we’ll be discussing the importance of attitude.