3 Pieces of Employee Feedback Companies Can't Ignore

As human beings, we like to feel understood. It helps us feel like we are making an impact and have a purpose. Your employees are no different and by tapping into the humanistic desires of your team members, you could improve employee engagement in your organization. How? Listening.

No doubt your employees have thoughts and feelings about their experience at your organization, it's time to listen to employees to have a positive impact across your entire business.  

In this blog post, we share three key pieces of employee feedback we collected from our State of Employee Engagement Q4 2022 report by Dr. Elora Voyles. 

Not Listening as a Leader or Manager Has Consequences:

1) Employees will leave.

Not only is it hard to create strong work relationships when employees are constantly leaving it is costly to continue to recruit new employees to fill open roles. 

2) People will disengage.

Presenteeism is when employees are physically at work or at their computer (working remotely) but "out of it". Not listening to employees will lead them to believe they don't have any value to contribute to the company and they will become disengaged and unproductive. This can be a detriment to the organization as tasks and projects will not be completed in desired timelines and the quality of their work will plummet. 

3) You risk wasting time and resources.

By not asking for employee feedback or taking into account what employees have to say, you could be wasting a lot of time and resources. Even if your intentions are good and you want to improve your employee's experience at work, putting time and effort into initiatives they might not care about is not a strategic approach. Use employee surveys, industry survey results, or other employee listening tactics to pinpoint exactly where and how you could drive the most impact. Every organization is different, so although there may be commonalities in what employees in today's workforce are looking for, it is important you listen to your own employees to customize your internal initiatives. 

3 Pieces of Employee Feedback Companies Can't Ignore:

1) Many employees want more dialog with their company.

Based on the data below 86% of employees want to be able to give feedback to their employers through surveys and 37% desired more feedback from their managers. Giving employees the opportunity to provide feedback can strengthen relationships within the organization as well as contribute to a sense of value and purpose. When employees feel heard and valued at work they become more engaged and productive which can have a positive impact on overall business outcomes. 

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

2) Employee and HR priorities differ.

Based on the data below, employees place greater importance on protecting their health and wellbeing directly. Employees and HR will always be “selfish” in their priorities due to differences in their end goals but there can be a happy medium. Employees will prioritize employee mental health, safety, recognition, retention, engagement, well-being, and training/development. HR will prioritize RTO, DE&I, onboarding, acquiring talent, performance management, and productivity. That being said, many of the employee's priorities can improve HR's priorities directly so putting time and effort into ensuring employee priorities are met can be beneficial to both parties. 

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

3) Team meetings as more important than 1-on-1 meetings.

Based on the data below, both employees and HR rate team meetings as more important to their organizations than 1-on-1 meetings. HR rates both types of meetings as more important compared to employee ratings. What is the key takeaway here? Ensure you are not prioritizing 1-on-1s over team meetings as both personal performance and building workplace relationships are factors in improving employee engagement. 

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

Source: State of Employee Engagement Report Q1 2022

The time to start listening to your employees is now. Choose what Taking the time to listen on an individual level will not only improve business outcomes but will also make work a more enjoyable day-to-day experience for everyone.

If you want to assess if your employees are currently feeling heard and valued, we created a self-guided infographic to do just that! Download your free copy here today.