How to Build Strong Workplace Relationships

I'm Anira and I am a Senior Quality Assurance Expert and I've been with the Acquisition Group for over seven years now. As a Senior Quality Assurance Expert, I mainly focus on educating our team members on quality. We run a lot of trainings to make sure that quality is the most important when it comes to all of the areas that we focus on. We focus on client management, escalation management, building relationships and the list just goes on. I joined the Acquisition Group seven years ago and just before that I was in a little island called Sri Lanka and I was actually in the hospitality industry. When I came to Canada, this is my first job. My interview story was quite interesting. I didn't know how to get about in Calgary so I came in for my interview and then I met with our CEO Mr. Ray and then I got to meet my manager and a ton of our senior leadership was present at that time as well. I felt super excited meeting the senior leadership team and I was really fortunate to walk into that room and it's been just a blessed experience since then. I'm going to educate you all on building work relationships and how this will benefit you is by being able to apply it to your day-to-day activities when it comes to dealing with your team members or colleagues or even the client. The first segment is about building relationships. When you are put in a position where you have to build a relationship, a new relationship with a client, a team member or a colleague that is new to you, there are four key elements that I really focus on and number one being aligning on my goals. This is really really important because that really helps us to work as a team together and also we have to focus on what does success look like to that team member or the client. We want to really focus on how that is important to them and how this could be measured. Why it's important to align on goals and expectations is to really be able to come into mutual agreement on what success looks like. This really helps us to measure our progress and where we're at and what we can do to make any of our challenges better. How I really set goals depends on the person I am working with because some goals are different from person to person and when we are setting goals we really focus on which area that needs some extra attention. So what we would do is we would make sure that this is something that we can measure on a timely manner and also how this would yield in better success. Point number two is building trust through consistency. I really focus on that long-term trust rather than a short-term victory. How I really focus on this element is by being proactive in my communication. I honor my deadlines so that the person on the other side is able to know that I am reliable and that I am trustworthy. I also focus quite heavily on being transparent. Even if the news is not so good news, I will make sure to give that person a call and let them know that we are still working on it and we will get back to them at a certain given time. Trust is really the key element in any relationship that we are building in our lives. So be it work, personal, friendship, it doesn't matter. Trust really is the setting stone when it comes to strengthening and building any of those relationships. Point number three is communicate with openness and respect. We really have to be able to listen to what the other party has to bring to the table and we need to listen without judgment. We need to make sure that they don't feel judged and they feel safe to share any of their concerns with us. Listening without interrupting and making the person that we are building that relationship feel heard is the foundation of trust. We need to make sure that our messaging is very clear. We have to avoid using vague or any ambiguous terms just to make sure that our message gets through to the other person very clearly and there's no areas of confusion. The purpose of having super clear communication is to make sure the other person feels respected and heard. Point number four is mutual respect and appreciation. People bring different strengths, styles, and communication patterns. It's really important that we meet them at a midway point so that we can work hand in hand together. It's also very important that we acknowledge efforts and contributions. So recognitions go a really long way. Even giving a quick recognition as, hey you did this really really well. Everyone would want to amplify on that positive feedback that they've received and they would just want to continue to do that more and more. And all of the points that we discussed is really really key when it comes to building a really strong relationship. Now we're going to talk about strengthening existing work relationships. This is key in having a long-standing relationship maybe with a colleague, a team member, or even the client. Sometimes we tend to get a little bit comfortable and we wouldn't really invest as much as we did in the beginning. It's really important that we focus on strengthening that relationship because that is key to a successful relationship. Point number one is to provide constructive feedback respectfully. It's very important that we share any of our concerns with a team member. If we do have any to be shared to make sure that they understand where they could do better or to change some of their behaviors. The goal here is to focus on impact for a sales agent or a team member that could take this into consideration and improve. And it's very important that we use I statements and have a neutral tone when we are delivering feedback and also always be open to receiving feedback. My tip number two is to show empathy and curiosity. We operate with empathy to understand any challenges, to understand their motivation, and we ask questions. We are very curious as to why