Despite the best of intentions, managers and their employees sometimes fall into relationship patterns that erode trust, create conflicts or hinder productivity. In this webinar, we’ll learn how to build the foundation for successful relationships, good communication and better results at work. Participants will learn the five steps for creating more positive, productive relationships with their employees. If an employee relationship has become less effective, we’ll discuss how and when to positively intervene. Finally, we’ll learn some easy ways to begin putting the five steps into action immediately.

1. Maximize Your Employee Relationships
in Five Easy Steps
Claudette Rowley
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4. Today’s Speaker
Claudette Rowley
Coach, Consultant, Author
Metavoice Coaching & Consulting
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5. 1. We will assess how and when relationships
with employees become less effective.
2. We will discover the five steps to creating
positive, productive employee relationships.
3. We will learn simple ways to begin putting
the five steps into action.

6.  Work performance suffers; missed deadlines.
 Lack of involvement; doing the minimum.
 Evidence of communication breakdown – lack of
responsiveness or ineffective communication.
 Conflict occurs and it’s difficult to resolve
effectively.
 Employee is actively disengaged.

7.  Over-management
 Under-management
 Delegation isn’t working
 Communication breaks down at
crucial points

8. 1. Schedule regular communication.
2. Define priorities.
3. Manage expectations.
4. Resolve conflicts.
5. Show appreciation.

9.  Structure a consistent time for weekly check-
ins by phone or in person (when possible).
 Schedule a monthly planning meeting to
determine longer term strategies or goals.
 Depending on the role and the organization,
a 5 minute check-in at the beginning of the
day can be helpful.

10.  Make sure job description, roles and
responsibilities are well defined.
 Identify your top three priorities for
employees and put these in writing.
 When you can, match priorities with talents
and skills.
 Discuss professional development desires
and opportunities.

11.  Does your employee know what you expect from
him or her?
 Do you know your employee expects from you?
 Delegate tasks with clearly defined expectations
and outcomes.
 After delegated task is completed, conduct follow
up conversation to review what worked and what
didn’t.

12.  Address conflicts in a timely manner.
 When addressing a conflict, focus on the facts
and use a neutral tone of voice.
 Check out assumptions before acting on
them.
 Ask the employee for his or her perspective
on the conflict and how he or she would
suggest resolving it.

13.  Ask employee what makes him or her feel
appreciated or recognized.
 Offer positive feedback when you can.
 Identify an employee’s talents and skills, and
acknowledge those.
 Recognize people for their contributions to
the organization.

14. When an employee exhibits signs of
dissatisfaction or disengagement:
1. Intervene as soon as you can.
2. Schedule a conversation with the employee
and assess the following:

15. Assess if the employee:
 lacks support?
 feels unchallenged? Too challenged?
 believes their manager or the organization
isn’t invested in them.
 feels unappreciated or unrecognized?
 experiences job and talents as a mismatch?
 feels underutilized?
 believes they are over- or under-managed?

16. 1. Do a mental review of your employees and
assess their level of engagement from your
perspective.
2. Ask “what makes you feel appreciated or
recognized?”
3. Keep the phrase “seek to understand” in
mind.
4. Define any unclear or confusing roles or
expectations – in writing.

17. 5. Schedule regular communication.
6. If it’s already scheduled and doesn’t feel
useful, ask yourself “what improvements are
needed?”
7. What are other ideas?

18. The Busy Manager’s Guide to Delegation by Luecke
& McIntosh
First, Break All the Rules by Buckingham & Coffman
Crucial Conversations by Patterson, et al.
Collaboration by Morton Hansen
Getting to YES by Fisher and Ury
Non Violent Communication by Rosenberg

19. Find listings for our current season
of webinars and register at:
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