Your customers and employees want to feel cared about, don’t they? They want to be supported by a caring management. Especially during challenging times when everyone is struggling to navigate forward. 

Today, we see a lot of companies facing devastating losses. And the most critical loss your business can face is the loss of your best employees. Your business is nothing without your employees’ hard work and commitment. Therefore, it’s vital for you to make sure your people have everything they need to stay positive and productive. 

As a manager or business leader, how do you take care of your employees? Do you have any strategy to ensure a healthy organizational climate? Are you a caring manager? 

In this post, we will talk about caring management, why your company needs it, and what you can do to be a caring manager. 

What is Caring Management? 

Caring management is all about how an organization treats its employees. Is management at your company caring? Or, are you a caring manager? 

It’s critical to answer these questions because how you treat your employees has a direct impact on your reputation and bottom line. 

Organizations now experience increased scrutiny from customers, media, and other stakeholders for hidden organizational practices. They have access to key information like your sexual harassment policies, wages, or involvement in political issues. In addition, social media is a great platform for people to voice their concerns. 

When consumers talk about a business, the top five things they talk about include how a business treats its people. People speak out against businesses they believe are irresponsible or unfair.

So, as a leader, you must take your employment practices seriously as they shape brand perceptions. If your employees are not happy with the way you treat them, it can damage your efforts to attract more talented people. 

Caring management can solve these issues with ease. It will take some hard work to understand what employees are going through and what kind of care they need to solve their professional challenges. 

All you need is a culture of caring which is only possible when your management is kind and compassionate. Here are some signs of caring management: 

• They value employees 
• They encourage employees' personal development 
• They take time to learn about their team members and their quirks 
• They don’t tiptoe around employees' weaknesses 
• They care why they do what they do 

What is A Culture of Caring Management?

Wondering what is a culture of caring? 

A culture of caring goes beyond how you treat your workers. It involves several things: managers caring about employees, employees caring for each other, and customers. Also, how your employees care for your vision or company’s purpose. 

A culture of caring matters because it has a direct impact on your business's success. Besides, how you engage with your workers can have an impact on productivity, retention, and absenteeism. 

Most importantly. Your company culture can impact your customer experience. If your employees are happy, they will try their best to make your customers happy. 

Related: The Key to Happy Customers? Happy Employees 

Creating a Culture of Caring Management 

A candid, genuine, and mutually respectful conversation is the starting point of a culture of caring. You need to invest some time talking to your employees and understanding their problems. Quarterly performance reviews are surely not enough to engage your employees. 

You need to learn how to listen while having group or one-on-one conversations with your employees, whether you have them digitally or face-to-face. 

Your employees’ well-being should be prioritized over your short-term revenue goals. Be willing to adjust your strategies to make things easier for your staff. 

Extract insights from those conversations and implement what you learn. If your employees are facing a workplace-related issue, make sure to resolve it. For example, if your workplace is not inclusive, take concrete steps to make it welcoming and caring. 

Happiness and Work 

Tech giants are often seen investing in employee support and job satisfaction. It’s possible to develop a scientifically controlled work environment where workers are happier and more productive. Science says happy employees are more productive. 

A study from the University of Warwick suggests that human happiness positively impacts productivity. It also identifies that unhappy workers are 10% less productive. 

Gallup finds out that 70% of Us employees don’t feel engaged in their workplace which cost companies $550 billion lost in productivity. 

Now, it's your job to figure out what makes your employees engaged and happy. Small things can make big differences. Certain strategies can help you develop a more friendly, caring culture. We will talk about them later in this blog. 

The Cost of Being a Caring Manager 

Let’s imagine that you started a role as a new manager at some company. One of your direct reports stops by for a chat. At first, you have no idea what this conversation is all about. However, as the chat progresses, you realize that this is about a personal issue. 

Your report wants to share how difficult it is for him to take care of their elderly parents whose health is deteriorating rapidly and he doesn’t know how to manage everything. He asks this question, “Do you have any advice for me”?

How would you respond to that question? You’re likely to be distressed and less engaged at work that day. 

Studies show that leaders spend as much time as 2.5 hours each week responding to such situations. Many employees prefer to approach their managers or leaders when they face emotional issues at work and they need assistance. 

However, responding to employees' personal issues and requests can affect your mood and performance at work. It is so because personal issues are often distressing and uncomfortable. Managers may find such requests inappropriate and disruptive because they have nothing to do with the work. 

It’s a real challenge to manage an employee who is going through a stressful period. 

Do you still need to be caring? 

On the bright side, when you feel like your support has a positive impact on the lives of your employees, you will feel better and experience a positive mood. Highly experienced leaders are good at managing such situations and they spend more time helping their employees with personal issues. 

Final Thoughts on Caring Management

Successful leaders care about their people. They don’t hesitate to invest efforts to make contributions at all levels. Follow them. Learn how to create a balance between doses of kindness and overall business outcome. Help your employees enjoy what they do. Remember, you need to be a great leader, not a friend.