Why Is It So Hard to Get Honest Feedback from Employees?

Research has proven that workers who feel free to give constructive feedback about their jobs and their employers stay longer. The challenge, according to a new article published in the Harvard Business Review and reviewed online by Advisory Board, is getting them to feel comfortable enough to provide that feedback. Many workers feel any comments perceived as negative will be used against them, while others assume management doesn’t really want to hear it so any time they spent trying to get their point across will be wasted. If you really do want to hear what our employees honestly think, the authors have a few suggestions:

• Keep it casual. Formal processes can seem intimidating and bureaucratic, so try to make conversations about the state of the urgent care seem like just that: a normal conversation.
• Be honest. Let employees know what actions will (or won’t be taken).
• Reach out to them. Your best medical assistant might be comfortable coming to you with a complaint or a suggestion. Ask the staff how things are going and what they think.
• Have an open mind. If you don’t like a recommendation, or feel someone is being too negative, try not to come down on them; that will only serve to discourage them from sharing their ideas again. (And they’re likely to warn their coworkers off, as well.) Instead, consider the context and what could have led them to have that concern. You’ll either learn something about them, or gain an insight into the clinic.