An employee can meet their targets, complete their daily tasks and still face difficulties their manager knows nothing about. So how can managers identify these situations before they become bigger problems?
This is where effective team management begins. By encouraging open conversations and giving employees opportunities to express themselves, managers can better understand their expectations, challenges and ideas.
At Nexline Group, we believe that people play an essential role in how we work together.
With this in mind, Typhaine Salivas, Human Resources Manager at Nexline, shares eight practical questions to ask employees.
These questions can help encourage dialogue, build trust and strengthen employee engagement through more attentive, people-focused management.
Team Management: Why Listening to Employees Matters
Effective team management involves more than assigning tasks, setting objectives and monitoring performance.
It also means creating opportunities for employees to share their experiences, express concerns and contribute ideas.
This approach is closely related to participative management, a leadership style that encourages employees to contribute to discussions and decisions affecting their work.
However, participative management does not mean that every decision must be made collectively. Managers remain responsible for their teams, while drawing on employees’ knowledge and experience.
The starting point is simple: listening.
After all, employees working directly with customers, managing daily operations or coordinating projects often have valuable insights into what works and what could be improved.
In transport and logistics, this practical knowledge is particularly important.
Teams must coordinate shipments, communicate with different stakeholders and respond to unexpected situations. Their experience can therefore help identify operational difficulties and opportunities for improvement.
Nevertheless, inviting employees to speak is only the first step.
Managers must also create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing their opinions, asking questions and suggesting changes.
That is why effective team management depends on trust, communication and the willingness to listen.
8 Questions from Typhaine to Better Understand Your Team
How can managers encourage meaningful conversations without turning every discussion into a formal performance review?
According to Typhaine, asking a few well-chosen questions can help open the dialogue.
Here are eight practical questions to introduce into everyday conversations with employees.
1. What Are You Most Proud of Achieving in Recent Months?
This question encourages employees to reflect on their work and recognise their achievements.
It also helps managers discover contributions that may not always be visible through performance indicators.
Acknowledging these accomplishments can help employees feel recognised and valued.
2. How Are You Currently Feeling About Your Work?
Beyond targets and responsibilities, understanding how employees feel about their work is essential.
This question creates an opportunity to discuss workload, working conditions or difficulties they may be experiencing.
The important thing is to listen without judgement and allow people to express themselves openly.
3. What Motivates You Most in Your Daily Work?
Not everyone is motivated by the same things.
Some employees appreciate autonomy. Others enjoy customer interactions, solving problems or learning new skills.
Understanding these differences helps managers provide more relevant support and encourage employee engagement.
4. What Makes Your Daily Work More Difficult?
An unsuitable tool, missing information or an inefficient procedure can create unnecessary obstacles.
By asking this question, managers can identify difficulties that might otherwise go unnoticed.
It also encourages employees to contribute ideas for improving their working environment.
5. Do You Feel Comfortable Sharing Your Ideas?
Open communication depends on trust.
Employees who hesitate to make suggestions or raise concerns may keep valuable information to themselves.
This question helps managers understand whether team members feel comfortable contributing their opinions and expressing different viewpoints.
It is also an important consideration for participative management.
6. What Skills Would You Like to Develop?
Good team management goes beyond supporting employees in their current responsibilities.
It also involves understanding their professional ambitions and development needs.
This question can open discussions about training, new responsibilities or opportunities to acquire additional skills.
7. What Do You Need to Work More Effectively?
Employees often have a clear understanding of the practical challenges they face.
They may need better tools, easier access to information, additional support or improved coordination with other teams.
By identifying these needs, managers can explore practical ways to improve daily operations.
8. What Could We Improve in the Way We Work Together?
This final question encourages managers to reflect on their own practices.
Rather than focusing exclusively on employee performance, it creates an opportunity for two-way feedback.
It also introduces an important principle of participative management: working together to identify improvements and strengthen collaboration.
Employee Engagement: Turning Feedback into Action
Asking the right questions is a good starting point. However, effective team management also depends on what happens after the conversation.
When employees share a concern or suggest an improvement, they want to know their feedback has been taken seriously.
This is why regular communication and follow-up are essential.
Consider an example from the logistics industry.
An employee explains that they regularly lose time searching for information needed to monitor shipments.
The manager can investigate the problem, consult other team members and explore possible improvements to the process.
If a solution is introduced, the next step is to explain the changes and check whether they address the original difficulty.
This example illustrates how employee feedback can contribute to better operational practices.
It also shows the connection between attentive team management and a participative approach.
The first encourages regular communication and support. The second invites employees to contribute to discussions and improvements.
To make these conversations useful, managers should follow a few basic principles.
First, make time for regular exchanges, even during busy periods.
Next, listen carefully without immediately trying to provide an answer to every concern.
Finally, follow up on the discussion and explain the decisions made, including when a suggestion cannot be implemented.
After all, employee engagement depends not only on being heard but also on how feedback is handled.
At Nexline, Building a Workplace Culture Based on Trust
In international transport, service quality depends on efficient coordination and strong working relationships.
Every day, employees exchange information, make decisions and collaborate with different stakeholders.
Communication is therefore an essential part of our industry.
At Nexline, we aim to preserve close working relationships as our company continues to grow.
Our people-focused team encourages direct communication and helps us maintain a practical understanding of daily operations.
The questions shared by Typhaine reflect our commitment to recognising the importance of people within our organisation.
They also remind us that management is not simply about setting objectives or reviewing results.
It involves understanding what motivates employees, identifying their needs and giving them opportunities to contribute their ideas.
This attention to people and working relationships also connects with the social dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Indeed, CSR is not limited to environmental initiatives. It also concerns working conditions, professional development and the relationships employees build within an organisation.
Typhaine’s eight questions provide simple tools for encouraging these conversations.
They do not replace a structured HR strategy. However, they can help managers develop more attentive and collaborative practices in their everyday work.
At Nexline, we believe that strong professional relationships contribute to a stronger organisation.
Thank you to Typhaine for sharing these questions and for her commitment to supporting our teams.
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