Deal with Negative Employee Engagement Feedback
Know that if you ask for honest feedback through an employee engagement survey it won’t all be positive. If you have created an environment of trust and continuous improvement, some of what you hear will be negative. The question is whether or not you are in the right frame of mind to deal with the negative feedback employee engagement feedback effectively.
Will you discount it, sulk, feel attacked, get angry or can you rise above those feelings and use the feedback to your advantage?
Employee Engagement Surveys
Savvy companies recognize how critical employee engagement is to business success, and they regularly survey their workforce to measure how engaged their workers really are. Even when the overall report is good, there are bound to be some negative comments. How can you receive them and use those comments effectively when you follow through with employee engagement actions?
Who Is More Likely to Be Critical?
First, studies prove that, on average, more comments are provided by disengaged employees than by highly engaged employees. Perhaps this is to be expected. Disgruntled workers are apt to vent when given the chance on a confidential questionnaire.
Happier employees who don’t have an ax to grind are less likely to fill in the comments section. So right off the bat, you need to take the negative comments in context.
The Mature Response
Next you need to deal with negative employee engagement feedback in a constructive way:
The Bottom Line
Surveys are your opportunity to listen to what your employees really think about their leaders and their workplace. Show that you value their input by being open to celebrate what’s working well and to fully address any issues or problems that they highlight.
To learn more about how to deal with negative employee engagement feedback, download 7 Tips on How Managers Can Increase Engagement through Communication
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