The first two articles explored why CEO accessibility matters and creative tactics to boost connections with employees at all levels. But thoughtfully increasing interactions – especially vulnerable sharing – requires establishing guard rails to keep things constructive and professional.Subscribe
While the openness is positive, the reality is employees will naturally bring complaints and criticisms to the CEO. How leaders handle these situations impacts trust and transparency moving forward.
Here are some best practices for ensuring executive-employee engagements remain healthy, safe, and productive as you work to increase connectivity:
Set Realistic Expectations
Be clear upfront that the goal of increased access is gathering direct feedback and strengthening relationships – but you may not be able to solve every issue raised immediately. Empathize with frustrations but reframe the objective as understanding employees better through open communication.
Involve Other Leaders
Alert the heads of HR, Legal, Communications, and your leadership team about efforts to boost access. Develop protocols for handling sensitive topics like harassment or protected class issues. Agree that core team meetings are forums for constructive debate about employee concerns.
Redirect Complaints as Insights
When employees air grievances, listen empathetically and thank them for sharing candidly. But don’t get sucked into bashing other leaders or initiatives. Redirect the conversation into focusing on potential solutions or ways the employee could constructively address the issue through proper channels.
Follow Up and Loop Back
After sensitive conversations, follow up with employees to show you reflected on what was discussed and care about their perspective. Loop back once you have more information instead of going silent. Even if resolution is not possible, employees will appreciate your transparency.
Establish Anonymity Options
If employees seem uncomfortable or fearful of retaliation for transparent feedback, emphasize that anonymity is an option. Provide channels like anonymous surveys and suggestion boxes to share thoughts safely. However, encourage people to engage directly if willing.
Address Issues Calmly
If conversations get heated or emotional, remain calm and professional. Thank the employee for sharing passionately and emphasize you want to discuss issues productively. If needed, suggest revisiting the topic after a cool-down period.
Refer to Other Resources
While leaders should provide a caring ear, they are not trained counselors. If an employee is clearly struggling with personal issues beyond work frustrations, compassionately share internal resources like Employee Assistance Programs they can turn to.
Get An Outside Read
Every 12-18 months, engage an organizational consultant to gather candid feedback through anonymous employee surveys and focus groups. An external view will spot issues and opportunities you may be too close to see. Check your assumptions and adapt your accessibility approach based on what you learn.
Discuss Privately, Reward Publicly
Handle tricky topics and complaints privately to avoid public embarrassment. But publicly recognize employees who engage transparently and demonstrate company values candidly and professionally.
Executive engagement sets the tone. While you cannot control all behaviors, consistently redirecting conversations to constructive, solutions-oriented grounds will help establish explicit norms.
Monitor for Changes in Employee Status
Pay attention if engaged employees suddenly withdraw or leave the company soon after candid conversations. While correlation does not always indicate causation, investigate whether retaliation occurred and reemphasize it is unacceptable.
Leaders should make it clear that retaliation against any employee for raising concerns in good faith violates company values. Those who speak up should be supported, not punished. This helps reinforce a culture where people feel safe highlighting issues early before they escalate.
Executive Accessibility: An Ongoing Journey
As you expand connectivity, periodically solicit anonymous feedback about the process. Finetune your approach based on how employees experience your increased accessibility. Persevere through bumps to keep cultivating openness at all levels.
Done right and with care, CEO accessibility sets a tone of openness, inclusion, and transparency that becomes ingrained in the culture. But it requires a commitment to patience and persistence.
The Bottom Line
Accessibility opens communication channels both ways. While leaders must often initiate outreach, employees are also responsible for sharing feedback constructively and bringing solutions to the table.
With the right intentions, mindsets, and guard rails, increased CEO-employee connectivity unlocks an invaluable sense of shared purpose. Ultimately, that propels organizations to greater heights.
So, walk the halls, schedule skip-level meetings, and ask for openness. Progress won’t be perfect. However, moving toward understanding the employee experience at all levels is well worth the effort.