a certain thing happened because we want to get to the root cause of it and fix it right from there. It's also important that we show some appreciation if a person is showing us improvement or improvement in their behavior because that goes a very long way. Small acknowledgments also help to build connection and promote positive momentum. My tip number three is We come together and we brainstorm, we ask questions, we delegate tasks, we say who does what, and it really helps us know where we stand in that relationship and how we can even exemplify in the tasks that have been handed over to us. We can also invite team members, team managers, or agents into that decision-making process when we are coming into a final decision or coming up with some kind of action plan. It's so important to have multiple people involved in that decision-making process because we are all in it together and this is really important when we are trying to strengthen that relationship. Tip number four is clarify rules and boundaries. This is important because it prevents any rule ambiguity, frustration, or misinterpretation of that rule that you're being tasked with and having healthy boundaries when it comes to your work relationships is very important because this reduces any burnout, confusion, or frustration which is also a sign of respect for both parties involved. Tip number five is invest in informal connections. A quick short check-in to find out how the other party is doing could go a long way. This helps them understand that you are willing to help them and willing to understand how their day is going and that you're genuinely curious and that you genuinely care about them. This also helps increase rapport and which builds trust and in turn gives us a healthy team. Strengthening existing relationships is so important because this is how I measure that longevity of the relationship that I've worked so hard to build on. Last thing I want to share with you today is how to rebuild a relationship after conflict. I would focus on the problem and not the person and I would then focus on repairing that problem and not be blaming anybody. Point number one is to address the situation promptly but thoughtfully. We do not want to let this problem go on for quite a while but we also want to make sure that we are in a grounded and cool headspace before we engage with the other party. I would go for a little walk or do something that grounds me before I engage in that conversation. It's important because we won't be sharing anything that we really don't want to. We wouldn't be working from a heightened sense of emotions and we want to make sure that this is going to be beneficial for both parties involved. Point number two is take ownership for your part. What I do here is to try to understand before I try to be understood. When we're sincere in taking accountability, this really helps the other party understand that we are not coming in from a defensive standpoint and this helps open a much better dialogue with that person and this really helps us to understand how the other person felt during that conflict. It's important because we want to make sure that the other person feels respected and if we do genuinely care about that relationship that we have built for such a long time or a short time is something that is going to be successful in the future. Point number three is to focus on the future. It's important when you have gotten through the previous hurdle to not rehash the past. It's very important that we do focus to try to rebuild that relationship to make sure that we are getting to the goals that we have set initially. I then also shift the conversation to solutions and how to fix the problem and to make sure that this would not be something that we will have to endure again. Even when disagreements persist, we are committed to having respectful conversations and rebuilding trust because that is going to help us get to our main goal of shared success. It's very important to rebuild any relationships that may have had a conflict because you've invested quite a bit of time and energy into those relationships. Conflict is not a bad thing but dealing and maneuvering through that with great respect is key. People often think that conflicts could actually be a bad thing. This can actually sometimes be beneficial for a longer term healthy work relationship because you get to know the person, you get to work through that problem together in union and also you're able to make sure that this is not something that's going to occur again. So in summary, it's important to invest in rebuilding a relationship if there has been conflict because this could eventually turn into a very healthy relationship. These skills and tools have helped me build, strengthen and rebuild relationships here at The Acquisition Group. I have built some amazing relationships here at The Acquisition Group and I have friends like family and we all work together in such great collaboration and it's so wonderful to get to work together. The people at The Acquisition Group is really what brings the culture together and that is something that's really near and dear to me. For someone who doesn't really have a lot of family in Canada, I really look forward to working with my team and my other external team members as well on a daily basis. I have changed professionally and personally. I have gained immense knowledge on relationship management, escalation management and the support that I have received has been so amazing from my team member, from my manager to all the other teams that I work with. I would absolutely recommend The Acquisition Group to every single person. If you are looking for growth, The Acquisition Group is the place for you. Thank you so much for watching and if you did like this video, please don't forget to like, share, comment and subscribe!