Influencing Employee Behavior for a More Professional Workplace

People have unique perspectives, ideas, and thought processes. When they come together for a singular purpose, say, at a workplace, there are bound to be conflicts of interest or a case of colliding visions. 

Certain people might behave in ways that can run counter to the organization’s purpose or standards. Unless nipped in the bud, these behaviors and emotions can be adopted by the other employees, which can then lead to an overall disrupting of the workplace environment. 

Due to these reasons, an organization’s goal must be to cultivate a professional work culture. But to be able to create that culture, it is important to take some important steps in that regard. 

What follows is a thorough guide toward fostering such a culture. 

1. Hire the Right People

An organization must hire the kind of people that are in line with their business model. To do this, first, you should set a plan. Identify and define the qualities that you believe your organization will benefit from. 

Then, communicate those qualities to the recruiters and interviewers. It will help them hire employees in accordance with those set benchmarks. 

2. Conduct Anonymous Surveys

Getting feedback helps organizations figure out their problems and fill the gaps that exist within the organization. In order to ensure honest reviews from customers and employees, managers must roll out anonymous surveys. 

When managers personally ask for employee feedback, without the cushion of anonymity, there might be lingering insecurities or biases due to which employees could shy away from telling the truth. 

Therefore, these surveys need to be designed in such a way as to generate comprehensive feedback.  Managers credentialed in the General Master of Business Administration Degree are adept at gauging employee needs and strengths. 

Anonymous surveys are great at building a clearer picture on the ground. Some organizations outsource survey-designing or feedback assessments to third parties, so that an unbiased picture could be developed. 

Honest reviews always lead to an identification of the critical loopholes in the organization. When these gaps are recognized, it is only then that they could be resolved. 

3. Communicate your Expectations Clearly

Communication is always key. It is important to openly let employees know your expectations of them beforehand. Consequently, this helps the employees to be well aware and accountable for their behavior. 

In order to ensure open communication, cultural inclinations of the employees should also be well understood. Cultural inclination is a person’s affinity for the ways of a specific culture that they belong to. 

These affinities for various cultures vary among individuals. This requires a readjustment or tailoring of our communication strategies for each employee according to their cultural inclinations. However, the conversations should always adhere to certain principles: 

• Open, straight, and to the point conversation: Do not shy away from speaking the truth. In a professional setting, there will always be moments where you will have to communicate negative messages. In these cases, communicate openly but always positively.
• Never be Insensitive: People might have some religious or societal inclinations. So, it is always suggested to take into consideration people’s opinions and experiences. It is also important to critique the behavior or work of individuals and not the individuals themselves.

4. Ensure Employee Freedom

When people are given the freedom to make choices in certain situations, they become more dedicated to the task. When you cultivate a freer work environment, it makes employees feel responsible and trusted. 

Additionally, it also boosts their energy and their dedication rises exponentially. All these positive attributes associated with the freedom given to employees help make organizations more creative and growth-oriented.

When people are continuously bossed around, they tend to lose self-esteem. Furthermore, creativity gets crushed under a strict dictatorship. It also hinders the growth of new ideas, perspectives, and inhibits diversity. Consequently, decision-making is also highly affected. Hence, organizations should always make sure that they’re not micromanaging the employees. 

5. Reinforcing Professional Behavior

Reinforcing means to induce a certain behavior in employees through rewards and punishments. Remuneration plays a vital role in motivating employees. If the employees think that they are not being paid what they deserve, their work quality diminishes. In addition, you should keep a check on whether the rewards/remuneration are congruent to the task at hand. 

If an employee manages to outperform and punch above their weight, their efforts should likewise be rewarded. Rewarding employees has a two-fold effect: 

1. a) Encourages hard work in that particular employee, and
2. b) Influences others to work with the same dedication. 

6. Discrimination-Free Workplace

Any kind of discrimination, whether racial, gender, disability, religious should never be immediately discouraged. Such behavior should never be tolerated in both the managers and employees. Discrimination leads employees toward experiencing negative emotions and is one of the leading causes for high turnover. 

On the flip side, a discrimination-free workplace helps to cultivate a positive workplace and happier employees.

7. Be a Model for Your Employees

Stephen Covey in his famous book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” talks about the importance of becoming a role model yourself. If you want to create a certain change in the workplace, embody that change within yourself first. Henry Mintzberg, an academic researcher quoted that you can never induce a certain behavior unless you are modeling it yourself. 

And it also stands to reason that you cannot call out people on something you yourself are guilty of doing. As people are genetically predisposed to adapt behaviors performed in their immediate surroundings, they’ll pick up on the cues in front of them. When a certain boss is dedicated toward achieving the team KPIs, it will positively rub on the other people in the team, and they will also become dedicated to their job. 

Conclusion

Workplaces are supposed to be encouraging and supportive. It is only when the employees are made to feel safe and secure that they’ll open up their potential and put in their hundred percent out in order to attain company goals. A company should uphold a progressive work culture. Companies are now required to have D&I policies. Similarly, employees have to abide by a certain code of ethics in order to stay a part of a progressive and value-oriented workforce.