{"id":1251,"date":"2021-04-14T17:54:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T22:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webfxonline.com\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:46:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T21:46:19","slug":"how-listening-to-your-employees-can-improve-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webfxonline.com\/?p=1251","title":{"rendered":"How Listening to Your Employees Can Improve Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Years ago, I was in a business where we were shipping product constantly to get things out on time: \u201cGet the stuff out the door so we can make revenue and meet our quotas now<\/em>.\u201d With our Operational Excellence seemingly hanging in the balance, we did what we were told. We forgot about our dedication to quality and our promise to do the best for our customers. We also forgot about what it was doing to our people, from the top of the organization to the floor. Concerns about what was going on were acknowledged, but never pursued. Head down, pedal to the metal, nothing to see here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all lost our way like this at some point. The question is, does anyone have the courage to speak up, and will anyone listen before it brings the culture and the company down? Our company culture had been good up to this point. We were a “Good Co.\u201d But no one was listening to our people anymore. We were now \u201cBottom Liners,\u201d and if we kept going, we would soon be sliding toward \u201cZero.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we had a company meeting with the CEO, and I watched as the senior leaders turned on their people and told the CEO what they thought he wanted to hear. They spoke about how great things were going and how everyone was stepping up. That\u2019s when one of our people — an hourly worker — had the courage to speak up. He said things weren\u2019t great\u2014that we were breaking our brand promise and cheating our customers: \u201cWe\u2019re not doing the right things, and we might be putting a product out that\u2019s not quite ready or not checked for quality in packaging and shipping. Is that OK if I raise my hand and say, \u2018No, that\u2019s not acceptable\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senior leaders were shocked, and I wondered what the CEO was going to say. He had to be surprised, given this was the first he had heard of this. I wondered: Would he be willing to listen, really <\/em>listen to what this person had to say? \u201cAbsolutely, that\u2019s OK,\u201d our CEO said, looking around the room at everyone but focusing hard on the leaders. \u201cDoes that mean we\u2019re going to lose revenue and make customers unhappy short term? Yes. But we\u2019re going to fix this. And in the end, we\u2019ll get a better customer for any we lose, because we did the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our CEO was right. The company took a hit but recovered within the year to achieve record revenue and profits. And what if we hadn\u2019t recovered? Well, at least it wouldn\u2019t be because we failed to do the right thing and listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can you do to listen? Start by doing what that hourly worker had the guts to do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speak up and ask questions. Get your butt out of your chair, walk over to a desk, and ask a question to someone\u2019s face. Not a demand, like, \u201cWhere\u2019s the report I asked for?\u201d or a yes\/ no question. One that opens people up and requires a thoughtful answer — the more personal and less work-driven, the better. Anything that shows you care about their well-being. Maybe try to find out one thing you don\u2019t know about them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n