People around the world want to share information they know that someone else does not even if it might not prove completely true.

There are extremely popular gossip magazines and newspapers, printed on nothing more than speculation or a shred of fact, yet sell millions across the globe. Gossip also takes part in the work place. But in a closed environment, it often has extremely negative consequences. It causes fighting between employees and other problems that might drag down productivity.

All of this is something you need to handle before it boils over into something rather serious.

It is always possible to take a negative and spin it into a positive though. And with the right strategic action plan, you can turn office gossip into something beneficial. You just need to know how to go about doing this.

You need to provide an outlet for employees.

If they feel like their suggestions or questions are never met, they are going to feel:

– Neglected

– Less productive

– Less confident

The 360 degree feedback surveys can remain anonymous, yet might prove extremely helpful.

You need to spend time with each employee individually. You can schedule this with a review session of their work annually, quarterly or for any other amount of time. During this time you need to open up the floor and allow your employees to talk to you.

While you always should have an open door, you should also schedule a time for each employee. Some people are just not going to come forward on their own.

People generally gossip about other individuals they simply do not know much about. The better they get to know people, the less likely they are going to spin gossip, especially negative gossip. By scheduling group activities, you can help cut down gossip while you create your strategic action plan.

When you hear gossip, you need to squash it quickly. Gather the people spreading the rumors and talk to them about it or if it is a large issue, bring everyone into the conference room. Together, you can work through the situation and come up with a plan to correct what is going on and prevent it from going any further. If you do not move quickly, gossip can spin out of control and cause massive problems.

If you have any questions about how our software can help you manage your employees, please contact us any time.