by Judy White

Created on: May 11, 2010   Last Updated: May 12, 2010

How Can Your Employees Tell You're Listening?

Communication strategies are on-point when employees know that their input is getting through to leadership at the right time. The workplace becomes ignited with new ideas, higher moral, and exudes energy impacting stronger business results.

It’s one thing when employees share an idea that may improve operational efficiency, or aids in adding a new revenue channel, or even increases the percentage of satisfied customers. Leaders are often pleased by this demonstration of active involvement and listening tends to come easier.

It becomes another thing when an employee spots a “tell” and shares a financial discrepancy or other disparity in a workplace practice or activity that may have negative implications for the company in the short or long-term.  Some leaders may embrace this feedback by either: 

  *  Reinforcing that the employee did the right thing to bring it forward or;                                                                                  

  *  It gets added to the list of issues and competing priorities and may fall to the wayside or;

  * A blind eye may be turned in the more toxic environment and efforts to suppress the truth becomes all ensuing until the discrepancy once again, rears it's ugly head. 

There are other ways in which listening becomes crucial in today's workplace. Economic pressures may now be easing around some parts of the globe, but the impact on the workforce and employment appears to be running deeper.  The recession is driving a new set of expectations regarding the employment relationship between employers and employees. Steps that were taken to control costs and protect businesses during the tough times by many have altered employee's views over the last 12 months.

A Global Workforce Study conducted by Towers Watson, revealed that while many organizations are planning to simply reinstate some of the employee programs that were cut in the past year to save money believe that this measure will

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