Gaining the Respect of your staff
Employee relations are at the center of growth and decline in the store. Employees that feel accepted, challenged, and appreciated are some of the best around. All these components are related to mutual respect. Respect is earned not demanded. It takes time and trust from both parties. Respect does not equate to fear. Nowhere in the definition of respect does it talk about fear. What it does talk about is admiration for the way someone does things and or carries themselves.
How can you be someone your employees respect?
- Have high expectations for yourself and them.
- If you accept less, you will get less. People do want to be engaged in their work so giving people standards to meet will ensure productive employees.
- Follow through on your word. Be it praise or discipline. Consistency is important.
- No one respects a wishy-washy manager
- Do your share of the work and hold yourself to the same standard you hold them to
- If you refuse to clean the bathrooms, why should they clean them?
- Clearly communicate what is important.
- Communicate your goals and aspirations for your team so they know how to achieve them and succeed.
- Treat them as the smart and capable person they are.
- Feedback should not be belittling; it should be constructive.
What does it look like when a staff respects their leader?
- Staff are relatively happy when they come to work and take pride in their performance.
- Staff are on time, presentable, knowledgeable, and engaging with customers.
- The staff know what their job is and what their leader expects them to do each shift.
- The store is clean even when the leader is not present.
- Staff feel comfortable talking to the leader about issues they see.
Let’s look at some examples of good and bad respect.
Imagine you’re a manager of a clothing store. You have communicated to your employees that you expect them to clock in on time, wearing uniform, and the first thing they should do on shift is sweep the floor and check to make sure the displays look presentable. A manager that has not earned the respect of their staff will demand these things by creating fear for each person’s job. Instead of it being an expectation, these tasks will become a sore spot for the manager to bark orders or threaten. Another example of bad management in this scenario would be if they were lenient with some employees and not others. So, Frank can come and go as he pleases and doesn’t have to sweep because he’s been around for so long and shows up on time. But Sally is required to do everything the manager asks. This will create resentment, not respect, from Sally.
A good example in the same clothing store scenario would be the manager setting these standards early on by taking part in the same practices they expect of their employees. The manager leads the way. Also, if Frank is shirking his duties, he should be reprimanded per company policy. This consistent treatment of everyone shows there is no favoritism, and no one is above doing what is expected of them.