Over the past few months, we have seen large corporates hit the headlines due to some poor business practices. Leaders from all of those companies have made statements where they accept responsibility and state they are looking to do things differently in the future. Whether it’s the statement by CEO Nick Read in light of the Post Office Horizon scandal, or Boeing CEO David Calhoun answering questions in the US Senate, one word that keeps cropping up is ‘listening’.
These companies are saying they’re going to do better by listening to their employees. And they’re certainly not alone – many organisations already boast about the opportunities they create so they can truly listen to their people. But the question that needs to be asked, especially in light of these scandals, is whether these ‘listening cultures’ are just that – listening – or are they actively hearing? Lots of businesses offer the means to share feedback, but it’s much rarer they have mechanisms in place to act on what’s been raised.
The problem is, there’s a wealth of foundational work required to turn the feedback from employees and customers into a genuine value-add to the business. Without doing this, ‘listening cultures’ may actually end up doing more harm than good.
Act on what you’ve heard
Too often an investment in listening is little more than performative, tinkering around the edges rather than addressing the real issues employees take the time to raise. Sentiment may improve in the short term If leaders address the quick wins highlighted in an employee survey. After all, the metrics relating to these issues will improve next time, which reflects well on HR and keeps the C-Suite happy. Realistically though, this is nothing more than a cynical exercise in papering over the cracks.
In fact, it can be more dangerous to collect feedback and then ignore it – a hard lesson for the Post Office, which now has a hard job ahead rebuilding trust with postmasters and customers alike.
Someone needs to take ownership and responsibility for following through on feedback. Success will, to a great extent, hinge on having the humility to admit that your organisation might actually be wrong – that the processes your leadership team or expensive management consultancy put in place don’t help your people do their job effectively.
Another important consideration is recognising that not every insight gained from listening will be transformational. Ongoing and incremental improvement is vital, not least because it’s only when organisations make small changes that they will be able to hear the big ideas. What seems a small tweak might go on to uncover a deeper organisational change that really will drive efficiencies that could end up saving millions.
A feedback loop isn’t closed until the responses are passed back to employees of course – and just letting people know they’ve been heard is significant. It’s okay not to act on a recommendation if analysis reveals it won’t be effective, at least so long as you are transparent about why.
It’s not just about numbers
A listening culture should be a lot more than just doing some employee surveys. Leadership teams have become too caught up in engagement numbers, but surveys are a blunt instrument at best. They reflect a moment in time and they’re also a glance in the rear-view mirror. It’s necessary to scratch beneath the surface to unlock the story behind the metrics. And if you want to find out what makes your people tick, you need to get out there and get to know them face-to-face.
Benchmarking can be deceptive. For example, employee engagement might seem high simply because the organisation is not doing as poorly as its peers. That doesn’t mean it’s doing well. An attitude among the workforce of “at least we’re not working for the Devil” is hardly conducive to long-term engagement and business growth.
It’s also worth noting that many organisations pause their employee surveys and listening strategies during times of organisational restructure because the outcome is rarely – read never – positive. But if they genuinely want to look after their people properly, both those leaving and those remaining, they can build an attitude of at least neutrality towards the changes.
The good, the bad and the ugly
Effective organisational listening means actively and publicly responding to the criticisms as well as the good ideas. A (so-called) listening culture that sweeps bad news under the carpet should be regarded as an attack on the culture of the entire organisation. It erodes trust and promotes disengagement. It’s a virus that will infect the entire workforce over time.
The concept of psychological safety has been used and abused to the extent it can now feel like jargon, but it is crucial in this context. People need to be comfortable enough to talk about the bad as well as the good – something that was clearly lacking in the cultures at Boeing and the Post Office.
It’s also vital to remember that the business will have hardwired ways of working – transforming a culture is not an overnight job. A company’s culture is a living, breathing thing and change is incremental. Listening is only the start of the journey.
Listening is only half the story
A quarterly engagement survey does not constitute a ‘listening culture’ – and without action, the act of inviting people to share their views is pointless. Similarly, benchmarking scores are the enemies of culture because data abstracts the real issues at play – figures won’t solve the root causes of real people’s engagement woes. But done right, listening can unlock growth and build real engagement – and at the very least, stop organisations from becoming the next scandal.
Victoria Lewis-Stephens is the Founder and Global Managing Director of United Culture. She is a passionate advocate for the impact employee and customer engagement can have on driving business growth and performance and is responsible for developing compelling engagement strategies for some of the world’s biggest brands. Victoria specialises in helping businesses engage their people during periods of significant change, turning them into growth drivers and brand advocates.
