9 Practical ways to Ask Your People What’s REALLY Going on in the Workplace
Effective leadership hinges on actively engaging with your team and understanding their perspectives. Asking your people what’s really going on in the workplace isn’t just a suggestion—it’s a non-negotiable aspect of Positive Leadership. By soliciting feedback, you can uncover valuable insights, address concerns, and promote a culture of safety and care.
Far too often, decisions are made based on assumptions and guesswork, without consulting those directly impacted by our decisions; our people. You can read more about that here (Risky Business: Don’t Guess, Ask Your People).
In this blog, we share practical strategies to help you engage with your people to assist with the proactive and early identification of psychosocial hazards or workplace stressors your people might be experiencing.
Tip 1: Create Open Channels of Communication
Establish regular actual “open door” hours throughout the week where employees can drop in to share their thoughts or concerns and encourage employees to report any workplace stressors or psychological risks they may encounter.
Tip 2: Be Approachable and Accessible
Schedule regular check-ins/1:1s with your team to discuss their current workload, projects, and experiences to address any challenges they may be facing. Use these check-ins to gather information about potential sources of stress or discomfort in the workplace.
Tip 3: Ask Specific Questions
Ask targeted questions during team meetings or 1:1s to gather actionable feedback. For example, be intentional about enquiring about factors such as workload, job control, support from colleagues, and workplace culture to identify potential psychosocial hazards.
Tip 4: Listen Actively
Practice active listening techniques, such as summarising what you’ve heard and asking open or clarifying questions. It is important to pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues that may indicate underlying stressors or challenges.
Tip 5: Seek Diverse Perspectives
When thinking about organisational wide projects or change ensure you encourage participation from employees at all levels and teams to ensure that a variety of viewpoints are considered. Recognise that different roles and backgrounds may present unique psychosocial hazards and stressors and aim to capture a comprehensive picture of the workplace environment.
Tip 6: Lead by Example
Share examples of how you’ve incorporated employee feedback into decision-making processes to demonstrate the importance of workplace consultation. You can also use this as an opportunity to highlight the role consultation plays in identifying and mitigating psychosocial hazards to ensure we are creating cultures of safety and care.
Tip 7: Follow Up and Take Action
Provide regular updates to employees on the actions taken as a result of their feedback. Communicate how feedback has been used to address identified psychosocial hazards and improve workplace culture and change programs.
Tip 8: Encourage Peer-to-Peer Feedback
Facilitate opportunities for team members to provide feedback to each other in a constructive manner. Emphasise the importance of supporting each other’s wellbeing and identifying potential sources of stress collaboratively.
Tip 9: Stay Proactive
Actively monitor the pulse of the workplace by regularly seeking feedback and addressing issues as they arise. Use ongoing feedback mechanisms to identify emerging psychosocial hazards and implement preventive measures proactively.
By implementing these practical strategies, leaders can foster a culture of open communication, collaboration, and wellbeing in the workplace while simultaneously identifying, eliminating, and reducing psychosocial hazards as they arise. Remember, asking your people what’s really going on isn’t just a leadership skill—it’s an essential component of creating a safe, healthy, and thriving work environment for all.
For more information on how externally focus groups can be and added support to these strategies read here.
Awareness Co. is committed to helping leaders create cultures of safety and care and to minimise psychosocial hazards in their workplace. Since 2017, our team of experienced Human Resources, Mental Health and Change professionals have been leading the way with practical solutions that support workplace wellbeing strategies and meet Work Health & Safety obligations.
Not sure where to start? Click here to claim your free consultation with us today.
