Office politics are a natural result of any organization. As much as employees say they don’t want to deal with other people’s drama, it seems that any time a group of people work closely together they can’t help but become involved. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of office politics, but occasionally it can be too distracting for work to be done efficiently. Here are several ways to curb the worst of the office politics in your organization.
- Engage Employees. Allow your employees to be a part of all office decisions. This will help them feel like part of the team. This good management practice will sustain many rewards over time. You never know what ideas individuals have to offer until you ask them. This will also prevent you’re your employees from speculating about the business and curb some of the unfounded rumors that tend to happen when employees don’t understand or agree with major decisions.
- Set companywide goals. Share the big picture plan so everyone can appreciate where the company is going and what you need to do to get there. Any time an employee achieves something that contributes to the plan; reward them. If the entire staff is on the same page it is less likely that any one individual will promote their own agenda.
- Encourage healthy conflict. There are always people who like to argue for the arguments sake. Don’t allow them to derail the team. Make sure that you team leaders are willing to put up the right fight for their team, not just for their own annual raises or promotions. Discussion is healthy, but high blood pressure is not.
- Take immediate action. When negative political power plays begin in the office don’t let them fester. As soon as something is discovered, call the participating parties in to discuss it professionally and rationally, and encourage them to solve their issues. Once this is worked through make sure everyone involved understands in no uncertain terms that this behavior is not tolerated.
Are you looking to partner with a company who understands the needs of management? Contact CornerStone Staffing today to see how we can help you.
