10 Tips to Break Down Manager-Employee Barriers

Clear internal communication prevents confusion and builds positive employee engagement, making it essential to employee, team, and overall company success. According to TheLadders, one of the biggest obstacles to great communication is the manager-employee barrier. Try implementing these ten tips to begin breaking down this barrier:

Hold regular one-on-one meetings

One-on-one meetings help build individual relationships with your employees and encourages them to share freely with you away from the rest of the team and any distractions.

Make time for a chat

Try to make time for non-work conversations with your staff at work. Consider a 15-minute huddle at the beginning of the day or after lunch. These opportunities allow you to relate to your team as people, rather than simply as employees.

Talk face-to-face

Although email tends to be the preferred method of communication it can create a barriers because email often times lacks context, tone and nonverbal cues that help people understand the meaning of a message. Instead make an effort to talk face-to-face, nothing builds relationships like in-person interaction.

Ask open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are an invitation for someone to talk. It also provides an opportunity for you to hear everything someone has to say, instead of just what you want to hear.

Be open with your employees

Trust is often rewarded, so be open and transparent with your employee. Help them understand what is going on with the company and make them feel included in the organization as a whole.

Meet fears head-on

One of the biggest barriers to effective communication is fear. Address any fears in an honest and straightforward way. Make sure your employees know that their feedback and ideas are important and that they won’t be met with disciplinary action.

Create formal feedback processes

Implementing a process where employees can offer feedback suggests that input is welcome. Consider creating a suggestion box where employees have anonymity and can submit feedback without fear of repercussions.

Reward successful input

Public recognition is a great way to encourage employees to offer up new ideas. Rewarding input can be something as small as a simple thank you, or more formalized, like an incentive program or trophy for input that solves problems.

Take feedback seriously

Dismissing valid, sensible input is a great way to destroy a good culture. Instead take feedback seriously and create a culture of openness where your employees feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Develop a coaching culture

A coaching culture fosters a more collaborative approach to problem solving and can make employees feel more like they’re working with you rather than for you.

While some of these tips may take some time to fully master, they are all tactics that you can implement today to start breaking down the manager-employee barrier. Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know what works for your team in the comments.