Interviewed by Paul R. Harvey
A recent survey of HR professionals
revealed that at two of every five
companies, employees believe their top managers spend too much time talking and not enough time asking questions
and listening.
Employees who feel heard feel engaged.
Those who don’t settle into a culture of
indifference where creative ideas and
critical thinking evaporate.
“Most executives understand that
employee feedback is good, but in the
rush of the day and because they need
quick decisions, they often choose to
make their decisions with limited input,”
says Charlotte Baker, CEO, Digital
Hands. “Snap, snap, decide and execute.”
Smart Business asked Baker why seeking a voice is not giving a vote and why
speed and consistency may be the best
method to gather feedback.
What are some ways that employee input
can benefit a company?
Employees are closest to customers,
processes, problems, opportunities and
the elements that make change successful. Soliciting their input means you have
current data, an intuitive pulse and many
more brains thinking about the problem
you are trying to solve. Soliciting their
feedback is motivating for employees
and productive for your organization.
Ongoing discussions and feedback keep
everyone rowing in the right direction.
Your job as the executive is to gather the
input, spot check intuitive with quantitative data, solicit great ideas that are in
line with strategy and, in the end, make a
decision and lead the way. By hiring
smart people and trusting their insights
and analysis, you can grow your company faster than you could trying to think
up great ideas in a vacuum or with your
power of one mind.
Are there any risks to soliciting employee
input?
There is a risk to not soliciting employee input. In the executive seat, you can
be removed from the details and miss the
mark by overlooking what everyone else
sees and lives every day. Not only can
you make some really dumb decisions by
not soliciting input, you also can demotivate and alienate your employees.
If executives realize the value of employee
feedback, why doesn’t everyone jump on
the opportunity?
The three main reasons for not jumping on the opportunity to get the feedback are noise, obligation and time.
Feedback from everyone creates great
ideas. Some unusual ones, too, but you
just never know when a crazy idea will
lead you to a stellar one. And the
patience for sifting through the offbeat
ones can be nonexistent.
Some executives hesitate to solicit
input because they believe there is an
obligation to act on it. There is not an
obligation. A business isn’t a democracy.
By making it clear that you are seeking
voices, and that it isn’t the same as giving
a vote, you can avoid potential disappointments. The truth is, if you make it
part of your culture, it will become an
anticipated and pleasant method for
decision-making within the organization.
What are the solutions for getting feedback
from employees?
My favorite way to track and solicit
feedback is the fast way, with constant
daily conversation and finger on the
pulse conversations. Doing this consistently over time means it becomes institutionalized and expected. Once the
institutional norms are set, there is no
need to give orientations to a process,
backgrounders, written responses, etc.
The solution to this is to pick your feedback captains who, in turn, have their
own go-to sources. This works in any
size organization. Develop these captains
as trusted confidantes with whom you
interface daily. When employee ideas are
truly exceptional and are put into practice, celebrate and give credit. Proper
recognition of thoughts and ideas is
important in order to keep the river of
ideas flowing, because you do not want
to stifle your employees by forgetting to
acknowledge their contributions. By
adopting a daily conversational way of
bouncing ideas and soliciting feedback,
you can accomplish the goal without
ever having to formalize a time-consuming institutional system, and your team
will feel as if it is an integral part of the
process without needing constant reinforcement for doing so.
How can leaders communicate with
employees about why certain decisions are
made?
Honestly. Tell them what factors were
weighed and share with them why you
chose your decision. Recognize the
strength you have as an organization due
to their willingness to share ideas and try
again and again to help make the company the best it can be. Finally, let them
know your final decision, your confidence in their cooperation and the
expected results.
CHARLOTTE BAKER is the CEO of Digital Hands in Tampa. Reach her at (813) 222-3022 or [email protected]. Digital Hands
is Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance’s 2008 Business Excellence Award Recipient in the Emerging Business Category.
CEO
Digital Hands, Tampa
