As little ones, most of the time, we spend on asking questions because we are continuously curious about things around our life. That’s when we are learning at an incredible rate.
Indeed, questions are fundamental for continuous learning and growth, no matter what the stage of life. For leaders who want business growth and productive employees, feedback is the key. And the right questions can lead to candid feedback.
Employees are often hesitant to raise their real opinions about the company and their manager. They are afraid of negative consequences. Still, cultivating a honesty culture will help out a lot in bettering your company. First, when you ask for direct feedback from your workers, they may not be very enthusiastic. But if you ask inquisitive and specific questions to invite their input, you will find them more willing to open up.
Ask specific but open-ended questions
Asking these questions will allow your workers to openly express their opinions and insights:
- Some questions should be general – for example, what is something the company could do to improve?
- Then asking for specifics – for example, which company processes are efficient and which ones are not?
- Asking for feedback about yourself – for example, how can you, as a manager, work to be better?
- Asking how your workers are doing with their work – for example, what are you enjoying about your work right now? What are you finding difficult about your work?
- Asking your workers if they need anything – for example, what can we do for you as our employees?
Go deeper
Ask “why” a lot. Just try to get answers that are more than the surface. Because workers need to feel comfortable enough to raise their valuable insights and ideas. Employees that do the daily work are those that can define the company and know its best. They are a mine of information and knowledge. Unless you are flying blind, just listen to them.
Listen attentively
You can ask right questions, but if you can’t listen to their responses effectively, acting on them, your workers will quickly become disengaged and lose interest in answering your questions and giving critical feedback.
Instead, pay attention to their answers, even taking note. Do your best to integrate the feedback and implement their suggestions. Ensure everyone feel like part of the team, their ideas are taken seriously and can contribute to the team growth.
Set expectations
Your workers may have different ideas about what is working and what is not. So make it clear that while you value their feedback, not all of them can be implemented at once. Tell them that you will find for patterns in their responses and try to deal with issues or concerns that seem to impact many of them.
Encourage solutions
Asking questions is important to learning how well your company is doing at meeting the employee needs, but if you keep on asking open-ended questions, you may find yourself being entangled with a mass of problems. So encourage your employees to suggest solution if they present an issue. Use probing questions to help them find out a solution alongside you.
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