“Bye, mom!” waves my daughter as she enthusiastically sprints toward her Kindergarten classroom, greeted by hugs from her teachers as a new school year begins. As she takes off her oversized backpack, I glance at the letters and numbers vibrantly lining the classroom wall, and I smile thinking of how my team leverages these same foundational learnings as we craft listening programs. In fact, when it comes to effective employee surveys, the ABCs and 1-2-3s taught in kindergarten create a powerful framework for driving positive action based on employee feedback within any organization.
Across hundreds of enterprise customers, Perceptyx consistently hears one complaint from employees: no one is listening to me. It’s not that organizations fail to seek employee opinions, but more often that employees fail to see action based on their feedback. Ensuring that employees feel valued and heard is critical for driving long-term engagement and an employee experience that supports positive business outcomes, regardless of an organization’s size, industry or location. This is why it’s imperative that organizations close the gap between listening to and acting on employee feedback. To help organizations close this gap, Perceptyx recommends designing surveys following the ABCs and taking action following the 1-2-3s.
The first step to driving action from survey feedback is to start by asking employees positive, declarative statements that follow the ABCs:
For example, if an organization is unable or unwilling to alter aspects of their benefit plan, asking for opinions about benefits may prove of little value since nothing will be done, even if an opportunity is identified. Asking actionable questions targets feedback to perceptions in which action can be taken and is foundational to ensuring that insights lead to better, more informed decisions.
For example, although the item, “my manager is effective” provides an overall opinion of a manager, it reveals little insight into what behaviors are effective or need improvement. Leaders with this feedback are left guessing as to what actions to take. By focusing on specific manager behaviors, such as whether the manager provides useful feedback or discusses career goals, leaders can more easily uncover specific behaviors that need attention. Actions based on observable perceptions are much clearer, making it easier to close the gap between listening to perceptions and taking needed actions.
Asking actionable, behaviorally observable, and clear items is just the first step for effectively acting on employee feedback. To show employees their feedback is valued and to ensure it has the desired impact on employee engagement and business outcomes, teams must also discuss, plan, and act on the feedback gathered.
For many leaders, survey feedback can seem overwhelming, causing some to over analyze results and others to plan too many actions without any follow-through to completion. Perceptyx research across 15 million employees shows 1-2-3 action planning simplifies the process, leading to higher engagement and an improved employee experience.
When it comes to your employee listening program, the familiar ABCs and 1-2-3s we learned in kindergarten still have something important to teach us about the power of clarity, consistency, and action when it comes to soliciting feedback. (Now, if only we could figure out how to deliver morning snacks or a nice afternoon nap with those surveys!)