Brigette Hyacinth* remembers a time when she was asked to give feedback only to be shunned when it was not what her boss wanted to hear.
My new boss told me to never be afraid to give feedback.
The next Monday morning in a meeting, I happily shared my viewpoint on a new policy.
Thereafter, I noticed my boss’s disposition towards me changed.
He stopped talking to me. I was shunned.
I even felt the effects of this in my monthly performance appraisal, where he noted that I was not supportive of the organisation, and needed to be a better team player.
The picture was quite clear — truthful feedback was not appreciated.
Heather, a co-worker, approached me and said: “You are new, honest feedback is just lip service, don’t fall for it.”
I quickly learned loyalists and sycophants were appreciated, while realists were punished.
They built a culture of ‘yes employees’. I knew I had so much to offer, yet I couldn’t. It was time to plan my exit strategy.
Your front-line employees know your clients and partners best; they interact with them daily.
They have the answers on how to improve service. They use your internal tools and systems every day.
They have the solutions on how to improve systems which can save money by driving efficiencies.
An organisation that doesn’t listen to its employees is on a slow rolling route to disaster.
If you keep treating employees poorly, you will never earn their loyalty.
Once employees decide they have had enough, they will leave in spite of what you may try to retain them.
It would be too little, too late. The signs where there early on but you ignored them.
Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be left with people who have nothing to say.
Employees, who have been pushed to the point where they no longer care, will not go the extra mile.
They will not take the initiative to solve problems; they will end up treating clients the same way you treat them.
Employees are the heartbeat of the organisation or team — if the heart stops beating what happens?
As a leader, your job is to encourage others around you to be open and honest without a negative consequence.
When employees offer their ideas and differing opinions be open minded.
Organisations that remain strong in this competitive market understand the need to embrace change and continuous improvement.
It starts with making your employees feel heard, valued and appreciated.
*Brigette Hyacinth founded the MBA Caribbean Organisation in 2008. She can be contacted at brigettehyacinth.com.
This article first appeared on Brigette’s blogsite.