Main image: Sedus
July 16, 2024
Why a ‘listening culture’ could do more harm than good
by Victoria Lewis-Stephens • Business, Comment, Workplace
These companies are saying they’re going to do better by listening to their employees. And they’re certainly not alone – many organisations already boast about the opportunities they create so they can truly listen to their people. But the question that needs to be asked, especially in light of these scandals, is whether these ‘listening cultures’ are just that – listening – or are they actively hearing? Lots of businesses offer the means to share feedback, but it’s much rarer they have mechanisms in place to act on what’s been raised.
The problem is, there’s a wealth of foundational work required to turn the feedback from employees and customers into a genuine value-add to the business. Without doing this, ‘listening cultures’ may actually end up doing more harm than good.
Act on what you’ve heard
Too often an investment in listening is little more than performative, tinkering around the edges rather than addressing the real issues employees take the time to raise. Sentiment may improve in the short term If leaders address the quick wins highlighted in an employee survey. After all, the metrics relating to these issues will improve next time, which reflects well on HR and keeps the C-Suite happy. Realistically though, this is nothing more than a cynical exercise in papering over the cracks.
In fact, it can be more dangerous to collect feedback and then ignore it – a hard lesson for the Post Office, which now has a hard job ahead rebuilding trust with postmasters and customers alike.
Someone needs to take ownership and responsibility for following through on feedback. Success will, to a great extent, hinge on having the humility to admit that your organisation might actually be wrong – that the processes your leadership team or expensive management consultancy put in place don’t help your people do their job effectively.
Another important consideration is recognising that not every insight gained from listening will be transformational. Ongoing and incremental improvement is vital, not least because it’s only when organisations make small changes that they will be able to hear the big ideas. What seems a small tweak might go on to uncover a deeper organisational change that really will drive efficiencies that could end up saving millions.
A feedback loop isn’t closed until the responses are passed back to employees of course – and just letting people know they’ve been heard is significant. It’s okay not to act on a recommendation if analysis reveals it won’t be effective, at least so long as you are transparent about why.
It’s not just about numbers
A listening culture should be a lot more than just doing some employee surveys. Leadership teams have become too caught up in engagement numbers, but surveys are a blunt instrument at best. They reflect a moment in time and they’re also a glance in the rear-view mirror. It’s necessary to scratch beneath the surface to unlock the story behind the metrics. And if you want to find out what makes your people tick, you need to get out there and get to know them face-to-face.
Benchmarking can be deceptive. For example, employee engagement might seem high simply because the organisation is not doing as poorly as its peers. That doesn’t mean it’s doing well. An attitude among the workforce of “at least we’re not working for the Devil” is hardly conducive to long-term engagement and business growth.
It’s also worth noting that many organisations pause their employee surveys and listening strategies during times of organisational restructure because the outcome is rarely – read never – positive. But if they genuinely want to look after their people properly, both those leaving and those remaining, they can build an attitude of at least neutrality towards the changes.
The good, the bad and the ugly
Effective organisational listening means actively and publicly responding to the criticisms as well as the good ideas. A (so-called) listening culture that sweeps bad news under the carpet should be regarded as an attack on the culture of the entire organisation. It erodes trust and promotes disengagement. It’s a virus that will infect the entire workforce over time.
The concept of psychological safety has been used and abused to the extent it can now feel like jargon, but it is crucial in this context. People need to be comfortable enough to talk about the bad as well as the good – something that was clearly lacking in the cultures at Boeing and the Post Office.
It’s also vital to remember that the business will have hardwired ways of working – transforming a culture is not an overnight job. A company’s culture is a living, breathing thing and change is incremental. Listening is only the start of the journey.
Listening is only half the story
A quarterly engagement survey does not constitute a ‘listening culture’ – and without action, the act of inviting people to share their views is pointless. Similarly, benchmarking scores are the enemies of culture because data abstracts the real issues at play – figures won’t solve the root causes of real people’s engagement woes. But done right, listening can unlock growth and build real engagement – and at the very least, stop organisations from becoming the next scandal.
Victoria Lewis-Stephens is the Founder and Global Managing Director of United Culture. She is a passionate advocate for the impact employee and customer engagement can have on driving business growth and performance and is responsible for developing compelling engagement strategies for some of the world’s biggest brands. Victoria specialises in helping businesses engage their people during periods of significant change, turning them into growth drivers and brand advocates.
Main image: Sedus