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O P I N I O N
I f you want to grow, are having a hard time recruiting or retaining employees, feel like your employees aren’t quite as productive as they could be, or just want to find a way to make your firm more profitable, the opinions and ideas of the people sitting in your office and interacting with your clients, are by far your most valuable resource. Is it time you got employee input? You may have an ‘open door’ policy as a CEO or manager, but you could still be seeing your firm through rose-tinted glasses.
Christina Zweig
nearly every set of employee survey responses has at least one person who thinks the only thing that will improve their performance is an all-expense paid retreat to Aruba, a 10,000 square-foot ping- pong room, or something equally ridiculous. But for every person who wants fresh bacon available 24/7, there’s usually two with really good – and often easy to implement – suggestions. Here are just a few reasons that you should get some employee feeback: Power in numbers. A single comment, especially if it comes from a known complainer or whistle- blower is much more easily discarded than a “Giving employees an anonymous, third-party method to voice their opinions, ideas, and concerns across a variety of areas is the only way to get a full picture.”
Even if your firm has open meetings, does exit interviews, or you feel that as a leader you are available for employees to voice their grievances at any time, you still may not be getting an accurate picture. Fear of speaking up, workload, and lack of time may be huge deterrents for people working at your firm to offer suggestions or communicate issues. Giving employees an anonymous, third- party method to voice their opinions, ideas, and concerns across a variety of areas is the only way to get a full picture. “Fear of speaking up, workload, and lack of time may be huge deterrents for people working at your firm to offer suggestions or communicate issues.” In my experience working as a marketing consultant conducting employee surveys and with the Best Firms To Work For program, it’s true that
See EMPLOYEE INPUT, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER February 1, 2016, ISSUE 1137
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