The dangers of tuning out employee complaints
Let's tell it like it is: Few supervisors want to hear from employees who complain.
Small-business owners are among the least likely to want to hear negative feedback. Entrepreneurs who put everything on the line and work all hours of the day and night scarcely have enough time to eat much less listen to an employee who has a beef about something.
And the truth is, the majority of companies, big and small, tend to discourage employees from airing grievances, experts say. But it's an extremely shortsighted policy, they add.
Here's why you must pay attention to employee complaints, even if you don't think they are valid, and some tips on handling the gamut of grousing, from whining to worrisome.
Why you need to listen
How you address staff protests or rancor directly influences the company climate. And that weather report — fair or foul — is endlessly broadcast to customers, vendors, suppliers and everyone else in your industry.
"If you don't handle employee complaints, you create resentment, low morale, low productivity and increased turnover," says Houston executive coach Linda Talley.
Ignoring worker concerns or objections could further land you in deep trouble, legal and otherwise. The number of employees charging workplace discrimination keeps rising, based on race, age, disability, gender and other state and federally protected rights and practices. For just one example, from 1992 to 2002, monetary settlements for sexual harassment charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jumped from $12 million to a whopping $50 million.
Workplace violence and stalking is intensifying as well. Every workday, there are 16,400 threats made, 723 workers attacked, and another 43,800 harassed, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. If you think the cozy cultures of smaller businesses makes them immune to such dangers, guess again. Six out of 10 incidents of workplace violence occurred in private companies, according to a recent Bureau of Justice Statistics annual crime survey.
"Managers need to be trained to hear 'legal tripwires,'" says John Michels, a corporate employment lawyer at McGuireWoods in Chicago. "When you hear employees mention certain phrases or words, the hair on the back of your neck should go up."
Don't dismiss employees who point fingers, either, especially in this post-Enron era. They could be whistleblowers not troublemakers. Many national estimates show that employee dishonesty and theft costs U.S. companies more than $50 billion a year.
On the other side, internal griping can provide helpful feedback. "Employee complaints are just as valuable as customer complaints," says Janelle Barlow, a Las Vegas human resources consultant and the author of "Complaint is a Gift." "They definitely shouldn't be dismissed, in the same way that customer complaints must never be dismissed."
Upon review, you might change course or policies, which could boost sales or improve customer service.
Resolving complaints
The best way to clear the air of complaints is to focus on problems before they fester. These five strategies make that easier:
1. Watch your tongue. The way you react to a complaint immediately sets a tone. Managers often discourage employees from telling them what's wrong by subtle threats or outright punishment. In that case, "the complaints go underground, surfacing as water cooler conversation and e-mails that reek of Dilbert-esque cynicism," says Larry Johnson, co-author of "Absolute Honesty."Don't trivialize the grievance, even if it's a noisy protest about the lack of a cappuccino machine in the lunchroom. You don't have to remedy every complaint, but you should be courteous. "Employees want to be heard, so open by saying, 'I appreciate, I respect, I understand why you might feel that way,'" says Jay Arthur, author of "Motivate Everyone."
2. Recognize the individual. Don't let complaints slide on slick reassurances or one-size-fits-all platitudes. Respond to the specific employee and his particular beef. "I've found that in a large majority of cases, employee complaints can be traced to their temperament," says Brad Cooper, a motivational coach based in Littleton, Colo. "So when addressing employee issues, it's critical to tune in to those individual needs, not some generic response."
3. Direct traffic. Set up a formal process for submitting grievances that's communicated to everyone.To avoid legal pitfalls, clearly define the process and ensure that it's private and moves toward an outcome or resolution. "Supervisors should set a time in which to respond," says management consultant John Reddish at Advent Management International in Chadds Ford, Pa.He suggests responses such as:
4. Be consistent. "No employee likes secrets or surprises," says Tim Dimoff, whose SACS Consulting firm in the Cleveland area counsels companies on such issues as employee drug abuse and workplace violence.The way around accusations of favoritism, pleas of ignorance or similar unrest is by citing the policies of a formal employee handbook or manual. Most small-business owners can't be bothered to write one. But it's in their best interest. "Owners can't remember what they tell everyone they hire," Dimoff says. So every employee works with different rules and guidelines on compensation, vacation, sick leave, harassment or discriminatory behavior and on and on."It's all about communication," Dimoff says. "Companies that respond to a complaint, investigate it and don't let it go by will stop it from growing."
5. Send the right message. To truly create an atmosphere that rewards employees for coming forward, you need to make it comfortable. Lip service won't do. There are dozens of ways to achieve that, of course. Attorney Michels suggests periodic "town meetings." "In a small business, it's easier to get everyone in a room and get employee buy-in," he says.The CEO might talk about business trends, worries he has, the impact of international events — basically, a casual "state of the company" address. "In the course of the meeting, he might ask, 'What else would you like us to address?'" Michels says. He might also invite employees to talk to him later, privately, if something's on their mind. "The best companies are places where the chain of communication goes both ways," Michels says.
Obviously, all complaints aren't created equal. But ignoring them altogether can only cause damage. Start working on that manual.