What Employees Want
What do your employees expect of you? Occasionally we ask that question of ourselves in exasperation, more often we ask because we are just trying to figure it out. We think we have given them all they ever ask for (and more) – but have we really given them what THEY want? Or we think, “I haven’t heard a complaint from anyone, so it MUST be all okay.”
If you speak with hourly teams, there are some unique items that one specific person may want, or one team needs that is unique to that team only. In general, what employees want from their leaders is common across industry.
They want a leader:
to know their people.
to set a good example.
to be confidential.
to be open.
to be fair and consistent.
to recognize good behavior and performance.
to act in correcting poor performance.
to be ethical and honest.
to have a sense of urgency.
to be safe and promote safety.
to be knowledgeable and believe in the product.
to be responsive and communicate timely.
to be responsible.
to be objective.
to be respectful.
to take care of the employees.
to take care of the customer.
to be a good listener.
And to train and develop the employees.
They want their company:
to be environmentally conscious.
to pay fairly.
to provide affordable benefits.
to be honest and transparent.
And to be a company they are proud to work for.
How do we find out what is important to your team? Simply ask. You can hold short rap sessions, and have an open-ended ask, “Tell me ________, what are the most important things I can do to support you as your leader?” You can also provide a sheet with various behaviors, such as those listed above, and ask each team member to circle their top 5 choices. Or don’t limit it, tell them to rank all items in most to least important. A key to understanding what our employees want is to listen. We must step away from what is important to us, things we want from our own leader. What we want can often be what our team wants, but not always.
One great tool I have seen is a “Stay Interview”. This type of interview is like an “Exit Interview” that is conducted after a person is no longer working for your company except the “Stay Interview” is done while they are actively employed and are designed to check in and keep asking, “why do they stay”, and, “what keeps you with our organization”? Also giving you a chance to course correct before they leave you.
If you are feeling your team is in a situation where they will not open up to you directly, or you tried to ask and they didn’t speak up, then a focus group discussion with a supportive HR Professional can be of great help. Talking to the team and combining their thoughts into similar categories and done with a level of anonymity so the team feels comfortable speaking up could be a great way to really listen and hear your employees. I would be happy to help you connect with your team.
