How to Communicate with an Employee

Effective communication between you and your employees is of utmost importance if you want to keep your employees happy and productive. When your employees are happy, you can bet their output and quality of work is better than that of disgruntled or unsatisfied employees. Consider the following suggestions to communicate with your employees.

Instructions

1. Use email for non-sensitive matters only. Anything else should be handled in person or via telephone. When emailing a request to meet, indicate what the meeting is about instead of leaving the person hanging.

2. Listen and act. Listen to employee requests and fulfill them as often as possible so they know they are being heard and that their opinions matter. Ask for feedback on office procedures, training methods and anything else that could be improved.

3. Be present. If you're never around, it is difficult for employees to approach you. Your presence also adds to your personal investment in the company--if you aren't there much, your employees may feel like you are detached from the ground-level issues.

4. Communicate directly with those involved. Try to avoid leaving your employees to hear important news through the grapevine, especially when the news is bad, such as possible lay offs, salary freezes and required overtime during holidays.

5. Get to know your employees. Ask questions about photos on their desks, upcoming vacations or weekend plans. Building an everyday rapport helps ease the tension and anxiety that arises during the more stressful encounters.

6. Make your expectations clear. When an employee knows what is expected of her, she can feel at ease not having to guess her boundaries, deadlines and assignments.