In our 2023 Candidate Motivators Report, 51% of respondents said that a poor relationship with their manager or colleagues motivated them to find a new role with a new employer.

Throw in the rise of remote working since the pandemic and it’s clear a lack of genuine connection in modern workplaces is becoming an increasing concern. If you want to keep your employees engaged, lower your turnover rates, close this gap of disconnect and create a thriving and efficient workplace that your employees enjoy getting out of bed for every day, building better connections is where you need to start. 

Need some ideas? We’ve got a couple for you. 

Encourage autonomy and decision-making 

The first step is to let your teams make their own decisions and take ownership of their work. Having that sense of freedom can boost motivation, improve performance and generally increase overall well-being. It also lets you stay focused on the bigger and more important decisions and on finding new ways to create even more value with your team. 

With an increased sense of responsibility and autonomy, individuals take more pride in their work. That means you’ll start seeing your people’s real strengths and talents shine through. When you’re able to give positive feedback on this, morale gets another boost and the cycle continues. It also helps build trust. Amongst all of this, your employees will begin to feel they’re in a safe space where they can share their thoughts and ideas, which means you’ll start seeing more innovative solutions and responses. 

Communicate openly and regularly 

Communication is absolutely key in creating connection! Having an open line between managers, employees and all other team members creates transparency, honesty and authenticity. When you’ve got that type of open and free-flowing communication going, watch the new ideas and innovative solutions start pouring in. 

It also means people will be more open about their thoughts on their work and their workplace in general. Is there something that’s bothering them? An issue that needs to be dealt with? There will be no more secret-keeping, no more sweeping things under the rug until they become a bigger issue later, you can get concerns sorted out as they happen and prevent an implosion that brings everything to a grinding halt. If you’re looking to start improving your communication, there are three key principles you need to nail: 

• Trust - build that free-flowing two-way channel where you can give feedback but also be open to receiving it. Remove any concerns about honesty causing conflict and watch those healthy work relationships flourish. 
• Psychological Safety - create an environment where your people know they can express their fears or sensitive concerns without having to worry about any punishment or backlash. 
• Consistency - you can’t just have this great work environment for a week and then revert to how things used to be. Set the tone and make it clear that this new way is the only way by putting in place clear policies and practices that normalise and embed open communication into your work environment. 

Seek feedback and encourage recognition 

We touched on this before but it’s pretty important so we’ll say it again. Get that feedback flowing. Be open to giving your employees positive feedback, let them know they’re killing it and how much you appreciate their efforts and accomplishments. Let your employees really see how much their work actually contributes to your organisational goals. Also, make it known this goes both ways and you’re open to hearing their thoughts and comments. 

This type of recognition can be extremely powerful. You might also consider putting in place some formal recognition programs to really encourage people to go that extra mile. This type of prioritisation of recognition is also great for reducing turnover rates. Don’t believe us? Research has shown that the third most popular reason people choose to leave their roles is a lack of recognition. That’s not a statistic we want to join. 

Foster diversity and inclusion 

Having a diverse and inclusive workplace is generally important, but it also does wonders for improving communication. When people can actively see inclusion and embracing of diversity around them, they begin to feel more comfortable and more open to sharing their thoughts and ideas; and we know that leads to more innovative solutions. 

   That’s not to say the road to improving diversity isn't without its challenges. Striking the right balance can be tricky. Majority groups can begin to feel left out as minority groups are more openly and publicly embraced, cultural conflicts can arise and team members can start to form closed networks or cliques. But you know what can help with these challenges too? Yep, communication. If you’re concerned about issues arising from improving diversity, sit and ask yourself three questions and use the answers to guide decision-making in this area: 

• How can I ensure all team members feel equally valued? 
• How can I encourage collaboration among team members? 
• How can I set a positive example for my team to follow? 

Prioritise flexibility & support 

With many people now working remotely or hybrid, it’s not as simple as walking next door for a chat to build a connection. While employees value the choice and flexibility around their work, it is causing issues with forming connections, which are also important. There is also a developing fear that when working remotely, we become less likely to advance in our careers (which is far from true). We’re human beings, we’re wired to be social (yes, even those of us who think we prefer the company of our animals). With this new style of working, it just means we need to be more aware and intentional about creating time for social interactions in your team. Things like making time for meetings where everyone can join in (yep, we still need Zoom) and catching up on how everyone’s going and what everyone’s up to, arranging small in-office get-togethers to give everyone a chance to say hi in person or even developing mentor programs where people on your team can take time to really connect and get to know one another and even learn some new skills (we love anything multi-purpose). 

As well as focusing on connecting everyone, make sure to also really push that work-life balance. When we start working from home, we can forget to take a break and walk away from the computer or find ourselves working all hours of the night. It’s not just about reminding your team to do these things but leading by example. Show them it’s ok to take time off, that it’s good to have hobbies outside of work and that making time for family and friends is important. 

Ready to connect? 

If you want to get your workplace happy and thriving again and you want to reduce those turnover rates, it might be time to start working on your communication. Communication builds connections. Connection creates strong and supportive work environments where people get excited to come and work every day. When people enjoy their work, the results speak for themselves. 

Want even more tips and tricks for improving your leadership? Check out the full webinar here.