Here is a brief excerpt from an article by Liz Kelly for The Muse. To read the complete article, check out others, and sign up for email alerts, please click here.

Photo of happy people courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Ah, love—that warm, fuzzy feeling you have when you’ve found someone you belong with. Wouldn’t it be great if your employees felt like this about working for you?

Before I go any further, let me be clear: I’m not advocating anything creepy or inappropriate that would raise alarms within HR. This isn’t about romantic love—it’s about helping your employees feel inspired and connected to what they do. If you’re a manager, then for better or worse, a lot of this rests on your shoulders. In other words, if you want employees who charge through the door every day ready to give you their best, you have some work do.

Here [is the first of] a few tips to help you build long-term and meaningful relationships with your team.

Start Off on the Right Foot

Whether it’s a date, meeting a significant other’s parents, or a job interview, we all know the importance of first impressions. In the context of work, we often think of this in terms of the hiring process and our experiences as a prospective employee, but as a manager, it’s your job to think about the employee experience you’re creating, too. Those first impressions will either attract or turn off top talent, and can also have an effect on long-term engagement.

For example, research conducted by my company, Brilliant Ink, found that up to a quarter of prospective employees felt misled by the initial interview process, and thus were less likely to be engaged with their work down the road. What’s more, nearly half of all new employees describe their first day on the job as disorganized, dull, or confusing. Did this have an impact on their overall satisfaction and engagement? You bet.

To avoid starting off on the wrong foot, put some thought and preparation into the hiring experience and those first days on the job. And don’t forget that it takes more than simply welcoming new employees. You also want to clearly communicate the responsibilities of the job and make yourself available for questions and coaching.

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Are you ready to crank up the affection at work? By investing in productive relationships with your employees now, you can create long-lasting ties that lead to better performance and happy employees.

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Here’s a direct link to the complete article.

Liz Kelly is the CEO and founder of Brilliant Ink, an employee communications and engagement consultancy with offices in Oakland and New York. She recently co-authored the award-winning Employee Experience Survey, a study of more than 300 Fortune 1,000 employees that correlates key moments of the employee experience to overall levels of employee engagement.