Encouraging feedback from volunteers and staff

Abstract

Good communication has tremendous potential to help managers supervise people effectively. Exchanging information face-to-face, holding regularly scheduled meetings, and promoting questions are all key to helping an organization reach its goals. This effective practice is excerpted from A Manager's Guide to Communication, developed by United Way's AmeriCorps Training and Technical Assistance Project in cooperation with CIGNA Corporation, and based upon work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

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Issue

Effective communication with volunteers and staff is one of the primary, and most crucial, managerial roles.

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Action

• Meetings are a great way to encourage feedback and the exchange of ideas, so be sure to hold them regularly.
• Develop an environment in which people feel comfortable asking questions by convincing others that you welcome their participation.
• Include a question and answer session as a customary part of every meeting. This will help make the routine exchange of information the norm.
• Review with your staff that there are two types of feedback: negative and positive. Negative feedback closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Positive feedback confirms that you are moving in the right direction.
• If you encounter tough questions and don't have all the answers, it is perfectly acceptable to admit you don't know and offer to get back to the person. Following up earns you credibility for doing what you said you would do, acknowledges the validity of the question, and tells the individual he or she is worthy of a response.
• In dealing with complex information, such as financial management or a shift in goals, it's a good idea not to assume that everyone understands the issue on the first hearing. Often an issue bears repeating so that people can fully comprehend it. Most everyone will benefit from a discussion in a meeting or other appropriate setting. A discussion gives people a chance to air questions and concerns that would otherwise turn into speculation and rumor.

Other ways to encourage feedback include:

• Be available. Make it easy for people to approach you.
• Take more time with people. Ask more questions. Get their opinions and their reactions to changes.
• Maintain more visibility by circulating and making it clear that you are an accessible manager.
• Check in regularly with the grapevine. It will probably have information before you do. Chances are it won't be accurate, which gives you the opportunity to set the record straight — and if you don't know, find out.
• Talk to everyone, formally or informally. It's surprising what people will tell you in the elevator or the parking lot.
• Listen to people who do not report directly to you. Some managers find informal breakfasts or lunches, all voluntarily attended, excellent opportunities to find out what people are thinking.
• Share successes from your group as well as other groups in the organization. Nothing sells like success. When the news is often less than positive, people start to get the feeling that "we can't do anything right." The truth is, people are probably doing a lot of things right. Pass it on.
• Conduct your own communications survey. Give people a chance to tell you anonymously what they need. Often managers voice concerns that by being more accessible and candid, they may be creating unrealistic expectations about fulfilling employee needs. But listening and communicating don't always mean agreeing or doing something you don't want to do. It simply means clearing the air.

Good communication is one of the most important responsibilities of any manager; at its core are the following elements:

• Clarity: Conveys clear and honest messages in a timely manner, and answers the who, what, where, when, and why.
• Listening: Encourages information to flow in all directions.
• Relevance: Provides not only the vision but also the logistics so people know what needs to be accomplished, and their individual roles in attaining that success.

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Citation

A Manager's Guide to Communication developed by United Way's AmeriCorps Training and Technical Assistance Project in cooperation with CIGNA Corporation, and based on work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Cooperative Agreement CA95-02.

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Outcome

• Regular question and answer periods during meetings have been shown to relax staff and lead to more open exchange of ideas.
• When communication flows in all directions, people tend to like their jobs better.
• Morale is highest in organizations that listen to people and act on what they hear.
• Good communication establishes, over time, a climate in which people can raise issues freely and ask the kind of questions that clear the air. It paves the way for building confidence and trust.
• When employees are aboard in a team oriented way, you get better team effort and results, along with happier employees.
• People are more likely to accept management decisions because of an understanding of the "why" behind events, even if they don't agree with the changes or decisions.

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Evidence

To know if you have achieved your communication objectives, set measurement criteria by asking (and answering) the following questions:

• Has work performance improved?
• Are you getting more questions?
• Are people spotting potential problems before they arise?
• Has morale improved?
• Are people taking more initiative?

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Source Documents

Related Practices

• Improving active listening skills for more effective supervision
• Planning a participant or staff retreat

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