Employee Feedback: Anonymous Questions hold CEOs accountable
By Ian Richardson, Principal Consultant, Fox & Crow
Inspired by Thursday Process with guest Emily Glass, CEO of Syncro
Employee Feedback is difficult to get
Sir Richard Branson said:
“If you take care of your employees, they will take care of clients.”
For any business at scale, this is a guiding truth, a “north star” if you will. The individuals you have brought onto your team serve those that pay you – your client base. Excellent customer experience for any organization to succeed in today’s interconnected market place.
To do so – you must have in place a solid strategy to get and measure employee feedback and satisfaction.
I’ve run many businesses over the past 20 years, and worked with hundreds more. Across all, I’ve yet to encounter a leader who states, “Oh yeah, getting feedback from our team is a snap – we never have issues with it.”
Human Beings are complex creatures, with emotions, behaviors, and responses. Some are difficult to unpack and comprehend, there is an entire industry around helping us do so.
Thank you therapists for all you do.
What if I told you that there is a way to collect feedback.
- You can do it while delivering company updates and alignment activities.
- This method also will allow your organization to help hold the CEO accountable.
- It’s low cost – the hightest expense is some of the CEO’s time.
Interested?
Anonymous Questions Hold CEOs accountable
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to talk to leaders. These Entrepreneurs and executives hail from all sorts of organizations.
I hosted Emily Glass, CEO of Syncro, on my webinar, Thursday Process. Emily and I were talking about company culture. She shared an amazing toolset she utilizes at Syncro. This toolset helps collect feedback from her team on company actions and direction.
My favorite part is the accountability the tool creates for Emily & her leadership.
Watch Emily speak more about it in this linked video.
Key Takeaways:
- Anyone can ask a question
- All questions are anonmyous
- All questions get answered
- All answers published company-wide, in a view on demand format
- g. Email, Social Media, Video Call, etc.
- Be prepared to prove the technology that creates anonymitnity.
These questions allow for a “bottom-up” accountability chain. Anyone in the company can question a decision leadership makes.
The key deliverable: Better decision making by leaders.
There is nothing like answering “why” you did something to make you think it through.
A bonus feature is these create alignment. Your team understands decisions, versus “following along.”
Anonymous Questions create honest Employee Feedback
At its core, these questions create safety. People can ask a question without a perceived barrier. The ironclad promise of “no bad questions, no retaliation” opens the door. Curiosity, introspection, and reflection can all occur.
I’m a big fan of safety in workplaces. There are two big things that happen.
- People can let down barriers and be vulnerable. It takes vulnerability to say “I don’t understand.” Same thing with “I don’t know.” Those statements, turned against someone, can hurt. Anonyminity allows for avoidance of feelings like foolishness, inadequacy, and self-loathing.
- Vulnerability breeds trust. Trust tends to compound over time. When there is trust, Employees will share things. Ideas, feedback, and questions only serve to improve the business and its operations.
Vulnerability & Trust create a foundational shift in organization culture. That ability to be “real” creates loyalty. It reduces the risk of burnout and turnover. Focus areas will have exponential improvemnts from increased productivity. Top talent will seek you out, hearing about your rockstar culture from those in their network.
Profits are a natural result of solid business model. Culture creates models that scale and succeed.
If you’re interested in strategy, culture, and more, I speak on it every month. You can sign up for our newsletter here.
If you’re looking for help, my calendar is available 24×7. Lets get the conversation started.
