What questions to ask when looking for solutions to problems with employees?

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, take your employees with you.” Employees are our biggest asset, but also our biggest challenge. If we intend to improve our companies, we must learn how to manage employees (and especially demanding ones).

So let's look at some of the questions we should be asking ourselves if we want to catch ideal employee and keep our current workforce motivated to stay for more than just a few months.

1. Can I listen actively?

Our leadership style contributes to employee behaviour or can be used as an excuse for inappropriate behaviour. Active listening skills are extremely productive for understanding the issues that might be driving certain behaviour, and can demonstrate empathy and care that lead to trust, and trust leads to constructive, results-oriented discussions.

2. Am I the one causing the problem?

“Fish cannot see water.” Often we may be the cause of the problem, but we are too close to see it.

Many times an employee may work better with manager A but not as well with manager B. Same employee, different managers. If we don't want to lose a great team member because of the way we lead, we need to address the cause, not the effect.

3. What are my priorities when recruiting new workers?

The education and experience of a potential employee are certainly important, but what is much more important is that the person fits into the existing team and contributes to its development, not the creation of conflicts within it.

Because skills can be learned, but you cannot change a person's nature. Therefore, when recruiting, you should be asking yourself the question: "Is this person suitable for our team?"

4. What management style do I use in my company?

It is best to hire people who are in line with our leadership style. Managers who are quite strick cannot work with more sensitive employees.

However, the best results are achieved by those managers who have the so-called "soft skills", such as communication skills, negotiation skills, empathy, or the ability to adapt. The good news is that most of these can be learned.

5. Am I creating the right environment for employees to perform better?

Employees want to feel appreciated, and in the modern workplace a salary alone is not a big enough gesture. There is a hunger for "ethical workplaces" that care about their employees. Rewards are one of the most common forms of strategies to motivate employees to perform at their best. Someone is motivated by flexibility, small anniversaries gifts, the possibility of teambuilding activities, the possibility of personal development, the possibility of involving in decision making, etc.

Have you created an environment with incentives that drive productivity and loyalty, and that is tailored to the individual needs of individual team members?

6. What is going on in his/her personal life?

The personal life of employees has a huge impact on their work, so it is important to discuss it as well (but let's not get drawn into it).

We can do so during the regular evaluation of workers, which should take place twice a year, within which short-term, medium-term and long-term goals are also set for them.

These conversations are an opportunity to understand the hidden drivers of people's behaviour and therefore help in restoring their productivity.

7. Do I implement employee development plans?

Implementation of training plans and employee career development plans creates more motivated and engaged employees. And the company grows with them.

8. Does the job provide sufficient challenges?

Do you create work challenges and thus push the boundaries of your employees' possibilities? For example various competitions can create a friendlier environment and make coming to work more pleasant.

9. What is the employee's workload?

When a worker has too much on his plate, it affects not only the quality of his work, but also the relationships in the team.

Help them prioritize and guide them to focus on completing tasks. Combine more demanding and less demanding work tasks to balance the work.

Plus one bonus question

10. Have I communicated the mission, goals and values of the firm with my team?

And finally, 3 basic keys to leadership:

• you lead yourself

• you set goals and

• through the systems created, you lead the team to achieve these goals.