Whose timing are we talking about anyway?

Chantel Wilson Chase - Science-based Insights Professional for the Human Experience, HX, CX, EX

Whose timing are we talking about anyway?

Looking at the timing of employee feedback.

Now that we have some basics to listening (to customers, members, employees, patients), let’s review what the next steps could be. In my current role, the voice I focus on is the employee voice, so I will refer to employees, but this can, broadly speaking, be translated to members, customers, patients, clients, etc. Change the context but keep the strategy and it will work. 

First, remember the basics from my last article? (cue Cliff notes from high school, please, Chantel: Score matters, but what they ACTUALLY say matters more. And timing and context are key. Interpret data in light of timing and context). Good news – now you don’t have to read the listening basics article! 

 The next step is to think strategically about timing. Figure out how often is reasonable to gain feedback. And while this seems simple on the surface, there are a couple strategic components to think about in relation to timing. Depending on whose perspective, the timing will change. Gaining valuable feedback from the company perspective may revolve around yearly (Gregorian/calendar year, fiscal or academic) calendars while timing from the employee’s perspective will be dependent on lifecycle employment events. 

 1. Company-based timing: Listening channels that are always on, for example, think Facebook, glassdoor, internet, regular pulse surveys and yearly engagement surveys will supply the company with a broad sense of sentiment OVERALL. How often you collect this depends on bandwidth, prioritization for the company, and – ultimately - what you do with the data, in essence, its perceived value.

 Are these always-on listening posts monitored, reviewed, and socialized within the company? Are you using them to improve the employee experience or drive change? Do you have the bandwidth to do due diligence with the data? If so, these will be valuable to you. To the contrary, if they are always on but there are no dedicated resources to mining them, chances are they will fall by the wayside. So, bottom line, pick strategically and thoughtfully on what you can stand up.

 2. Employee-based timing: Where, in the lifecycle of the employee (moments that matters if you are thinking about customers/clients) are you going to intentionally collect feedback? In this case, you want to think about milestones such as hire dates and first 90-days, promotions and separations. Don’t forget to think about the moments that matter that may be less optimal such as internal candidates going for the promotion and NOT getting it – their experience may be even more valuable than the one promoted (more on that in a future article). It’s imperative here to think not only of the obvious moments that matter, but the missed ones as well. Think deliberately on where to capture those moments - and always from their perspective. 

 Please feel free to share this article, like or comment. I will respond! My goal is and always has been to elevate insights and the strategy and process we choose to collect data. In a world full of data, are we teasing out what is important and letting the noise fall away? 

 By writing this series, I hope I get one or two people to think a little more critically on what good listening (and hearing) looks like. And if you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them! In my next article, I will share the moments that matter from the employee’s perspective – not the company’s. Stay tuned!