Business mentor: Self-worth key to satisfaction

Q. I'd like to know about the pros and cons of treating my staff as friends. I'm friendly with my staff but often find myself getting treated as their friend instead of their boss.

A. Christine Norton, Recruitment Consultant, BridgesOne replies:

Employee loyalty/longevity is at an all-time low with one to two years in a role these days becoming a rule rather than an exception. To retain their staff, employers are adopting bonuses, incentives and rewards. Loyalty is a precious commodity.

From a staff viewpoint, on the other hand, the issue of self-worth is one of the key factors to a meaningful workplace. "I don't feel important, I'm a worker bee," "I'm just not valued" are common, if unspoken, sentiments.

Good old-fashioned praise can go a long way to addressing the issue of self-worth but, if an employer gets the broader balance of treating their staff as friends right, it can prove to be the missing element in the meaningful workplace mix.

But how far does an employer go towards being friends? Drinks in the pub on Fridays? Invitations to dinner? Monthly team lunches? And how do you define friends?

Margaret Pepper, partner at Chester Grey Chartered Accountants, says it's a tough one because you need to have a good relationship with your staff and, as that is essential, you inevitably become friends.

Jan Corrick, HR manager at Datamail, says being friends means you can talk to staff on a different level, which can be valuable but must be across the board.

Staff perform better in a supportive environment and their well-being cannot exist without friendly relationships. However, if certain personalities choose to exploit the situation, it can go badly wrong and business will suffer.

A line has to be drawn in the friendship to preserve the integrity of the employer/employee relationship so that essential business processes (performance reviews, the need for making the hard calls) are not jeopardised.

As a recruitment consultant, we see numerous examples of people who are doing this successfully and others who have crossed the fine line with unfortunate results.

An example of this is the case of a sales manager and an account manager who were good personal friends but had never worked together. Once the sales manager employed the account manager, the friendship deteriorated rapidly because one wasn't accustomed, and could not adjust to, the superior/subordinate relationship.

The result was disastrous, wrecking a previously valued personal friendship and the business association.

Some managers agree that there are really two kinds of friendship - the working friendship and the social friendship. Inevitably, the working friendship will prohibit socialising outside of the office, Christmas functions excepted of course. Treating your staff as friends means drawing a fine line and sticking to it but, with a little time and thought, the results are well worth the effort.

* For more information Christine Norton can be contacted at BridgesOne Consultancy ph (09) 917-9545 or by email.

* Email us your small business questionnz.

Answers are courtesy of Spring - A State of Mind for Business.