Do You Have Employees Who Don’t Listen? Fix It With These 5 Tips

One of the most frustrating and disheartening experiences of being a manager is when your employees don’t listen to you. Rather than throwing in the towel, learn from these moments, so they don’t happen again.

Watch for these reasons why employees are tuning you out – then make the necessary changes.

 

1. Don’t make it all about you.

Examine your own motivations. Do you want people to listen to you for the sake of the team or company, or are you just trying to build your own case? People will know the difference.

• If your employees sense you’re putting your own interests or career ahead of what’s right for the business, they will stop listening and your credibility will plummet. They’ll react out of fear when they have to and ignore you as long as they feel it’s safe. Either way, they are totally not invested in what you’re saying.

 

2. Make sure you listen to them.

People will listen when they feel connected and believe your feedback is genuine. It’s a two-way street. To foster trust and build connections with your employees, start listening to them more closely.

• Ask them directly, “Is there anything you’ve been trying to tell me that I’m just not hearing?” Then, actively listen to their response. You don’t have to agree, but you do need to hear. You’ll find that this alone gets people to start taking your direction more seriously.

 

3. Focus on behaviors instead of numbers.

Metrics are important indicators of how your team is performing, so they can’t be ignored. But if all you do is focus on your internal scorecard, people’s attention will naturally drift elsewhere.

• Stop talking so much about the numbers and help employees identify behaviors that promote continuous improvement. Branch out to create meaningful connections with each one as an individual. Identify and focus on one or two behaviors that could be impactful in making a person more productive, relieving their stress, or improving customer relations.

 

4. Improve your communication style.

You may have heard the cliché “talk is cheap.” Make sure yours isn’t. Your employees aren’t just responding to the words that come out of your mouth. Real communication lies in tone, empathy and responsiveness.

• Be aware of your body language. Nonverbal communication and cues are just as important as what you say. And as you communicate, invite employee input and feedback.

 

5. Praise and encourage.

Take every opportunity to show your employees they are valuable and their work is meaningful.

• Delegate important jobs. This empowers people and demonstrates your trust in them.
• Reward often, consistently and appropriately. Talk less about setbacks and more about contributions and milestones reached. Believe in your employees, and they may just surprise you by reciprocating.

Need help hiring quality employees?

As you grow and develop your management team, partner with Frontline Source Group to keep your winning strategy on track. We can offer you for insights into best practices and programs in active listening, communications and more. If you're looking for staffing services in Houston, TX, click here. To find the branch closest to you, contact us today.

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Tagged Blog
Published on Sep 5, 2018