Talk and be heard

Written by Loch Associates Business owners and managers are responsible for speaking to their staff about difficult
topics which is becoming far more frequent. These conversations extend beyond the usual
work-related situations involving performance, career development and pay rises, to more
personal issues including health concerns and personal problems. Regardless of the issue involved, it is exceptionally important that these conversations are
handled correctly to ensure your employees feel heard, understood and respected. This will
ultimately achieve a mutually beneficial goal. If you get it wrong though, you could score an
own goal! Why has handling these conversations correctly become so important? Firstly, it helps you to
retain staff who will be more engaged and more productive. 92% of highly engaged
employees believe they feel heard in the workplace. When employees feel heard, they also
feel empowered to initiate difficult conversations when an issue arises.
Nipping it in the bud is the best approach, enabling managers to use their time and
resources to help their team to be focused on achieving performance goals, leading to
higher retention rates.

Here are some suggestions to keep in mind, which we may forget when we are busy:

1. Listening more than speaking is key. Allow the individual to speak and feel heard
   when talking
2. Make sure you are in an environment and have a mindset where you can give your
   full attention. Do this away from potential distractions so you can understand and
   consider what they are saying
3. Empathy is key. Attempt to understand what the person is feeling and ask questions
   for clarification if you don’t feel you’ve fully understood the issue

Our strap line at Loch Associates Group is ‘People are our business’; they are your business
too. A company’s success depends on its team and the effective management of it.
Managers must have these difficult conversations and manage them effectively. They need
to have the skillset to do that, which is why we offer our popular ‘Nip it in the Bud’ training
sessions to help managers acquire those skills and give them confidence to have those
tough or tricky conversations! To see when the next Nip It In the Bud training session is, you can visit our website
www.lochassociates.co.uk, or keep update on social media. Facebook: Loch Associates Group
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