If you want to find out, ask them!
I was reviewing comments from customers on a customer feedback survey, and for the question asking how the store can improve, the customer said, “Ask your employees what is keeping them from doing their jobs right and then work to fix it.”
That got me thinking….what a simple concept, yet it may not be utilized, at least not to its full potential.
Having frank and open conversations with your employees, whether it be face to face individually, in group situations, or in a more anonymous setting where employees can provide feedback online or via a mobile device, can yield some very valuable information.
If employees aren’t doing something correctly, it may be a training issue – they may not have the knowlege or feel comfortable with what they were trained on to carry out the tasks you want them to.
Is a location suffering from poor management? Maybe it doesn’t appear that way on your end, but if you send a trend in employee feedback that signals a management issue causing poor morale, you need to know this, as it can be hurting your bottom line.
It’s no secret that engaging your employees and continually gathering their opinions, feedback, and suggestions is vital to the success and morale of your company – study after study shows that companies with high employee morale yield the best sales numbers, and happy employees lead to satisfied customers. I think that with economic conditions over the last several years, budget cuts, and staff needing to do more with less resources, an environment where people aren’t really listening to each other has been created. Companies need to take the time to actively listen to their employees and better understand their struggles and obstacles to excellent service performance.
How does your company achieve this? Do you feel your company excels in gathering employee feedback & insights? If so, please share with the community so we can all learn from each other!
