Without the Fear of Repercussion: 3 Ways of Finding Out How Your Work Colleagues Really Feel

If you are the owner of a company or the person in charge of some division of it, then it is useful to be able to gauge the pulse of how the people beneath you are feeling. You might have some inkling of that based on things that they say, but if you’re their boss, then they’re hardly going to feel comfortable speaking freely around you. However, if you don’t get feedback from them, then you won’t know all of the areas where they feel improvement is needed. It can be a somewhat tricky situation, but there should be ways for you to get on the same page with everyone.

Online Polling

There are some systems that you can get for your company that have an Anonymous Work Talk feature. This is an ingenious way that you can solicit advice, suggestions, and receive complaints from employees who would prefer for some reason not to reveal their true identities. These systems are set up so that anyone who works for the company can log in, and anyone who doesn’t cannot. The person can then take a survey with questions indicating how well they believe the company is doing in various areas. You can periodically review the answers and take the suggestions into account.

Set Up a Suggestion Box

The old-fashioned suggestion box is a low-tech way for you to get feedback, much the same as you would through an online forum. Some stores or restaurants have them, but there is nothing wrong with having one for your company too. You can put it in the break room, lunchroom, or anywhere else to which all of the employees have access. They can write out any suggestions or issues that they are having and turn them in without fear of being singled out or reprisal. As with the online polling, you can look at the contents of the box daily or weekly.

Hold a Forum

The other notion is that you can hold occasional meetings with the whole company, or a series of meetings with different teams if the company is prohibitively large. You can assure everyone who participates that there will be no reprisal for anything that is said. Some people might prefer to be able to come out with any grievances or questions, and they won’t need the anonymity afforded by the other two options. Probably the sorts of questions and suggestions that you’re going to get through this system are going to be of the noncontroversial variety. Most people are hardly likely to say anything off-color if they’re in mixed company.

As the person in charge of a business, it’s vital for you to know how your employees are feeling. Even if you might have a general sense of it, you’re never going to know for sure until you get some direct feedback. Regardless of whether you know the source of the comments or questions, try to treat them fairly, provided that they are reasonable and civil. If you can deal with the issues that are bothering your staff, then it is in your best interest to do so, since it will boost company morale.