LISTENING is an integral part of Employee Relations capabilities.
Being an effective listener is one of the most important skills you can possess. When you demonstrate you’re genuinely listening to others, it has a tremendous effect on relationships, especially when focusing on employee relations.
When we multi-task, we focus on more than one thing simultaneously, fragmenting our focus and negatively affecting our listening skills. It’s easy to forget how critical active listening is and precisely what we need to do to listen and get the whole picture.
How often have you been in a conversation when you or the other participant has lost focus and is simultaneously looking at their phone or working on something else? In casual conversations, you can often get away with this. But when it comes to employee relations, the effects can be particularly challenging.
You may be surprised to learn only 7% of what we convey is by words, with 38% indicated by the tone of voice. Finally, we transmit 55% of the meaning non-verbally. We must fully engage and actively listen if we only convey 7% of what we verbalize to others.
We must also consider that listening is much more than just hearing spoken words. It’s about really focusing on the person speaking.
Listening also happens when you read a message communicated by another individual. You read and process the message communicated by others individual.
Don’t think ahead when someone is talking. Instead, listen to them, and remain in the moment. Pay attention to the speed, volume, and voice tone. So often, messages live below the surface and aren’t evident unless we pay attention.
Listening causes the most significant challenges. When employees misinterpret the message being shared, they may feel offended. Or, perhaps even worse, they may disengage entirely. Ultimately, this negatively impacts employee relations and overall productivity.
The bottom line is poor listening skills threaten team interactions.
You’ll find employee relations improve almost instantly just by taking the time to listen.
Listening is a skill that relates directly to emotional intelligence. Everything changes when we recognize the importance of listening and how it improves employee relations.
Please share your opinion on how listening can be improved.
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