Have you listened to an employee today?

 Have you ever gotten into your car, turned on news radio to listen to traffic and weather and realized 30 minutes later, after 2 cycles of this report, that you still did not know when it was going to start raining or which route was accident free?I have; I did it on Tuesday.  Like you I had a million other things on my mind and had not made a conscious decision to listen to the broadcast I needed.  We do the same thing with our employees.

 I like to illustrate employee concerns using plates.  When employees come to you with an issue it can seem really trivial.  The list of things you have to do and the scope of your responsibility is much larger than your employee’s.  You have a really full plate, a platter, which has lots of items on it.  The issue the employee has brought to you can seem like a really small item.  But for the employee it takes up a larger part of their plate. 

 Here’s where listening comes in.  If you make a conscious decision to listen to the employee you can resolve an issue or concern much more quickly.  It can also keep the issue from spilling over to other employees.  The steps to show an employee that you are listening start with facing them, using eye contact and minimizing distractions.  If they come to you at a time when you can’t devote the attention you’re much better off asking them to return at a specific time than thinking about traffic and weather while they’re describing an equipment deficiency.

 The next step in good listening is asking the right questions.  Ask open ended questions to let the person know you are actively involved in the conversation and to gain good information.  You may find out something that makes it easy to resolve the situation.  Or you may decide that there is nothing you can do.  Either way this is the time to paraphrase the employee’s comments.  “Jim, I see you’re frustrated by the delay in receiving the materials you need from the vendor.”

 In many situations the employee just needs to vent.  If I had a dollar for the number of times an employee or client said, “Thanks, I just needed to talk. I would have collected this morning.  It’s time well spent in building trust and good working relationships.

 Good listening can be really powerful.  It can actually save time, and help you avoid traffic jams.