{"id":457,"date":"2017-12-01T05:11:41","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T05:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielvlopes238992071.wordpress.com\/2017\/12\/01\/anonymous-employee-feedback-breeds-a-culture-of-distrust\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T10:21:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T17:21:57","slug":"anonymous-employee-feedback-breeds-a-culture-of-distrust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2017\/12\/01\/anonymous-employee-feedback-breeds-a-culture-of-distrust\/","title":{"rendered":"Anonymous employee feedback breeds a culture of distrust"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pitfalls of anonymous employee feedback aren\u2019t often talked about. Here\u2019s how it can backfire.<\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n

As the CEO of Canopy<\/a>, I often get asked about my opinion on asking employees for anonymous feedback. Is it a useful approach? Would I recommend it?<\/p>\n

My answer is the same each time: I hate anonymous feedback. I hate giving it, and I hate receiving it. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

Anonymous feedback breeds a culture of distrust<\/strong>\u200a\u2014\u200aespecially in small teams and organizations.<\/p>\n

When you ask for anonymous feedback, the first thing that oftentimes runs through employees\u2019 minds is, \u201cHmmm will this really<\/em> be anonymous?\u201d They speculate: \u201cI wonder who\u2019s viewing the data? Or if they\u2019ll be able to tell what I wrote?\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve immediately injected a tone of suspicion and skepticism into your company.<\/p>\n

On top of this, when you receive this anonymous feedback, you frequently end up feeling suspicious and skeptical yourself. You think: \u201cHmmm I wonder who wrote this?\u201d It\u2019s a completely natural human tendency. And in some cases, you may even be able tell who the person is from someone\u2019s tone or word choice, thus nullifying the purpose for anonymity in the first place.<\/p>\n

This suspicion and skepticism is poison for a healthy company culture. Particularly when one in three employees already don\u2019t trust their bosses<\/a>, you\u2019re only furthering their distrust. Asking for anonymous feedback fuels an existing an assumption that CEOs do not have their employees\u2019 best interest in mind.<\/p>\n

After all, if you\u2019re trying to foster truthfulness and transparency in your company, why resort to a covert, opaque way to get feedback?<\/p>\n

But even greater than these cultural repercussions, the biggest reason anonymous feedback sucks is because it\u2019s difficult to act on<\/strong>. I hear this from dozens and dozens of CEOs who\u2019ve started using Canopy after running anonymous surveys.<\/p>\n

These CEOs told me that after collecting feedback anonymously from their employees, they\u2019d get stuck\u200a\u2014\u200athey didn\u2019t know how to follow up on the feedback, or implement any of it. They couldn\u2019t go talk to the department that the problem was brought up in, or have a one-on-one with a specific employee and resolve the issue.<\/p>\n

Anonymous feedback didn\u2019t help them act on the feedback, itself. This is counter to the very purpose of getting feedback in the first place: to be able to take action<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So what can you do instead of asking for anonymous feedback? How can you encourage employees to honestly speak their minds, without resorting to hiding behind anonymity?<\/p>\n

Here are a few things you can do\u2026<\/p>\n

State your intention clearly<\/h4>\n

When a leadership teams wants to start getting more regular, honest feedback, they\u2019ll often kick off a survey or software tool or initiative without any context or explanation as to why<\/em>. This can be a huge mistake, as your employees might not understand what your intention behind wanting to get this feedback.<\/p>\n

Rather, you want to want to be upfront and clear about why getting feedback is important to you\u200a\u2014\u200aand not just assume employees already know this. This helps clear the air and create an environment where people feel safe giving candid feedback, without having to be anonymous.<\/p>\n

Show vulnerability<\/h4>\n

If you want your employees to be transparent with you, you have to start by being transparent with them as the leader. Showing vulnerability\u200a\u2014\u200athat you don\u2019t have all the answers, that you want to improve as the boss\u200a\u2014\u200ahelps your employees feel comfortable giving you feedback non-anonymously.<\/p>\n

For example, when you announce to your employees that you\u2019d like to start getting feedback transparently, you could say something like: \u201cI feel a little disconnected from everyone and that\u2019s been bugging me. It\u2019s my fault, and I\u2019d like to make an effort to get better.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As a leader, simply saying or writing the words, \u201cit\u2019s my fault,\u201d signals to your employees that you\u2019re open to hearing the truth of what they really think.<\/p>\n

Ask specific questions<\/h4>\n

A huge part of getting meaningful, honest feedback from employees has to do with the questions you ask your employees. If you want answers, you\u2019ve got to ask questions. You can\u2019t expect the answers to come to you.<\/p>\n

These questions have to be good\u200a\u2014\u200athey need to be specific, relevant, and well-thought out. If you ask a general, half-hearted question, you\u2019ll get a general, half-hearted response. For example, ask someone \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d and the most-likely response will be, \u201cIt\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s one thing about the last board meeting we held that could\u2019ve been better?\u201d This specific question zooms in on \u201cone thing\u201d, one event, and asks for an actionable takeaway. As a result, the responses to the question are far more likely to be more focused and actionable too. And because you\u2019re asking it non-anonymously, you\u2019ll be able to follow up with the specific person to clarify the thought or implement the idea.<\/p>\n

Do something<\/h4>\n

Taking action on the feedback you receive is the most powerful way to encourage your employees to be honest with you. This is because, more than anything, seeing some action or response to the feedback given is what employees want.<\/p>\n

Now this doesn\u2019t mean you need to go and implement every single piece of feedback that you receive. Nor does it obligate you to make any changes that your employees might suggest.<\/p>\n

Rather, you can take action on feedback to show your employees that you\u2019re listening. For instance, when you decide that an idea isn\u2019t feasible or that you aren\u2019t going to implement a piece of feedback you received, be sure to explain that to your employees. Pull back the curtain on why the company isn\u2019t going to take a certain direction, so employees don\u2019t assume a reason for why something isn\u2019t happening, or that you ignored their feedback.<\/p>\n

And then when you do receive a piece of feedback that is worth acting on, you\u2019ll want to jump on it immediately. Knocking out a quick win\u200a\u2014\u200aespecially when it\u2019s low hanging fruit\u200a\u2014\u200acan shift your company\u2019s culture. This could be as small as getting an employee a new office chair, or changing your company\u2019s phone service. But that responsiveness matters, and it\u2019ll prompt employees to be honest with you the next time you ask for their opinion or feedback on something.<\/p>\n

\n

When you do these things, you create less of a need to have people hide behind anonymity. You demonstrate trust, and empower your employees to be accountable for what they believe and what they say.<\/p>\n

I understand that this can feel scary. It\u2019s much easier to have a box of anonymous suggestions that you can keep at arm\u2019s length, versus having to face the opinions of people who you work alongside everyday.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth it. I talk with hundreds of companies every day who choose to ask their employees for feedback in an open, honest way. And they see the positive results firsthand. CEOs have shared me that their employees will say things to them like, \u201cWow, I\u2019m so impressed with how open the leadership team is,\u201d or \u201cThis means a lot that you\u2019re asking such tough questions so openly\u200a\u2014\u200amy last company would have never done this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will your<\/em> employees say the same?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

Never miss a post \u2013 get our latest leadership insights, as they’re released…<\/h3>\n\n