7 Responses to Employee Complaints
Things are worse than you fear when you aren’t hearing complaints. People are lying. Culture is broken, fear blocks honesty. Or people are disengaged.
Tension bubbles below the surface when leaders aren’t hearing employee complaints.
7 responses to employee complaints:
#1. Say, “Thanks for bringing this up.”
#2. Let people know their feelings matter.
Apologize even if you didn’t do anything wrong.
- I’m sorry this went badly for you.
- I’m sorry this is so upsetting.
- I’m sorry things didn’t go as you hoped or expected.
- I’m sorry you were disappointed.
#3. Avoid offering quick solutions.
Don’t say:
- That’s because…
- You need to understand…
- We’re doing our best…
- You should…
Explanations make you seem out of touch to those who feel unheard. Justifications feel like indifference.
#4. Always ask questions.
Gentle curiosity feels like compassion. Complaints are opportunities to help people feel heard. But statements express authority.
Bite your tongue. If you can’t think of a question, say, “Tell me more.” Slow down and breathe.
If you want to escape, lean in. Use questions to get to the heart of the matter.
#5. Turn to the future.
Suppose employees complain that they aren’t supported. Ask, “What does support look like to you?” Other forward-facing questions include…
- What does it look like when things are going well?
- What could be done – next time – to make things better?
- Who should be included in this conversation?
- What can you do to make things better next time?
Ask, “How can I help?” But don’t do people’s jobs for them.
#6. Identify one key behavior that needs to happen next time.
Don’t try to solve everything. Just move forward.
#7. Set a follow-up meeting, when appropriate.
Complaints are a form of concern. Employee complaints indicate people care about something.
What are some useful responses to employee complaints?
Still curious:
4 Types of Employee Complaints — and How to Respond – HBR
Great timing on this! I’m working though a complaint right now of a disgruntled former employee. Although it appears that the complaint against the supervisor is not valid, there is some things I feel we need to improve upon from the perspective of all employees.
Thanks, JL. Your comment brings to mind the different kinds of complaints and complainers. Some complaints come from sincere people who want to make things better. Highly committed people can complain because they want to make things better. Other people are chronic complainers. It sounds like you bring the idea of potential legal concerns from complaints by former employees. I’m glad you jumped in today.
Excellent treatise on handling employee complaints. It is often a tedious process to differentiate between legitimate concerns and run-of-the-mill employee gripes that will, I suppose, be with us always. But the greatest truth is revealed in the introductory paragraph; hearing no complaints is usually a sign that something is seriously broken. Especially, I never wanted my people to feel afraid to complain.
I have worked with and for several leaders who preferred to remain oblivious to valid employee concerns, almost always to their detriment. Moving decisively to address these concerns really shows employees that the leadership cares about them and values their input. Ignoring or dismissing them has the opposite effect.
I read a book long ago called “A Complaint is a Gift,” and I most often found this to be the case.
It is difficult for anyone at the top of an organization to know everything that is going on within, and especially so when there are people working hard to make sure you don’t find out. Getting to the bottom of complaints can often reveal heretofore unknown issues and problems.
The focus is always on solving problems and moving forward.
“A Complaint is a Gift.” That’s beautifully put. I see the voice of experience in your comment. There are some situations where it’s possible to listen to complaints too long. But usually, listening to complaints is a time-saver. Thanks for sharing your insight and experience, Jim.
This resonates because I’m currently the employee who has started to go dark and no longer vocalize opportunities. It becomes increasingly disengaging when every opportunity identified becomes your problem to fix or your opportunity to do things better. Poor leadership is when they expect the employee to influence all parts of the organization, but the leader is not willing to influence at a leadership level.
I’ve always taken the idea that you have to bring a solution if you bring a problem with a grain of salt. In some cases, it’s definitely true. In other cases, the concern is beyond the scope of the person bringing it.
Nagging issues lead to disengaged employees. You want things to get better but can’t effect desired improvements. Helplessness is frustrating. Fearful leadership is disappointing.
Just in case you forgot, don’t harm your career by pulling back. It feels good to disengage when things don’t change, but it’s self-sabotage. I wish you well, and things for expanding the conversation, Ryan.
I appreciate this post. In my line of work I’m more like a sole proprietor. I’m a pastor and teacher. I don’t hear employee complaints but parishioner/student complaints. How I respond to these makes a big difference. Sometimes the matter is out of my hands, but at other times there is something I can do. But as Dan reminds me, the first thing to do is listen.
Thanks, Pete. One of the biggest challenges is the pressure we put on ourselves to solve everyone’s problems and concerns. If we aren’t careful we become puppets to people with complaints. There’s a difference between responding and pressuring ourselves to make everything OK. I wish you success.
Thank you
My, pleasure, John.