Clued-In Leaders

Doug Claffey wrote an article that appeared in The Albuquerque Journal on May 11, 2020 about the importance of strong communication during a crisis. He is the Founder of Energage, an organization that specializes in employee engagement and workplace improvement research.

He used a term in the article that caught my attention: Clued-In Leaders. Clued-in leadership is about upward feedback and employees feeling heard. It caught my attention because a related article that same day about top workplaces in New Mexico contained a quote from an employee at the top-ranked company, T-Mobile, in the large workplace category.  The employee said, “There is something to be said about a company that always has your back and listens to feedback from the front line all the way to the top.”

Claffey went on to explain what happens when organizations struggle with clued-in leadership. “When employees believe senior leaders are out of the loop, it’s harder for them to connect with the organization. And when leaders really aren’t clued in to what’s happening, they’re missing valuable insight from those closest to the customer: their employees.” He offered three ideas for keeping the lines of communication open:

• Communicating through the hierarchy. Ask employees to talk to their managers, and managers to talk to their managers, and finally talk to the senior leadership. This sounds like an open-door policy, but to be effective, it has to practiced, not simply something you put in an employee handbook. 

• Conducting town-hall or all-hands meetings. Whether in-person meetings (which will likely be on hold for a while) or virtual meetings, they are an effective way to communicate key messages and give your employees a voice. I once worked at a company that met with representatives of each department before all-hands meetings to gain insights into what was on employees minds so their concerns could be addressed at the larger meeting.

• Asking your employees for feedback. Claffey suggested pulse surveys as an efficient way to give your employees a voice, capture real-time data and deliver it to the leadership team quickly and directly. Of course if you do conduct any employee survey, you’ve got to commit to act on it and provide feedback to the employees about the survey’s results. Otherwise it becomes a paperwork exercise and can erode trust.

Leader’s communication skills are critical to the success of any organization, but more so during this time of crisis. Workplaces have been disrupted because of COVID-19 as more employees are working from home and dependent on technology—as are other family members. Communication is key during these times. Even if employees are beginning to return to the workplace, communication continues to be important. It’s better for managers to over-communicate with everyone on the team than to under-communicate.

What Do Top Workplaces Look Like?

Best workplace contests and surveys extend beyond Great Place to Work’s “World’s Best Workplaces.” Local surveys of workplaces likely take place in cities and states around the country, and New Mexico is no exception. The Albuquerque Journal partners with Energage of Philadelphia, PA to conduct an annual survey of top workplaces in the state. This year’s survey, which closed just before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in New Mexico, offers a unique insight from employee’s perspective. What makes an organization stand out in the eyes of its employees? No surprise to our readers – it’s being appreciated, challenged, coached, and invested in by their employer. These are qualities in an organization’s culture that management has to build authentically and deliberately. They are qualities that differentiate an organization. 

Doug Claffey, Founder of Energage, reported in a May 11, 2020 article in the Albuquerque Journal that “Energage has surveyed more than 20 million employees across 60,000 organizations over the past 14 years. We’ve learned that one of the things that matters most to employees — what truly motivates them — is feeling appreciated.” In the New Mexico survey, appreciation ranked only second to confidence in the direction that the organization was headed. 

Don’t be surprised to learn that appreciation far outranks pay, especially if you’re a manager. Claffey said pay is low on the list – and this has been trending for years. He suggests showing appreciation in the same way we do – offering a simple Thank You. “The simplest and sometimes the most effective form of appreciation is giving positive feedback or praise. “Thank you for your effort” or “You’re doing a really good job” goes a long way, whether delivered in person, electronically, or in a handwritten note.” As we say in The Manager’s Answer Book on page 91, a simple thank you may be all the recognition your employees need, and it’s cost effective as well.

There’s another point that Claffey makes that echoes our advice. “Managers are most familiar with their employees’ roles. Employees like to know their manager understands and values their contributions.” In The Manager’s Answer Book we talk about the importance of motivating employees. On page 89, we say, “Today’s workforce needs to know their work matters, so spend time with each staffer to educate them on the value their work brings to the organization.”

Recruitment and retention have important issues in organizations, and they are going to continue to be important. Employees and applicants will continue to look at the organization’s values and whether or not it demonstrates open-mindedness and innovation, their own ability to do meaningful work and make a contribution, and their own ability to develop and grow. Being a top workplace is more than how you rank in a survey. It’s how your organization’s culture and its climate impact your employees and your broader community.