So, we’re well into 2011 now. It’s already been a rollercoaster ride, hasn’t it? Buoyed and then downcast by conflicting signals about the state of the economy, it’s difficult to know what the future might hold. This means that many organisations are caught between a desire to seize the green shoots of recovery, which had seemed to be emerging until recent gloomy forecasts, or to batten down the hatches in case a ‘double-dip’ recession rolls into view.
If leaders are struggling with this, just imagine how employees are feeling. Leaders, at least, have the opportunity to set their vision and plan for the way ahead. Employees further down the organisation have to wait to hear from them. And they will no doubt be comparing pessimistic media coverage of economic developments with the more optimistic picture leaders will have probably have painted to help kickstart the year. The dislocation of messages could cause anxiety and, left unchecked, drain confidence and productivity.
Leaders have to be alive to this and move quickly to keep their people on track. But they should do so after they have, to use an oft-quoted statement, given their employees “a damned good listening to”.
I am consistently surprised at the number of organisations who do not have a systematic approach to seeking and responding to employee feedback. If you’re not seeking questions, or checking understanding, how can you tell whether employees really understand what the organisation is seeking to achieve and how they fit in? How can you know whether your campaigns are hitting the mark and that employees are responding in the way you envisaged? Such research is vital – and requires more than the occasional feedback form or questionnaire. It requires a clear and consistent commitment to integrating employee views and feedback as part of ‘business as usual’. Anything less and you’re creating an unnecessary risk to the performance and productivity of the company.
It is particularly vital given the potential misalignment between ‘kick off’ messages for the year and current economic circumstances. As I wrote in a previous article here, every organisation needs to ensure its campaigns for 2011 are based on the principle of ‘relevant creativity’. That is creativity which is rooted in a thorough understanding of the audiences it is seeking to reach and inspire. The developments over the last week simply reinforce my view. Every company needs to know how its people are feeling, and what their needs and concerns are, to ensure campaigns (and wider communication activity) speak to those concerns rather than appearing unconnected or irrelevant, and falling flat as a result.
It’s not too late to react. Employee research doesn’t need to be a complex process, and can involve a blend of simple qualitative and quantitative techniques. But unless you take the time to understand where employees are now, as opposed to a few months ago, you are risking a temporary misalignment becoming a gulf into which your campaigns sink without trace.
