Cheers for peers

"What we're interested in isn't who's saying it, but rather what's being said. By being anonymous, it encourages much more truthful, forthcoming feedback than I'd ever get by asking someone in person, 'How are we doing?' 'How's the culture?' Sometimes people will disguise themselves using broken English to ensure their candid remarks are never traced back to them. But we get unvarnished truth from this."Anonymous feedback also ensures every employee is given an equal vote on every question that's asked. No one person's feedback is given greater weight; the loudest voice can never drown out the others.When leaders first launch TinyPulse, they have a common fear that employees will use the technology to throw rocks at them. While some comments can be raw,Tool Rental Depot opens on South Main Street leaders are often surprised by the constructive and even praising feedback they receive.

It's a gutsy move to ask employees "How valued do you feel at work" and to then disclose that several people aren't currently feeling the love. But Niu insists the constant polling would be disingenuous were the results never released."Our philosophy is that it's incumbent upon the leader to share it," he told me. "The choice by companies to use TinyPulse inherently signals an organization's inclination toward transparency and sharing more information versus less." While managers always have the discretion to withhold some data, "we tell CEOs it's better to put it out there and acknowledge that some people aren't happy. These are great opportunities to remind employees that you're always reviewing strategy and culture; the whole reason you ask these questions is to give them a voice."

We can all recall times when managerial decisions affected us personally--and negatively--yet felt uncomfortable voicing concern. According to the TinyPulse methodology, leaders respond to all feedback they receive without knowing to whom they're responding."When managers reply this way," says Niu, "people know immediately that they've been heard and their feedback is taken seriously. And having an influential voice like this is a basic human need that's really important to people. Very often, employees get a better understanding of intended solutions or even why the business decision will go unchanged." Clarity is also the antidote to ambiguity--a known cause of employee discontent.