Our company has grown from the original three to more than 20 employees over the past few years, and that makes it hard to have the kind of collegial relationship that I prefer to have, with each and every employee. To address that issue, I've taken to scheduling what I call "walk and talks."
These are 30-minute walks around the neighborhood that I take with each employee once or twice per year. They get us out of the office environment, and give my staff a chance to talk about whatever they might like to share with me. Sometimes these sessions just allow us time to expand on ideas that we've been sharing at work, sometimes they lead to further development of an employee's career, and sometimes they serve as a counseling session to help manage friction among employees.
I find that these very short sessions really help me connect with my employees, in ways that are simply not possible at other types of meetings. They can also help me channel employee frustration into actionable change or help an employee find a path to improve their technical skills or knowledge base.
These short sessions also seem to reduce the distance between CEO and staff. While we're at it, we get a bit of exercise too. More important, I think taking the time to listen to employees in one-on-one sessions will keep the employees and the work culture at my company a tiny bit healthier for everyone. •