Unlocking the power of two-way confidential employee communications

While quantitative data helps HR & Ops leaders analyze and dissect the outputs of a survey, deriving actionable insights often takes an in-house expert, aid from AI & machine learning tools, and time to gather enough data to identify patterns. On the other hand, qualitative data provides leaders with a golden lens into the challenges facing their frontline workforce in real-time. When open-text feedback is provided, be it from milestone check-ins, pulse surveys, or annual engagement initiatives, employees are telling their leaders exactly what is on their mind. No spreadsheets, no data analytics, just the employee’s truth in their own words.

However, that feedback doesn’t always provide all of the information leadership  needs to take swift, targeted action. Sometimes, team leads need to dig a little deeper to get to the root of a reported problem, and sometimes, they need to open a confidential conversation with their employee to find a resolution.

Introducing Conversations by WorkStep

Enter Conversations by WorkStep, a new way to build a dialogue with employees in response to open-text survey feedback where more detail is needed. HR and Ops leaders can now dig a little deeper, prompt additional feedback, ask the pointed questions that the survey itself didn’t cover, find an immediate solution, and close the loop with their employees once a resolution has been reached. Transparency is key, so Conversations are designed to allow managers to jump in as needed, reducing the time it takes to get an expert opinion and arrive at a meaningful result all while protecting the confidentiality of the employee.

How to best take advantage of Conversations

Responses to open-text feedback are a great way to dig a little bit deeper into an employee-reported issue or concern. For instance, let’s say an employee responds to a safety-related question, claiming that there is an issue with one of the loading bays that could cause serious injury and that they have to change the way they work when using that bay to avoid getting hurt. This is fantastic feedback, and something that should be resolved as soon as possible once it blips onto a site leader’s radar.

This situation provides a great opportunity for management to open up a confidential conversation with that employee probing for additional information. There might be a dozen or more loading bays at this facility, so leaders can use this space to ask the employee to specify which one they are reporting. Additionally, they can ask the nature of the issue. Is there a metal shard that could cut someone? Can trucks back into the loading bay properly or is there a gap that makes it difficult to load or offload pallets? Is there an issue with the curtain door that makes it fall quicker than should be reasonably expected?

Conversations allow site leaders to go the extra mile, dig deeper, and get the specifics of reported issues. And, while the dialogue is ongoing, managers can close the loop with their employee on what steps have been taken to resolve the issue. Loop closure not only lets employees know that their feedback can drive change, but it gives them the confidence to share again in the future.

Another clear example would be if an employee responded negatively to a question asking if they had a good relationship with their manager. For this example, let’s say they ranked that relationship as a two on a Likert scale of 1-5 and when asked via a follow up question to elaborate they simply wrote, “Manager difficult to work with.” Alright, so we have an employee with low sentiment regarding their manager, indicating a strained relationship where they may not be confident sharing additional information for fear of retaliation.

Conversations protect employee confidentiality, providing them the space to voice their concerns openly without management teams seeing their name, unless they have opted to self-identify. Furthermore, since multiple managers can see open Conversations, there is an innate level of transparency which allows site leadership to get to the center of this problem without conflicts of interest. This combination of employee confidentiality paired with an open dialogue across the leadership team creates an ecosystem where swift resolutions can be made without the risk of strained relationships.

Here are some best practices to consider:

• Use Conversations to dig deeper: When an employee provides open-text feedback that requires further investigation or clarification, initiate a confidential conversation to gather additional information. This can help identify the root cause of the reported problem and find a swift resolution.

• Prompt for specific details: Within the conversation, ask targeted questions to obtain specific details about the reported issue. Encourage the employee to provide more information about the location, nature of the problem, or any relevant factors. This will help in understanding the issue comprehensively.
• Close the loop with employees: As the conversation progresses and a resolution is reached, it’s essential to close the loop with the employee. Inform them about the steps taken to address the problem and share the outcome. This demonstrates that their feedback is valued and can drive meaningful change.
• Maintain employee confidentiality: Conversations are designed to protect employee confidentiality. Unless employees choose to self-identify, their names remain confidential. This creates a safe space for employees to openly voice their concerns without fear of retaliation.
• Ensure transparency and multiple perspectives: Conversations allow multiple managers to participate, fostering transparency and preventing conflicts of interest. Different managers may bring relevant expertise, have approval authority, or provide necessary insights. However, it’s important to limit the number of participants to avoid overwhelming the employee and ensure only the most relevant leaders are involved.

WorkStep Conversations open the door to a whole new way to communicate with frontline, hourly employees and find swift resolutions to problems as they arise.

How not to use Conversations

While it can be tempting to open a full fledged conversation on every single open-text comment to fish for additional context, it is important to remember that there is a time and place for everything. Keep in mind that this feature is intended to dig deeper in situations where an employee did not provide enough information for employers to take meaningful, swift action in response to a pressing issue. Leaders should avoid opening a conversation in response to every instance of open-text feedback, be selective!

Conversations allow any leader to jump in to provide an update, ask a pointed question, or close the loop with their employee. There are many reasons additional members of the management team may be included. Sometimes they may have relevant expertise in the subject matter, other times they may have to be the one to approve an action within that department, and other times the most relevant leader may have been out of office when the issue was first brought to light and is entering the conversation later on. Either way, the employee involved in this dialogue will see which leaders are responding to them, which can become overwhelming as more voices enter the chat. Be cognizant of how many people are adding their insight and take a moment to ensure that only the most relevant leaders are looped in. Oftentimes, this means that leaders should not immediately open a conversation with an employee if they are not the one who can reasonably find the quickest resolution.

One way to avoid these situations is by keeping conversations short, to the point, and pertaining to the original issue at hand. Conversations should not be treated as an open support chat with an ongoing volley of reported issues and resolutions. If they are treated as such, leaders run the risk of inundating themselves with a constant stream of direct feedback. Furthermore, prolonged confidential conversations that tackle a multitude of issues over the course of days, weeks, or months inevitably run the risk of providing enough context to identify the anonymous employee on the other end. Of course, those are edge cases where a conversation was kept open well beyond its natural lifecycle, but leaders should be cognizant of that risk. Be concise whenever possible to extract the information needed to solve the immediate issue at hand before closing the loop with the employee on what action had been taken. Timely resolutions followed by loop closure allows leaders to close the case, protect confidentiality, and move on to the next issue at hand.

It’s crucial to be cautious about how Conversations are used. Here are some points to consider:

• Be selective in initiating conversations: Not every open-text comment requires a full-fledged conversation. Use Conversations when an employee hasn’t provided sufficient information to take meaningful and swift action. Avoid opening conversations for every instance of open-text feedback and be selective based on the urgency and importance of the issue.
• Keep conversations focused and concise: Conversations should stay focused on the specific issue at hand and avoid becoming ongoing support chats. Prolonged conversations that cover multiple issues over an extended period can risk identifying the anonymous employee. Be concise and extract the necessary information to address the immediate problem before closing the loop.
• Avoid overwhelming the conversation with multiple voices: While multiple leaders can participate in Conversations, be mindful of how many people are involved. Including too many voices can overwhelm the employee and make the conversation less effective. Ensure that only the most relevant leaders are looped in, considering their expertise and ability to find a quick resolution.

By following these guidelines and being mindful of employee confidentiality, Conversations can unlock the power of open dialogue, enabling HR and Ops leaders to address employee concerns effectively and drive positive change within the organization.