Claire Lew breaks down six easy employee communication tweaks

“Feedback is such a loaded word …”

Six employee communication tips from Know Your Team’s Claire Lew

Claire Lew

Claire Lew, CEO of , talked to lisa疯马秀about the small changes for directors and managers that can make a huge difference when it comes to the day-to-day satisfaction of employees.

Lew helms Know Your Team, a that helps managers become better at running more effective one-on-ones and meetings, getting honest feedback, sharing progress, and building team rapport. She spoke at OETC’s CIO Summit in 2019.

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1. Get specific with your questions

鈥淚 think the biggest mistake that people make when they鈥檙e interacting with their employees is that they ask really vague questions like 鈥楬ow are things going?鈥� or 鈥榃hat鈥檚 going on?鈥� instead of asking more specific, meaningful questions,鈥� she said.

These questions, she said, can put employees on the spot, struggling to discern what information might actually be useful, and how they can phrase it well.

鈥淎s a result, nine times out of ten, the employee will say something like, 鈥極h, I can鈥檛 think of anything right now,鈥� or 鈥業t鈥檚 all good,鈥欌€� she said.

鈥淚nstead of asking, 鈥楬ow can I help you?鈥� you could ask a question like, 鈥榃hat about my management style can I improve?鈥�, 鈥榃hat have been your biggest time-wasters?鈥�, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 something that鈥檚 frustrated you the past few weeks?鈥� or 鈥楬ow do you feel about the direction we鈥檙e heading as a team?鈥� Those questions 鈥� are about vision and direction, about feedback and work, and you鈥檙e going to learn so much more asking questions like that.鈥�

2. Don鈥檛 ask for feedback 鈥� ask for advice

鈥�’Feedback’ is such a loaded word,鈥� Lew said. 鈥淪o instead of asking for feedback, you ask for advice 鈥� and who doesn鈥檛 love to give advice? You feel valued, you feel like you鈥檙e being helpful, and I can鈥檛 tell you how many times I鈥檝e had CEOs and managers tell me that when they swapped out the word feedback for advice 鈥� all of a sudden everyone in the room starts talking, and what was crickets is now a cacophony of people speaking up to offer their two cents. It鈥檚 night and day.鈥�

3. Start off on the right foot

One of the most important things any manager can do, Lew said, is to make sure that an environment of open communication is established right from the beginning, since the first 90 days are incredibly instrumental in how an employee will perform in their job.

鈥淭he statistics of how many people leave in the first 90 days is pretty astounding,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 believe there was with over 1,500 people where 30 percent of the employees leave in their first three months.鈥�

Besides doing things to make them feel welcome and comfortable 鈥� a document that explains processes, a seating chart with everyone鈥檚 name, a welcome note, having a project ready to go and perhaps a gift like headphones 鈥� it鈥檚 important to introduce them in a thoughtful way.

Having an introverted employee stand up in front of everyone and introduce themself, she said, could be torturous.

鈥淎t Know Your Team, we actually have something called , and it鈥檚 five fun questions to send to everyone in the organization, and everyone fills it out, including the new person,鈥� she said.

The questions are fun, and designed to convey lots of information while also not feeling overly personal or high-stakes; think ‘What’s your favorite place you’ve visited?’ or ‘Ever met anyone famous?’

鈥淪o everyone gets to know each other, and it鈥檚 this nice rapport that is building across the entire company welcoming this new person,鈥� Lew said.

4. Never underestimate the power of one-on-ones

It鈥檚 critical, she said, to have one-on-ones weekly at least during the first month, striving for biweekly or monthly after that. You need to know your new employee well in order to be able to tailor your communication to them.

Particularly with those who might be new to the workforce or industry, Lew said, these meetings will give you an incredible amount of information on their strengths and what they鈥檒l need to get up to speed with the team.

鈥淚t鈥檚 less about trying to figure out how to get them to do anything and more about understanding what their preferences are, and the gaps you鈥檙e going to have to help coach them on. And that only happens when having those one-on-one meetings.

5. Understand preferences for feedback

鈥淢anagers rarely ask, 鈥榃hat is your preferred way to receive feedback 鈥� in email, in chat, in person, over the phone, via video? What鈥檚 your preference for timing 鈥� do you want me to tell you right away, do you want me to wait a day so you can cool off, do you want a week?鈥欌€�

Also, she said, it鈥檚 important to remember that different people are comfortable with different levels of conflict.

鈥淔inding out what their orientation is toward conflict 鈥� 鈥楢re you someone who is super conflict averse or do you thrive and feel that conflict means you鈥檙e having a healthy discussion?鈥欌€�

6. Never underestimate the power of inexperience

Sometimes, the youngest and least experienced employees can bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.

Lew reinforced the need for frequent one-on-ones, but also said that you should be clear with them that their newness can be a strength.

鈥淟et them know that their perceived 鈥榣ack of experience鈥� is a huge advantage to the team and to the organization,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople who first join an organization and have nothing to compare it to, they have fresh eyes. Instead of chiding the person for the fact that they don鈥檛 have the experience, see it as an advantage, and say, 鈥榃e need your fresh eyes. If you see something that doesn鈥檛 make sense, tell us.鈥欌€�

Those new ideas, she said, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 how things become better and that鈥檚 where innovation happens. Communicating that to the person gives them credence, and makes them want to improve and contribute further.鈥�

While some of this may sound like a lot of effort, Lew said that in the end, each of these practices will help you stay focused on the most important job of any manager or director.

鈥淭he entire practice of being a great leader,鈥� she said, 鈥淚s understanding what motivates each person and letting that motivation drive them 鈥� your true role as a manager isn鈥檛 to force or influence anyone, but rather to create an environment where everyone can do their best work.鈥�

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