Company owners, CEOs, and other leaders often claim that employees are the most valuable asset to business. With U.S. employers spending nearly $3M per day looking to replace workers who have left, are companies really putting the best foot forward to protect their most valuable asset?
The secret to success is not knowing that people are the most valuable asset to business. The secret is knowing how to show employees they are valued and appreciated, so your business’s customer engagement increases over time.
GoPromotional, promotional products sales and marketing leader, shared these tips to capitalize on the asset at the heart of the company’s customers, processes, products, services, and ideas: people.
Take the Temperature
First things first, you need to know where your company stands in the minds of employees by asking for feedback. How is the company doing? Do employees feel valued? How could leadership do better? Asking the right questions is important, but you must also ensure employees feel safe to give honest answers. The whole organization – especially leadership – must be on board to create a safe space for the company to grow.
Do not only ask for feedback, be ready to receive it. If employees feel comfortable giving constructive criticism, some of it may be hard to hear. Keep perspective that honest feedback is the quickest path to knowing how to improve.
Choose the Right Method
There may not be one “right” way to collect feedback as an organization, but there are wrong ways. The first step is to ensure all employees feel heard, so consider multiple feedback methods that are accessible to different groups of employees.
For employees who regularly work at a desk with a computer, sending an online (and secure!) survey via email is a great way to collect feedback quickly. Do your research on survey providers and best practices to guarantee your company and employees’ privacy.
Employees without regular access to a computer, such as a manufacturing department, may benefit from in-person feedback sessions. Each session should be hosted by various leaders, with someone designated to ask questions and drive conversation. Employees should also have access to anonymous, paper surveys if they do not feel comfortable speaking their feedback.
Analyze the Data
If your company does not have an analytics team, now is time to put one together. Successful companies are able to change and grow by collecting and understanding the right data.
Employee feedback is one example of important data companies need to regularly collect, analyze, and understand. Experts in this line of work – like statisticians and analysts – are able to filter the data a million different ways to understand where a company is strong and what needs improvement.
It is important to create an understanding of how the company is doing overall, while also looking at trends in certain departments or on certain topics. Do employees feel they are valued by the company, overall? Of employees who do not feel valued, is there a trend of where those employees fall in the company?
These are the questions experts seek answers to when looking at data. With this data, your company will understand where it can strengthen the business in topics such as leadership, communication, transparency, and more!
Make a Game Plan
With an understanding of the data under your belt, it is go time! Thank employees for their involvement in helping the company get better, then get to work on the most burning issues.
For example, if people are complaining they are working under dangerous conditions – this is a priority to address. Leadership, HR, and teams across the company need to be ready to resolve issues like this as soon as possible.
From there, group similar issues together to understand what employees find most important. Organize issues by importance and priority, and ensure leadership is in agreement on each request, its timeline, their expected involvement, and other priorities.
Be Transparent
The last, but arguably most important step? Communicate the feedback and proposed action plan to employees.
Once leadership agrees on the action plan, employees will appreciate being included in the process. They should understand the trends and issues found and the company’s plan to implement solutions to meet their needs.
Provide regular updates to all employees, with specific updates to certain groups when needed. This shows employees that they are not only responsible for helping set the company’s goals, but that the company is committed to reaching them. Repeat the employee feedback process at least once a year to strengthen the company’s relationship with employees and its chance of success.
No matter the size or industry of the company, making employees feel valued and connected to the company is the key ingredient to its success – and employee feedback is a crucial method to get there. Good leaders and products only go so far when day-to-day operations are performed by employees.
Like we said before, it is all in the data. Research shows there is a link between employee satisfaction and a company’s financial performance. In fact, a recent Gallup study found that highly engaged teams show over 20% greater profitability than teams who do not feel connected and valued by their employer.
Before too long, your company will be taking that employee satisfaction to the bank!
