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How Do You Get Honest Feedback From Employees?
A university study found that 85% of U.S. workers describe themselves as being afraid to share their ideas with their supervisors. “The most frequently mentioned reason for remaining silent was the fear of being viewed or labeled negatively, and as a consequence, damaging valued relationships,” the study from New York University stated.
David Hassell, CEO of employee engagement software 15Five, believes scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports as well as recurring in-depth performance reviews has to be a company goal.
“Find quick and painless ways to check in with employees on a regular basis and ask questions that spark valuable conversation,” Hassell told Business News Daily. “Like any habit, implementing an employee feedback system may take a bit of time to get used to. But the payoff is big — empowered employees, increased productivity and extraordinary innovation.”
In a Harvard Business Review article, Jeff Wetzler, co-founder of Transcend Education, said that typical measures to overcome the reluctance by employees to share information, including seeing things from another person’s perspective and reading their body language, aren’t sufficient.
“Research shows that if you want to learn what those around you really think, feel, and know, there’s only one reliable strategy: asking them,” said Wetzler. “Unfortunately, few leaders are taught how to do this well.”
Wetzler’s advice for supervisors includes actively probing issues that may be holding back their employees’ efforts, creating a “psychologically safe” environment for sharing potential criticism of the company, listening for the “emotion” behind their employee’s issues, and following up. He said, “Once you reflect, don’t just keep your ah-ha’s to yourself. Reconnect with the person who shared with you to let them know what you took away.”
Claire Schmidt, CEO at AllVoices, the employee relations platform, concurred that demonstrating that an employee’s feedback is valued “might encourage them to share feedback directly next time.”
In a column in Fast Company, Schmidt also stressed the benefits of creating ways for employees to communicate anonymously with HR or company leaders. An AllVoices survey found that only 47% of employees were completely honest with HR when giving feedback. Of those who weren’t fully honest, 56% indicated that they were more likely to share honestly if they were able to do so anonymously.
Schmidt wrote, “Anonymous channels can not only increase the comfort level of employees — making them more inclined to report — but staying anonymous can also help alleviate their fear of repercussions from reporting as well.”
Discussion Questions
What advice would you have around collecting honest feedback from employees? What additional challenges does a retail setting create in attaining feedback from associates?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Mark Self
President and CEO, Vector Textiles
Gene Detroyer
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
The most successful approach I have seen was the “Grass Roots” process I experienced in my 18 years at Walmart.
We have an annual survey of our teams, both in the Home Office and in stores and distribution centers. The surveys were confidential, and leaders were held accountable for the results. Survey results were discussed with the team at a session afterward, and open & safe feedback was sought. Retaliation for negative or challenging feedback would get a manager/leader fired, and bad scores would drive additional training for managers whose team was disgruntled or chronically unhappy with their work environment.
I really liked the accountability this approach provided, and the recognition that soft skills were as important in leadership and sales results & business growth.
The first step is for the employer to actually want it…which is to say they need to prepare to be disappointed, and act appropriately (if they realize things aren’t as they hoped). Of course not all feedback will be negative – at least one hopes it won’t be! – and developing metrics for separating useful comments – be they good or bad – from prattle is essential. As for anonymity, it seems like a mixed bag: yes, it will likely inspire candor, but the inability to identify who said what, and follow-up accordingly, is a major flaw.
The main way to get honest feedback is to create a culture of openness and honesty. Unfortunately, many businesses do not have this. The second best method is an anonymous survey administered by a third-party; this usually provides very direct views. Of course, gathering feedback is one thing – being willing to act on it and learn from it is quite another!
Honest feedback and communication is a function of trust. Trust that it will be received in the spirit given. Trust that the communication is risk free. Trust that the supervisor has been honest and open and receptive over time. Trust that the communication has some chance of being acted upon in a positive way.
Good managers are gathering feedback every day, and will not be totally surprised by anything that comes out of annual anonymous reviews. Surprises are a problem of a whole different nature. MBWA. Management By Walking Around.
Back in the day, the cutting-edge solution was the Suggestion Box.
More seriously, I have been involved in Total Quality Control programs (TQC) programs, which worked wonders in quality, cost, and performance. Though initially designed for manufacturing, TQC works equally well in all environments.
TQC and the other suggestions by my colleagues are all effective. The objective is to provide a safe situation for all employees to be involved in making the company better.
If associates see that action is taken on the basis of their feedback, then you have a “credibility loop” that encourages this behavior, and, if followed, will continue to get better. This is more culture than how to generate feedback from associates.
Just as customer feedback is a gift, so is employee feedback. TINYpulse Pulse is an employee feedback tool I recommend to my clients. (https://www.tinypulse.com/) It is a quick and simple way to get feedback. The tool also helps to analyze the results. This tool can eliminate most of the fears employees have about sharing their opinions.
Three words: Listen to understand.
If leaders want to connect with their team members, it starts with authentically inviting employee feedback. Then, once an invitation is accepted, lean into the discussion and listen.
Finally, it is crucial to remember, empathy is essential …even if employees share something that you may not be ready to hear, ALL feedback is important to a company’s growth, culture, and employee retention and recruitment strategy.
Bottom line – don’t collect feedback (from employees, customers, or anyone else) unless you are prepared to act on the findings, and communicate what you will do/have done as a result of the findings. Some of the best people we’ve worked with openly review the findings with the organization, point out the good and the bad, and then take action while communicating how the action being taken is a direct result of their feedback.
You’re so right, Brian. If the feedback falls into a bottomless pit, then the willingness to share ideas and input will be forever lost.
If leadership is frequently connected to store level employees and makes them part of the culture, getting offline or anonymous feedback plays a less important role. But if a corporate office is miles, or even states away from the stores, getting feedback from employees from another mechanism is important.
Getting feedback also means leadership must not only listen, but be ready to respond and show they are taking input seriously. They don’t have to address dozens of issues so much as show they are open, they understand what the key issues are and provide answers, improvements that show progress.