One of the biggest challenges that companies around the world struggle with is keeping their employees engaged. Is it really enough that companies offer them free food, unlimited vacation and access to the local gym?
This graph from Glassdoor shows that the average employee engagement for 20,000+ companies is 3.1/5.
The graph shows that some companies do very well, while others do poorly when it comes to employee engagement.
The employee experience is changing not only because employees are becoming more independent, mobile or demanding than before, but also because they demand more feedback - they want to be heard and see the results.
Studies show that if you want highly engaged employees, you need to give your employees constructive feedback.
Anonymity or ?
Okay, so everyone understands that feedback is important, but the promise of anonymity encourages honest input, right? So if my employees work under the guise of anonymity, they will definitely be more honest .... No, absolutely not!
It's like being set up on a blind date by one of your friends without knowing who your date is. At first it might sound like a lot of fun, but eventually you start to seriously wonder why your friend doesn't want to reveal her identity. What if your date has two heads and three arms?
Contrary to popular belief, anonymous feedback does not encourage honesty. According to organizational psychologist Roger Schwarz, individual pieces of feedback, such as "I think this needs improvement", only cover a small part of a bigger picture, so clarification and elaboration of points is necessary.
Additionally, good feedback is a process and a dialog, which goes hand in hand with the fact that you need to know the other side, e.g. where the comments are coming from. Anonymity doesn't allow for two-way communication and it leaves the impression that the feedback doesn't lead to a real improvement. You will always be left with the question - "What did the other person really mean?"
According to the Harvard Business Review, there are these additional consequences of anonymous feedback:
- The fear factor: Employees in the company have the impression that they can't speak freely or speak up if something is bothering them.
- The distraction factor: Rather than focusing on the real purpose of the feedback, it can set off a witch hunt in the department - who said what.
- The indifference factor: "If the boss doesn't even know I was behind this task - why would I even do it?" The necessary level of specificity is missing and the desire for change is killed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, asking for your colleagues' honest opinion anonymously is not the best approach.
Employees need to understand that their bosses are human too. This image is distorted by faceless, anonymous feedback. Therefore, it's important to build trust within the company so that information can be passed on more freely and without as much pressure from the hierarchy. If you were in the same situation, would you trust another person who speaks to you openly and transparently, or someone who is hidden behind a computer screen?
In conclusion, as Dr. Sydney Finkelstein, Professor of Management at Dartmouth, said:
"Successful leaders recognize that mistakes happen, and they encourage their employees to speak up so that everyone in the company can learn, adapt and adjust in a timely manner."
.png)
