Listen Carefully...
How are your listening skills?
Are you listening and hearing from your employees? Building a feedback culture is critical for organizations, not only over the time of organizational existence, but especially during times of constant turmoil and change.
What we have found over the years is that employees tend to share their honest feedback with everyone except their supervisors and employers. They share their feedback with family members and co-workers. This type of sharing often turns into more of a “venting” session versus an outlet for improvement leading to positive outcomes. In fact, the “venting” can turn extremely negative and dramatized if left unattended.
Again, looking at a feedback culture, employees need a constructive voice. So how do we give employees their voice? Let us explore together different ways to listen and gather feedback:
1. Employee Engagement Surveys
A well-crafted and customized survey that allows both quantitative (numerical ratings) and qualitative (their own descriptive words and examples) data can provide some unbelievable feedback results. Especially, when the survey is conducted in an anonymous nature. A successful survey includes a dedicated focus and skilled collection of the information, a motivating campaign for high participation, good analyzation, and collaboration with leadership in prioritizing opportunities for improvements. What the organization does with the results and how it is communicated to all employees is equally as important. We as humans want to know that our voices are heard and that improvements are put into action. Focus groups are indeed another powerful method for feedback-whether employees are thoughtfully chosen or provided by volunteering.
2. Focus Groups
Focus groups are groups of employees focusing and placing their collective brain power on a specific challenge. A well facilitated focus group or series of focus groups can provide so many benefits.
3. Listening Tours
These tours are designed to meet with the key stakeholders to ask questions, hear concerns and identify challenges and opportunities. The tour allows for the opportunity to gain insightful perspectives from the employees and key stakeholders.
There are many reasons these methods increase engagement including:
participants feel involved and appreciative of their employer for caring enough to listen to their feedback and idea generation. This method can improve engagement immediately.
focus group participants act as advocates for the initiative or change brought forward. They learn that it is possible to share feedback and be an accountable participant to achieve positive results together.
an opportunity for employees to share their thoughts and ideas. Employees are the best people to tackle a challenge and implement a solution!
Combining an employee engagement survey or listening tour followed by employee focus groups are a worthwhile methodology to yield even greater long-term sustainable results.
Here at The Quality Coach® we have experienced coaches who work with clients on employee engagement surveys, listening tours as well as employee focus groups. We pride ourselves in providing confidential, third-party unbiased facilitation so that employees feel especially safe, and results are extraordinarily successful.
And yes, it is about listening, but it is also about full acknowledgement that employees have been heard. Acknowledging feedback is critical and we help facilitate communication around this component for successful and continuous outcomes.
We work with organizations of all sizes so contact us today to chat about the possibility or get a quote: ellen@thequalitycoach.com.
Happy Listening!
Ellen Woodruff