You talk to your people every day. But how often do you have meaningful conversations that will inspire employees?
For many HR leaders, it’s probably not as much as you’d like to.
After all, you have a lot of other conversations – the “Do you have a minute?” one that is never just a minute. There’s the “We have an emergency and need your help” conversation. And there’s this one, too: “How can we get this done by tomorrow?!”
That can eat up as much as 44% of your work day, according to research from Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business.
While there’s a lot of talking at work, “it doesn’t move behavior and certainly doesn’t make us want to get up and do a great job every day,” says Kristi Hedges, author of The Inspiration Code.
That’s mostly transactional communication. To engage employees, leaders want to practice more relational communication, which can lower burnout and turnover, according to research from Gallup.
Some planned conversation – when you can delve deeper – work to inspire employees and keep them engaged. Here are four from Hedges that you’ll want to routinely schedule with employees – and guide front-line managers to have with their employees.
1. Open Conversations
Most of the professional conversations leaders have with employees contain an agenda – what to do next, how to do something or a review of what was done.
In an Open Conversation, you want to take time to hatch ideas, gain insights and broaden viewpoints. You don’t need an agenda or even a clearcut takeaway, but you do want to go into it with a desire to learn more about employees, their ideas and plans.
Tip: Give the conversation time and room to breathe. Ask open-ended questions and stop talking so you avoid directing where the conversation goes. Say, What do you think about …? How would you approach …? What has you most interested in your work lately?
2. Potential Conversations
One of the most powerful messages leaders can send is: I recognize your potential and I believe in it.
Yet often, a Potential Conversation is just an addendum to an annual performance review.
Instead, you want to talk about employees’ strengths more often, perhaps quarterly. Cover the strengths you recognize, and they may not, plus those employees know and use well. Plan ways for them to use those strengths to be better and get ahead in their careers.
Tip: Tell employees, I see this in you … or You’re at your best when you … Then talk about how they can work on those talents and maximize possibilities.
3. Energy Conversations
This seldom-heard conversation can have major effects on performance.
The Energy Conversation is truly about employees’ energy levels. Employees (and leaders) need to feel energized to do their best and most amount of work.
So you want to gauge employees’ energy levels, noting when they’re low and acknowledging when they’re high.
Tip: Energy Conversations might be part of other performance-related chats. You’ll want to talk about what you notice and ask about how they feel. For instance, I notice you’re on top of your game first thing in the morning. What gives you that energy? Or When do you feel your least effective, and why do you think you bottom out? Then you can talk about things to try to rebuild or maintain higher energy levels.
4. Purpose Conversations
Purpose Conversations help bring people together for a common cause or a higher value. But your goal is to help employees link their work to what’s meaningful in their lives and careers.
The conversation is less about the business mission and more about how employees can make the most of their roles.
Tip: Ask, What do you enjoy doing? What makes you feel most useful? What do you NOT enjoy doing? How do you prefer to work in relationship to others? Then consider ways to make the most of those preferences.
Make time for chit-chat
With all the ideas for more formal conversations, don’t overlook the value of idle office chit-chat – between you and colleagues, and amongst employees.
Small talk – polite, light-hearted, superficial exchanges that aren’t work-related – boost employee morale and sense of well-being by the end of the work day, according to a study from Rutgers and University of Exeter Business school.
So it’s not a horrible thing to linger around the real or virtual water cooler – just don’t let it happen too long: Too much chit-chat can disrupt people’s ability to focus on work and make them less likely go out of their way to help others.