How managers collect and communicate employee insights

Managers play multiple roles as the closest touchpoint to the rest of the organization an employee has. They’re advisors, coaches, and teammates capable of translating what’s happening in the organization and framing how it impacts the employee and team.

Managers also must be skilled listeners who go beyond the numeric data with their reports using tools, collaboration and relationship-building tactics. This mix captures an unfiltered snapshot of qualitative sentiment that shapes employee culture.

Anonymous listening tools uncover deeper qualitative insights

Listening for deeper team insights is a great start, but meaningful change for employees can be tough to come by without the right tools or strategies in place. The pulse survey is a good starting point for listening, but it shouldn’t be the only tool at a manager’s disposal.

Daviera Powell, senior manager of internal communications at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, manages an employee feedback tool called “All Voices” on top of the typical survey data they collect. Managers, comms and HR use this tool to gain insights into employee sentiment.

“Folks can use this anonymous tool to voice cultural concerns,” Powell explained, “but we also employ it to get feedback that can help enhance our employee experience going forward.”

Collaboration around this data collection and interpretation is key to making a positive difference for employees. Managers are expected to share qualitative data with leaders who can act on it and make changes accordingly.

“Our CEO is pretty hands-on and monitors All Voices himself quite a bit,” Powell continued. “Activating the feedback loop from employees to managers to leaders encourages managers to have conversations with their teams that promote openness, leading to deeper insights into employee feelings.”

This CEO involvement also led to organizational changes concerning feedback.

“Our CEO has established a Senior Leadership Council, consisting of senior leaders from all departments, to address feedback on silos and the need for enhanced collaboration,” Powell said.

Cross-collaboration and external touchpoints offer a fresh perspective

Though managers know their reports the best of anyone in the organization, they don’t need to work alone to find deeper insights into the employee base.

Managers can work with HR to refine the types of employee personas they’re looking at to gain deeper knowledge of potential trends. Amber Walcker, a comms leader and head of her own consulting firm, recommends that managers identify trends by focusing specifically on employees who have been at an organization under six months and those with the longest tenure.

Managers can also look externally. Seeking outside information offers a bird’s eye view of cultural concerns.  For instance, Glassdoor can help unpack employee feelings from an outsider’s viewpoint.

“Even an external source like Glassdoor can be great for determining employee sentiment,” Walcker said. “It gives you a direct perspective into employee experience in their own words, both the good and bad.”

Walcker shared a story of a recent colleague sharing a report with her about a manager they wished was better at communicating.

“This allowed us to build training for managers to help them communicate how their specific efforts role up to the larger organization goals,” she said. “This seems very rudimentary but believe it or not, so many managers forget the basics or were never properly trained themselves.”

Leaning into trust-based relationships yields actionable knowledge

Trusting relationships lend themselves to the best employee-manager insights. To lean into an old adage from NFL star Brian Dawkins, the best ability is availability.

The roots of important manager-employee qualitative data start with the simplest conversations. Anne DeAngelis, executive vice president of employee engagement strategy at Zeno Group, remembers when a VP at a past role made time for each of their 50 reports to have an open forum for half an hour, sowing the seeds for openness and trust.

“Be deliberate and intentional when speaking with reports — they’re the ones who are closest to the work on a day-to-day basis,” DeAngelis said. “They have the deepest insights into what changes need to be made to improve employee experience. Sharing that knowledge with decision-makers can make a big difference.”

With these qualitative insights in hand, managers are in the best position to share what they learn to employees and leadership. Their role as a conduit at the crossroads of the organization is critically important.

“Managers are on the front lines with employees,” Powell said. “To set them up for success, we need to instill them with the confidence to have conversations with their reports and share that information with leaders to create positive change.”

You can learn more about internal comms skills and tactics from Daviera and Amber at our Internal Communications Conference from October 16-18 in Seattle.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.