Employee Relationship Management

Employees are your first customers. Managing your team includes employee relationship management, and while it might seem stiff and formal, here’s why you should use an ERM system (even if it’s just a folder with a spreadsheet on each employee).

HR is most frequently the subject or arbiter of ERM systems, and this post isn’t about HR functions. This is directly concerning ways to be a better manager, mentor, team leader, and coworker using already available information and data.

Below is my rough outline of how I have previously managed this, using a number of different tools depending on the organization and team size. This can absolutely be done well in Google Drive, AirTable, or for a small team or short project even pencil and paper.

How well do you know your team?

On a fairly frequent basis, you should take a moment to review every employee you work with the same way you would a customer account. I sometimes feel like a mad scientist keeping files like this on my direct hire employees, but the intent and the outcome are that I have deeper and more informed relationships with my team. I value their time, their unique needs and experiences, and I do so by keeping organized and informed.

(Maybe don’t collect work pattern data on coworkers who are *not* directly reporting to you, that’s inappropriate and not going to win you friends)

**Manage personal information with privacy considerations and integrity in what you collect and apply in the workplace!!!*

  • Check-In: What does the employee say about their current experience in the workplace?
  • Data Analysis: What do the employee’s KPI’s and metrics, tool usage data, attitude and performance data in the workplace tell us about the employee?
    • Tool usage data would include call logs (with timestamps and duration), Salesforce Activity Log, Google Docs Revision History, their whole calendar view.
    • The point of this exercise is pattern recognition, NOT micromanaging. Go into this with positive intent and integrity concerning your employee’s agency.
  • Trust, but Verify: Take what your employee has told you, and look for alignment markers in the data. Does what they say of their experience reflect in their work?
  • Publicity: Look at publicly available professional social media for the employee. Are they active and engaged? Have they shared anything relevant, about themselves or the industry?
    • This is a hotly debated topic. In my opinion, under no circumstances should you be surfing private Facebook profiles or personal social media that has not been explicitly shared by the employee. Accidentally stumbling upon them while trying to search for public information means you should act with integrity and close the window. While it would be nice to live in a world where we can bring our whole, unfiltered selves into work – what they share of their personal life is up to the employee.
    • Appropriate ‘publicity’ to check into would include LinkedIn, industry sites with professional engagement, and published writings/articles.
  • General Stats Page Update: Make sure your basic ‘Employee Profile’ is up to date. Here is a non-exhaustive, but pretty solid list of essential information to include.
    • Professional Background, Education and qualifications. Links to public professional profiles (LinkedIn, Portfolio, published work, etc. )
    • Current photos (preferably ones they like and approve of) from the workplace; you never know when you need to show off someone’s work in a presentation!
    • Preferred communication style, accessibility needs
    • Preferred working style (solo vs. collaborative), Learning style (hands-on, video, text)
    • Relationships with other team members
    • Previous work experience
    • Specialized skills and certifications
    • Work-life balance needs, remote or hybrid work contract details
    • Personal goals and aspirations
    • Past performance reviews
    • Achievements and accolades
    • Career goals within the organization
    • Training and development needs
    • Mentorship preferences
    • Conflict resolution history
  • DO NOT COLLECT: Do not collect anything extremely sensitive. SS#, passwords, private social media should never be included. These are not ‘Black books’ or intended to be evidence agains the employee. Use your powers for good! Remember, even private email addresses or mailing address needs to be properly secured. Make sure whatever tool you use, you verify your privacy settings are set to ONLY you.

Information Overload: What Now?

Now that you have collected your data, play with it under a few different lenses. Consider what rhythms and patterns show up in their achievements, time focuses, even work hours. Does their work pattern align with what they profess are their preferences? Are their patterns to best and worst productivity? How can you take this data, and the conclusions you come to with the employee, to ELEVATE their work and team experience?

With so much info comes great responsibility. Always use your data analysis and access responsibly. Use it for the good of the employee, the team, and the company.