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DQ News: Overcoming Management Confidence Issues

A new survey, conducted by CIPD, suggests that 21% of employees fear that they will imminently lose their jobs and that over a third believe their standard of living has dropped in the last six months highlights what a stressful time it currently is for working professionals.

However, the worst news could be for senior leaders who, the same survey reveals, have an all time low in confidence from their employees. In fact of the 2’000 employees questioned a net proportion of -2 do not have trust in their senior leaders. This could be partly to attribute for the fall in job satisfaction from +39 last year’s survey to +34 this year.

Ways to Improve Staff Confidence

With this in mind, what exactly can an employer do to help increase the confidence of his staff and alleviate some of their demoralisation?

Honest and Transparent

The first and most obvious way to improve HR relations with staff is to approach situations with honesty and transparency. There are few things employees like less than smoke and mirrors or being left in the dark about situations. Out of the 21% who believe they will lose their jobs it is likely a high number would not feel this way if management were more open about their positions.

Similarly knowing where you stand on the employment front has a big bearing in morale and, in turn, productivity. Someone who believes they will be made redundant soon is more than likely to be an unhappy work and, thus, is unlikely to give there all at work.

Communication

Communication, however, is a two way street. Sharing knowledge with employees is obviously important but an equal issue is listening to what they have to say and taking their ideas and suggestions into account. Interactivity can improve efficiency and increase employees’ self worth. Feeling involved is great for a worker’s morale so simple and easy to implement ideas such as an Employee Idea Forum or a suggestion box are great ways at motivating workers.

No More Carrot and Stick

Another way to make a worker feel wanted is to leave behind the stick and to use the carrot; reward them when they do well and they will want to succeed again. Motivation is key. This does not necessarily mean giving financial bonuses or rises; for a lot of businesses in the current economic climate this is impossible. Small things such as allowing the worker of the month to utilise the Director’s parking place can register as innovative and morale boosting rewards for employees. Just as being kept in the dark can make an employee demoralised, making them feel an important part of the team can have the opposite effect.

So, whilst undoubtedly the economy has had some effect on the general morale of modern workers a great deal of this malaise could also be attributed to mis-man-management. On the positive flip side, however, there are a number of easily enforceable solutions that can help alleviate these problems and make a better situation for all involved.

About the Author: Kieron Casey is a writer on a variety of topics. If you want a free article on anything from payroll services to green issues, IT solutions to baby bedding please tweet me!

Photo Credit: magnetbox

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