As a business leader, it’s important that you ensure that your ideas and goals are the primary focus of the way your business operates. However, it’s also vital that you don’t underestimate just how important your employees can be. At Technalink we’ve seen firsthand how employees can contribute to a business in more ways than just following orders, and it’s important that you understand this for yourself and that you discover the keys to learning from your employees.
If you’re not convinced it’s important, consider the following:
- Employees have firsthand experience with aspects of your business you only know from reports and data.
- They may have ideas that can help streamline processes, reduce costs, and more.
- By listening and gathering their opinions, you can boost their morale and as a result, improve their overall productivity.
In short, listening to your team carefully can help you learn from them and help your business grow into a bigger success.
But how do you go about learning from your employees? There are several tips that can help make this easier. Here are some of the key things to keep in mind that can help you learn from your team.
- To begin with, just be sure that they know you’re listening and ready to learn. Whether it’s a companywide email, a part of your onboarding process, or some other way, get the word out that you want their input.
- Give them ways to communicate, even if it’s anonymously. Setting up a suggestion box, running anonymous surveys, and having company-wide meetings that foster open dialogues can all help. Sometimes, employees may want to be known for their opinions and ideas. Other times, they may not want to tell you who they are but still want to get their idea out there. Both are valid, so support them both.
- When holding meetings, brainstorming sessions, or any other kind of work related gatherings, be sure that you foster communication and that you actually listen. Encourage them to talk to you, ask them their ideas, and be sure not to just nod your head as if you’re paying attention. Instead, listen to them and see what you can learn.
- Never retaliate just because you don’t like what you hear. Doing so only stifles dialogue and makes it harder to learn and grow – while also closing the communication line between you.
- Be honest with yourself, and with them. If an employee comes up with a better idea or way of doing something, don’t hesitate to embrace it. This can help you move your company forwards and find potential business leaders to help you – but only if you’re willing to admit when someone has a better idea than you.
If you’ll keep these tips in mind you should be able to start getting better knowledge from your team and move your business forwards. Learning is a two way street, and both you and your employees can learn a lot from each other.
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