Today’s companies have a unique advantage in that feedback regarding any and everything is more prevalent now than ever before. Need to know your customer service score? Easy! Want to know how a manager is doing with leading his or her employees? No problem! Looking to find out what employees like and dislike about your company? Piece of cake!
Companies use surveys to yield a variety of results about many facets of business, but if you are one of the thousands of companies just sitting on a pile of feedback, not sure where to start or what to do with all the results, then look no further. Below is a list of four tips, designed to ease your company or team into making the most with research data.
- Be Quick
Sharing feedback and results as soon after it is received as possible is absolutely pertinent to utilizing this type of data in the best possible manner. This allows your team the opportunity to make the most of the feedback by understanding what’s going well, what needs improved and provides team members the opportunity to make changes almost immediately.
- Be honest
Ever heard the saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig?” Sugar coating negative feedback doesn’t do anything other than sugar coat negative feedback. People value honesty and want to know the good, the bad and the ugly. Without knowing the full realm of data, employees can’t know what to fix or what is going well.
- Be discreet
Some surveys protect the anonymity of participants automatically, while other surveys do not. Regardless of which method your company chooses to use for surveying, it is important that when sharing the results with the team, you don’t compromise their confidentiality by revealing who said what and when. Part of gathering feedback is making sure employees are comfortable being completely honest, and being called out for your feedback doesn’t make anyone want to candid and truthful.
- Be proactive
There will be times when you have to deliver negative feedback to your team. During those times, make sure you are proactive and come ready to deliver the feedback, as well as ways you and the team can work together to improve the results for the future. This helps the team to better understand that “you’re in this together” and helps to avoid the blame game and target accusation.
Survey results may seem intimidating, but by utilizing these simple tips, you and your company can improve culture, improve business and improve the bottom line and I don’t any company who doesn’t want that. Do you?
