Whether you are just embarking on your first graduate job, or are perhaps starting to move your way up the career ladder, building good working relationships is crucial to your success. This article will highlight some of the key ways that you can build and maintain good working relationships with your colleagues, that will have a positive impact on both your workplace and your professional development.
This article will cover:
- Why building good working relationships is important
- Getting to know colleagues
- Email etiquette
- Networking
- Handling difficult situations
- Relationships with superiors
Why building good relationships is important
Building good working relationships is very important for both your current role, and your future career. Having positive relationships with your current colleagues will ensure a pleasant working environment, with strong collaboration and productivity, and where conflicts are solved easily. It will also help you gain greater access to potential opportunities for development and advancement, which will have a positive impact on your professional growth. All of these factors contribute to enhanced job satisfaction, as you enjoy a positive working environment, with increased chances for progression!
Getting to know colleagues
Although the workplace is obviously a professional environment, it’s important to get to know your colleagues on a more personal level. When you’re new to the job, this can feel intimidating, but a simple ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ is an easy way to build familiarity with your new workmates. You could also try to initiate conversations beyond work topics during breaks to get to know them better and strengthen your connection to them. Asking what they are doing that evening or at the upcoming weekend is a good way to start to find out how they spend their free time, and you might find that you have something in common with them. Take the initiative to not only speak to those in your immediate team, but also to those from different teams or departments, as this will expand your network further.
When talking with your colleagues, make sure that you actively listen to them. This will help make them feel heard and respected, which will in turn help you to create a strong relationship with them.
Building a rapport with your workmates takes time, so keep making the effort to talk to them when appropriate, and you’ll soon feel at ease with each other.
Email etiquette
Emails are probably one of the most popular ways you will communicate with your colleagues in today’s digital workplace, so are therefore crucial in creating a good working relationship. Some tips to help you when emailing colleagues include:
- Use appropriate greetings such as ‘Dear’, ‘To’ or ‘Good morning/afternoon’ – avoid informal sayings such as ‘Hey’ or ‘Yo’
- Check you have spelt the recipient’s name correctly and used their preferred pronouns
- Only use ‘carbon copy’ (CC) when the information is relevant to ALL recipients
- Use ‘blind carbon copy’ (BCC) sparingly; try to use it only when someone’s privacy needs to be protected or when you have emailed large groups where individual replies are not necessary
- Respond and acknowledge emails that require any action from you promptly
By doing all of the above, you will ensure that your email communication is polite, professional, and respectful of colleagues’ time and effort.
Networking
Networking is a valuable tool for building good working relationships and also your professional network, especially when you are at the start of your career. Attending company social events and formal networking sessions (either in person or online), or volunteering for cross-departmental projects, are all great ways to meet and get to know people inside and outside your immediate workplace. Although it might feel daunting at first, try to be proactive about introducing yourself at these events, ask thoughtful questions and actively listen to the response. The more you put yourself out there to grow your professional network, the more connections you’ll make that can develop into mutually beneficial relationships, providing access to information, advice, and potential opportunities in the future.
However, networking is more than meeting once and exchanging your LinkedIn details! You will have to put in some effort into building and maintaining your connections; try to follow up every once in a while with a check in email, or perhaps schedule a quick meeting for coffee to discuss anything relevant.
Handling difficult situations
You might encounter some difficult situations in your career that cause conflict in the workplace, such as disagreements about how to proceed with a task, or perhaps competition amongst colleagues for taking on a new project. Building strong working relationships better positions you to navigate potential conflicts or issues in the workplace. If a difficult situation arises where you are involved, try to:
- Listen to all parties involved and give them a chance to share their perspective/how they feel
- Concentrate on the specific issue rather than attacking anyone personally
- Stay calm and professional at all times even if you feel angry or upset
- Focus on resolving the issue and how it can be avoided in the future
These tips will hopefully help you navigate and resolve any issues you encounter effectively, and ensure that you maintain harmonious and respectful relationships with your colleagues despite these kinds of challenges.
Relationships with superiors
Building good relationships with your superiors (such as line managers, team leaders, CEOs etc) is also a very important thing to consider in terms of your professional development. Start by demonstrating that you are a reliable, co-operative and committed worker, by meeting deadlines, producing good quality work, and collaborating well with your colleagues. This will make you more likely to be considered for potential advancement opportunities, or more challenging work.
Open and honest communication with your superiors is key in order to maintain a strong relationship; keep them updated with your progress and let them know if you are finding anything difficult within your work. Seeking regular guidance and feedback from them is also a great way to build trust and respect.
Strong relationships with supervisors can also be valuable for your long-term career plans. They may be willing to act as a mentor to you, and provide their own insight and guidance into helping you progress. Of course, you may also want to use them as a professional reference in the future, so a good relationship with them will ultimately be beneficial for this purpose too!
This article was written by Amy Evan-Cook.
Last updated on 12 August 2024
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