6 types of employee feedback every frontline organization should collect
Frontline employees across any company are aware of 100% of an organization鈥檚 front-line problems. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e the ones who implement new strategies and processes from head office. They鈥檙e the ones who talk to customers on a daily basis. They鈥檙e a wealth of information鈥攊f you ask for it.
When properly collected and acted upon, :
- Employee feedback turns ineffective and time-wasting processes into seamless ones
- Employee feedback turns top customer complaints or requests into business opportunities that improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue
- Employee feedback turns disgruntled employees into highly engaged employees who consistently show up ready to perform
When it comes to gathering this upward feedback, there are so many different types you can collect to capture those elusive insights鈥攁nd drive employee engagement. Here are six types of employee feedback your frontline organization should be collecting:
1. Employee experience feedback
According to Forbes, 鈥渢he emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.鈥 To simplify that further, organizations can gauge engagement as whether or not employees show up to work and try. . And regardless of how engaged (or not) your front line employees are, it鈥檚 important to continuously collect feedback around the employee experience because:
- There鈥檚 always room for improvement, and
- Things change
Take the pandemic as a prime example of life and work never being constant. Things are bound to happen, whether it鈥檚 a global pandemic, or local policies that impact the workforce. Keeping a pulse on what your workforce feels about their experience at work ensures that you鈥檙e addressing engagement issues quickly, and keeping your workforce happy and productive.
2. Employee feedback on management
In corporate offices, it鈥檚 likely that you鈥檙e running . However this practice is less common for the frontline workforce. That being said, organizations should give their employees opportunities to provide feedback on their manager to higher-ups. Why? As the old adage goes, .
Remember the ? Only 9% of middle management and 4% of executives are aware of an organization鈥檚 problems. This includes bad supervisors. The best way to find out if your supervisors are fostering an engaging work environment is through offering your workers feedback channels to share concerns privately and without worry of ramifications.
One thing to note: when you ask for employee feedback, it鈥檚 important that you don鈥檛 frame it in a way that makes supervisors feel like their job is on the line. Instead, approach it as a way to collect feedback for the purpose of improving the workplace for everyone, supervisors included.
3. Workplace protocols and process-oriented feedback
You want your stores or locations to be as efficient as possible, right? While ideas and processes sound great on paper, they don鈥檛 always pan out in real life. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important to collect feedback around protocols and processes from your employees.
A big piece of collecting this type of upward feedback is building psychological safety across your workforce so that they feel comfortable sharing their insights on what could make the company run smoother. Like with manager feedback, there can be a fear among frontline workers that their feedback will lead to repercussions. Fostering a feedback culture over time reiterates to your employees that they鈥檙e encouraged to safely share critical feedback.
As you collect this employee feedback, you鈥檒l be able to update inefficient processes and put together best practices that you can roll out to new and existing employees. You鈥檒l also be able to update your onboarding programs to ensure that all new hires are following the most up-to-date training.
4. Health and safety concerns
To talk about health and safety, we need to first talk about According to Maslow, motivation comes from fulfilling five basic human needs:
- Physiological needs
- Safety
- Love and belonging
- Esteem
- Self-actualization
Let鈥檚 focus on the second tier: safety. Safety is a basic need. It鈥檚 perfectly normal for employees to want to feel safe at their workplace. When feelings of safety are high, it increases overall employee engagement. Safety concerns can differ from industry to industry鈥攁nd even from location to location. Safety concerns might include:
- Trepidation around ongoing cleaning/safety protocols
- Concerns around theft or violence (our recent research found that whopping 40% of retail and grocery associates are scared to go to work)
- Knowledge gap flags around using machinery or equipment
- Ideas on how to navigate natural disasters or other emergencies, especially in regions prone to hurricanes or tornadoes
- Burnout or mental health concerns
That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to collect health and safety concerns across all of your locations on a frequent basis. Another crucial piece of gathering health and safety feedback is to remain open and welcoming to any and all feedback鈥攖his is another type of feedback that requires a lot of psychological safety to ensure your workforce feels able to share their safety concerns without fear of repercussion. But it鈥檚 worth it: the sooner you get your staff feeling safe and confident, the faster they鈥檒l be motivated to thrive.
5. Knowledge gaps
You鈥檙e likely introducing new products or services throughout the year. While your product team or buyers are very aware of what this new thing does, the same shouldn鈥檛 be assumed about your frontline workers.
As the face of the company, it鈥檚 important that this segment of your workforce is equipped with the knowledge and training to assist and advise customers. This is even more important in today鈥檚 omnichannel approach, especially in retail, foodservice and hospitality, where guests and customers are coming into locations armed with a lot of information.
Knowledge gaps can be identified and flagged in a number of ways, especially if you have the right frontline enablement tool in place. And as part of that strategy, asking your employees directly what information they need is also a great way to identify problem areas. After all, when your employees feel supported, and when they have the information needed to successfully serve customers, everyone wins.
6. Customer insights
Frontline employees have the most exposure to your customers. They鈥檙e the ones answering questions, listening to real-time feedback and seeing how customers or guests interact with your brand. This information is solid gold. This is the intel that can improve your CX and drive sales through better insight on:
- The products customers are looking for
- The processes or rules customers are frustrated with (i.e. hours of operation, return policies, etc)
- What customers love about your company and what excites them most about it
This type of employee feedback, more than any other type, requires a real-time approach. Here鈥檚 another place where a digital communication app can come in really handy鈥攊deally employees can log feedback, customer insights, or other ideas right from their phones, as soon as they happen. If you ask them to hold on to these ideas until after their shift, they鈥檒l likely forget鈥攁nd in some cases, it might be too late to act on the feedback.
鈥
Frontline employees are the face of your company. As a result, it鈥檚 important that organizations make the time to listen to their employees and collect a wide range of feedback to improve your employee experience, workplace and customer/guest experience鈥攁nd drive better business outcomes as a result.