The Power Of Employee Feedback Right Now

What you do now determines the future

There are currently so many discussions about how we are in the midst of unprecedented times or in the midst of COVID-19. Yes, we are definitely experiencing a time unlike any before. One of the things we have learned through this pandemic is that it’s always important to listen to employees. An effective way to do this is to keep your finger on the pulse of employees frequently - not just in the midst of crisis or just as part of an annual survey. 

As a customer and employee experience company, we’ve been conducting employee pulses for years. But we felt an even greater need to conduct a quick employee pulse - right now - in the midst of what will surely be a make-or-break moment for many organizations. Some of what we learned about how our 1,300 plus employees were feeling over the past few weeks was expected, but much of what we discovered surprised us. 

First things first. It was important to create the right message to share with employees about why we were reaching out and  what we hoped to learn from them. The more you help employees understand  your motivation, the more inclined they are to participate. And don’t think for a moment that employees can’t smell inauthenticity from a mile away, so be genuine. 

The first thing we asked is if they were OK. Did they need anything to support them? Did they need mental health support based on what they were reading and seeing in the news? Do they feel connected and safe?

“It’s important to ask how they are feeling and what they need - things not tied to money.”

What we expected is that most employees are feeling a sense of uncertainty, and that more frequent communication from leadership would ease their minds and give them a little relief. This is a common theme we are seeing with our customers right now. Even if the plan isn’t fully baked, knowing there is a plan would help them sleep better at night. The world around them is out of control and while we cannot control what is happening, we can control how we respond. They wanted to understand how we were responding. 

What was a little more surprising was how many of our employees were not set up to make an immediate transition to working remotely from home - that the simple things such as a computer monitor and keyboard weren’t things they had lying around waiting to be dusted off. Medallians (as we call them) shared feedback via a video showing their new workstations. For those with home offices, it was an easy switch from being in the traditional work office. Some created new workstations in their garages and some took over their family dining room table fighting for space against the family puzzles and coloring books that would keep the kids busy. It was this rich, human feedback found in videos that had a strong impact on our leaders. It was real. It was emotional. It was tangible. 

“It’s the little things you may not think of first that come up during an employee pulse.” 

There is a gold mine of information employees want to share with their employers on a daily basis, from praises that the kitchen is full of snacks and goodies each day to dissatisfaction with the onboarding process or the need for better benefits. Giving employees a platform and a megaphone to submit their feedback is like handing an HR leader golden nuggets of invaluable information into the employee experience.  

Now is the perfect time for a micro pulse in light of our current environment. In our case, we wanted to focus on understanding how the crisis is impacting the work and lives of our employees and their families and what actions we could take to support them. 

“It’s one thing to listen, but not taking action on what you learn is worse than not listening at all and you don’t get a second chance with this audience.” 

In addition to learning about the challenges of shifting to a remote work environment, we learned that some of our employees with children were struggling to find childcare and needed more flexible working hours to accommodate their new norm - having to look after their children throughout the day.

Armed with this information, we knew we needed to take action. It’s what we are passionate about as leaders in this field. What good is feedback if you don’t take action on it? It’s like listening to your spouse air a grievance and not responding. Impactful action must follow understanding if you are to maintain the trust of your employees. After all, they spend most of their days in the service of your organization. 

So we immediately put together a game plan to get employees the tools they needed to continue their work. Monitors and keyboards were delivered to those in need. We had employees who needed greater flexibility to work with their managers to explore options. We quickly built out Slack communities internally to engage, educate and keep employees abreast of our plans. We enhanced our communications by implementing  ad-hoc video conferencing talks with executives to keep the bi-lateral lines of communication open with employees around the globe. 

I recently spoke with one of our customers and was told that right now they are looking for the most positive feedback they can find to boost morale and make employees feel as if the company they work for cares about their wellbeing. What you do now will stay in the minds of your people for months and years to come. My feeling is that once this is over, we will see many leave the jobs where the employer didn’t ask “are you OK”. Those that did ask will retain their top talent for years to come. 

The crisis has shown us so many new ways to create more meaningful connections with our employees globally and in real-time. The power of personal connection was brought to life for our company over the past few weeks. We learned more about our employees' families. We now know their children and pets. Amazing ideas have emerged. It’s been a creative output and silver lining during a challenging time. 

“The power of feedback is real and you can see how it affects businesses and employees everyday.”