There I was, sitting across the desk from the head of HR, when she asked me that all important question,” So Sheryl, is there anything you’d like us to know.”
It was my exit interview and over the next 30 minutes, I UNLOADED on this poor woman. I wasn’t rude or disrespectful, after all, she wasn’t the source of the dysfunction. But after three years of working for the company, she was the first person who ever:
1) asked, and
2) heard me
Now, take a moment and think about your organization. How many employees are biting their tongues, holding onto feedback that could prevent good employees from quitting, and potentially make your business better?
What if every day could be an exit interview in terms of honesty, constructive criticism, and sharing ideas?
It’s time to learn what to do when employees won’t speak up.
Why Employees Don’t Speak Up
There are three main reasons why your employees may not come to you with challenges, ideas, and suggestions. They:
- Don’t care. Let’s be honest, not every employee is a good employee. Some of them are just there for the paycheck. They come in, do what’s expected of them during business hours (and not an iota more), and if the whole organization burns to the ground while they are off-shift… well, that’s not their problem. They’ll just find a new job and repeat the same process.
- Are scared. Even though your people actually want what’s best for the organization, they may still not speak up. Why? Fear. Either through words or actions, you have somehow communicated to your team members that if they speak out or stand up for something they believe in, they will be reprimanded, lose out on promotions, or possibly even be fired. Now, if you’re thinking right now, “Sheryl, I’ve never done that!” You might be right. Scar tissue is hard to break down and if they have experienced this type of behavior in the past from another job or boss, they will likely bring their fear with them wherever they go.
- Feel hopeless. Whether at this job or a previous job, your dedicated employee has learned that while their concerns may be heard or even solicited, they won’t be changing squat. They’ve spoken up, shared their opinions, bared their souls… only to be figuratively patted on the head and sent back to their desk with a patronizing, “We will definitely look into that.” If they don’t think things will actually change, there’s no reason for them to stick their necks out to mention the problem.
If you are completely innocent of these actions, good for you! And I’m sorry you have to pay for a previous boss’s sins. If you are hiding your face in embarrassment right now, consider this a learning moment and vow to do better moving forward.
How to Get Your Employees to Speak Up
If you’ve made it this far, you are a dedicated leader who wants the best for your organization AND your people.
Woot woot!
So what can you do to build trust with employees, open the flow of communication and create a positive employee feedback culture? You’re about to have an AHA moment.
- Ask. This sounds simple because it is simple. Set up some time with your employees (ideally one-on-one so they are comfortable) to chat and ask them questions. To make the most out of this time, send them the questions ahead of time so they can prepare and don’t feel put on the spot. You’ll also want to assure them that they are safe and there will be no negative fallout from what they share with you.
Ask them questions like:
- What could we be doing better?
- How do you feel about your workload?
- Do you have any suggestions to improve our products, processes, etc.?
- Add in open-ended questions like: what have you wanted to say since you started working here?
- Hear them. It’s not enough to ask the questions. You actually have to listen to their answers and really hear what they are saying.
What you can’t do? React… negatively. At the last job I held before stepping out on my own, I worked up the guts to tell my boss something was bothering me. Could I have done it a bit more delicately? Probably. However, she unleashed a torrent of anger that left me physically shaking. Rather than hear me, she reacted out of emotion and ego, and I later found out, had to be talked down by another employee because she almost fired me on the spot. All because I worked up the courage to contradict her. You get two guesses as to whether I EVER went to her with another problem.
When your employee approaches you with feedback, just listen. Thank them for their courage and for caring enough about their job and the company to bring something to your attention. If you need to punch a wall or scream into your filing cabinet once they leave, fine. But while they are in front of you – just hear them.
- Act. Look, I’m not suggesting that everything that is brought to your attention needs to change or institute a policy. Just because your employee works up the nerve to request Bikini Fridays, doesn’t mean you need to haul in tanning beds and fake palm trees. Sometimes, acting is the mere consideration of an idea.
If they make a reasonable accommodation request, see if you can do it. If they come to you with a legitimate problem, figure out what you can do to fix it. If they’ve got a great idea, see what you can do to implement it. Your employees are the front line of your organization and they are going to identify solutions before you ever know there’s a problem.
That’s it. That’s your AHA moment: Ask, Hear, Act. It’s that easy to create loyal employees who are comfortable coming to you with problems, solutions, and constructive criticism.
Conclusion
When you create an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, you’ll find that they bring the honesty of an exit interview. Thankfully, you’ll be doing FEWER exit interviews because you will have created loyal, happy employees.
