Legal Ease Are You in Tune with Your Employees? By Richard D. Alaniz, Alaniz Law & Associates A


recent Gallop poll found that only 34% of employees are engaged in their jobs. 53% of employees are not engaged, doing the bare minimum to simply remain employed. And 13% are actively disengaged. Those employees would rather be almost anywhere else than at work. While there are likely many reasons for this lack of employee engagement, and they no doubt vary among employees, one of the most common is a feeling that their employer cares little to nothing about what they think or what is important to them. The focus always seems to be on production and


rarely on the people that are


producing. In some workplaces even a sincere “good morning” is lacking, much less a genuine effort to solicit the employees’ concerns. The purpose of this article is to suggest some proven methods that employers have successfully utilized over the years to obtain employee feedback on issues of concern to them. Such feedback is critical if the company has any hope of truly being in tune with its workforce.


Daily Conversations


Managers and supervisors, as part of a respectful relationship with the employees they supervise, are in a position to obtain direct feedback on a one-on-one basis in their daily interactions. However, employees must feel comfortable that they can speak honestly and directly without fear of repercussions. Letting them know that candid feedback is welcomed may help open the dialogue. Assurance of non-retaliation by anyone, including other employees, for what they share is sometimes needed. And it is important to remember that such conversations are not the time to defend or argue. It is a time to listen respectfully and try to understand the employee’s perspective on whatever issue they choose to discuss.


Exit Interviews Many successful companies continue to


22 ❘ June 2019 ®


conduct the time-tested “exit interview” to try to obtain information on why employees have chosen to move on. Most employees that are willing to take the time to be interviewed will generally be candid about their reason for leaving. In today’s hyper-competitive job market, employees often leave for only minor improvements in pay and/or benefits. There has been some criticism of interviews because they


exit provide


little “real time” input that might have triggered policy changes that convinced a particular employee to remain. Yet they do have value, especially if regularly reviewed to identify patterns in the reasons for employee departures. Sometimes those


patterns dictate the


need for an immediate change in employment policies or personnel. In general, they provide a “big picture” perceptive on employment conditions in your workplace.


Stay Interviews More recently, forward-looking employ- ers have begun to conduct “stay inter- views”. As the name implies, they are intended to secure information about what the company is doing right. Who is selected for a stay interview is not crit- ical as long as a broad spectrum of the workforce is interviewed. Most compa- nies take a sampling of relatively recent hires as well as long-tenured employees. The information obtained facilitates con- firmation of what is working and what is not. They should therefore be conducted on an on-going basis to be most effective.


Open Door Policy The most commonly used program for obtaining information on what is of concern to specific employees is the old problem-solving standby, the “open door policy”. Most employers have such a policy in place whether it is explicitly stated or not. While employees are free to speak with any member of management or supervision they choose,


most employers suggest that employees start with their immediate supervisor and escalate the issue through the management ranks until the matter is fully addressed. Some companies even permit access to the company president or CEO. However, the “open door policy” approach has at times been criticized as one in which management more often only pays lip service to it and in reality, permits managers to hide behind the open door. To be most effective it has to be publicized to employees to the fullest extent possible. More importantly, it has to be seen as a true and consistent means of having workplace concerns addressed by management. Employees need to see it in action.


Suggestion Box


A suggestion box as a means of soliciting employee concerns, as trite as it may seem, has the advantage of permitting employees to raise concerns or problem in complete anonymity. They have been in use in workplaces throughout the country for generations. Some, and perhaps most employees, prefer to remain anonymous when


complaining. Like open door


policies, suggestion boxes are only used when employees are aware that they exist and that management welcomes and responds to their use. Routinely reporting on issues that were raised through the use of the suggestion box helps call attention to their effectiveness.


Senior Management Participation It goes without saying that senior plant management, especially Human Resource professionals, should manage by walking around. Being visible on the production floor on a regular basis helps send the message that management invites employee input and make themselves available to the employees to listen. It


is much more


likely that an employee will take the opportunity to raise a concern where they are more comfortable talking, the


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