Input Ladder – Employee Feedback

We get it. Recent history demonstrated “the worse economic recession since the Great Depression”. That phrase has been used a billion times in the past two years. Businesses, more specifically small businesses, need to stop using the recession as a crutch for declining sales, layoffs, etc. Data shows that the US economy is growing, consumer confidence is being restored, and companies are beginning to hire again. What does that mean for corporate communication?

Well that means that as businesses begin to hire again, retention of top talent becomes more critical. In the recession, jobs were scarce and people were fearful of leaving their jobs. Now that jobs are becoming more available, talented employees may begin looking elsewhere. This means that it is your job as management to ensure that you are doing your best job at communicating with, understanding and engaging your employees. It is crucial to get back to the basics. Employees are a company’s most important asset. The best founders and CEOs know that. So bring back the optimism, and bring back the jobs. Furthermore, bring back the employee engagement. Good luck managers.

Typically, we like to discuss some fundamental HR practices that we find important for management and HR personnel to know. This time, we simply wanted to provide you with insight. Input Ladder is making some innovative changes in the near future. We look forward to hearing all feedback and suggestion. Furthermore, we want to commend the innovation within the industry. We strive to provide the best products and services, and it pleases us to see others work just as hard to improve the HR industry. Now more than ever, HR is necessary to improve company culture. Every time you look left or right, you see layoffs, downsizing and such. This spawns fear, questions and confusion in companies when these actions are without merit or warning. Companies must understand how and why PROPER communication with employees can be a tremendous factor within a company’s culture.

As big as social media has become, it is still unsuitable to bring these tools into the workplace realm. Studies show that more and more employees within a given organization are using Facebook and Twitter to talk about work-related issues. STOP IT. It is unacceptable by all standards to discuss workplace problems. Don’t use your status feed to vent about how stupid your boss is, or how you hate the director of sales. Lunch time, smoke breaks and after hours at the office are not appropriate times to use social media. Work is for work, home is for personal interests. Don’t get me wrong, some companies and organizations encourage employees to use social media to promote company initiatives. In this instance, of course it is acceptable. The times that it is not suitable is when you use these social venues as a place to express pure dissatisfaction towards something or someone at work. If you have a problem at work, let your boss or HR department know about it. Don’t take it to the internet in hope of receiving  support from your “Friends” or “Followers.” Yes, all of this sounds like common sense, however, the numbers say that people are not listening to common sense. Employees should understand the importance of professionalism, as well as the importance of communication. Talk to your boss, not to Twitter.

Input Ladder is extremely proud to see the emergence of a paradigm shift that is occurring in many companies across the country. It has become increasingly evident that companies of all sizes and industries are recognizing that their empl0yees are truly the center of productive organizations. Walt Disney recognized that each employee plays a valuable role within a company. That is why Disney empowered and encourage each employee, from custodial sweeper to park managers, to be able to provide guests with the information and services that they request. Imperial evidence demonstrates that there is a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and employee productivity. One of the best methods of increasing employee satisfaction is empowering employees to express their ideas, opinions or concerns. There are countless tools available for companies to ensure that each and every employee within their organization feel that they are valuable.

Until the standard 2-day weekend changes, Monday will continue to be known as the toughest day of the week. Employees will often arrive at work wishing that Saturday and Sunday didn’t leave so quickly. However, the work must go on. The difference between an average company and a great company is the ability to motivate your team members to view Monday as an opportunity to set the stage for a productive week. If an employee begins viewing Monday as a more positive thing, the remaining days of the week become seemingly easier to manage. Setting an environment that encourages employee happiness, whether it be through creative activities or games, the workplace can easily become a place of increased efficiency or productivity. Start by asking your team members what they like and dislike about work. You may be enlightened to find out how small changes can provide a profound difference in employee satisfaction. For example, maybe your team would appreciate if the company provided a vending machine in the break-room. Something as simple as this can provide a boost in company morale, while also providing an additional revenue stream for the company. Start talking to your team and you maybe surprised as to what you hear.

Regardless of how many people that you have in your company, 5 or 5,000, the opinions and emotions of each of your employees are crucial to workplace productivity and efficiency. One person’s negativity and discontent can seriously cause office tensio. It is the duty of management and/or human resources to ensure that each employee knows, understands and appreciates their role within an organization. Gauging each employee’s satisfaction with their role, duties and capacity is an important and on-going process. Most companies offer some form of an open-door policy in which all employees can express discontent or provide complaints or suggestions. However, due to soem sensitivity and complexities of workplace issues, employees are often hesitant to express concerns. For example, an employee may feel threatened by the possibility of being reprimanded for expressing concerns over workplace issues. To solve this problem, an innovative company has entered the landscape to solve this issue. The Input Ladder is a new employee feedback website that allows team members to express their opinion to senior management or human resources by-name or anonymously. This provides a legitimate platform for communication to occur within a company, without fear of any form of reprimand.