How to Make Connections in the Workplace

July 2, 2015 by Christine

If you are able to make genuine connections with your employees or coworkers, you’ll find you’ll be better able to overcome challenges as a team and grow both as an individual and as a company. Of course, making lasting, deep connections is about more than water cooler small talk.

Here are a few strategies that can help you to build meaningful connections in the workplace:

The foundation of our success as a business is the relationships that we create with our clients. Everyone we work with says the same thing: we truly care about our clients and will do everything we can to help them find success in their operations.

• Do something together outside of the office. It’s hard for people to be their true selves when they only interact with their coworkers in the office. Arrange to have fun activities and events every so often to get people from the office together to bond and learn more about each other. It can help to lighten the mood and get people more comfortable with each other, opening them up to creating these kinds of connections.

• Be consistent. You don’t want other people approaching you with the sense that they always have to gauge your mood. If people know what to expect from you at all times, they’ll be more likely to approach you and be willing to make connections with you. Even if you’re having a bad day, it’s important that you don’t “poison the well,” so to speak, by letting your mood infect others.

• Give full attention. If, for example, you have an employee or coworker come up to you while you’re working, don’t attempt to multitask — you’ll come off as uninterested and distant. By giving people your full attention, you show you respect what they are saying and are taking an active interest in it.

• Be the first to reach out. Not everybody is outgoing enough to make the first move to forge a connection with coworkers. Take it upon yourself to be the first one to make the leap. Share more about yourself, ask questions about others and let people know through your actions that they can be completely comfortable being themselves and voicing their opinions.

By forging lasting connections in the workplace, you’re helping to create a better work atmosphere, which in turn leads to a healthier, happier company. Contact us today at Viral Solutions for more tips.

Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.

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Filed Under: Analytics Tagged With: connections, culture, employee relations, leadership