“Just drop into my office and tell me what’s on your mind…”
“If you need to report an issue or incident, call this number…”
Organizations have relied on open-door policies and whistleblower hotlines for gathering feedback for a while. However, these methods are no longer proving effective — but were they ever really effective in the first place? As more organizations discover the different methods through which their employees are comfortable giving feedback, open door policies and whistleblower hotlines should be bumped down the list in favor of other feedback approaches.
I’ve interacted with a number of employees and HR leaders to find out what’s working in terms of gathering open and honest feedback, and what’s not. Here’s how employees are feeling about open door policies and whistleblower hotlines, and what you can do to implement more effective resources in your organization.
Open Door Policies and Whistleblower Hotlines — Traditional But Ineffective
Two traditional, long-used methods of gathering feedback from employees are through open door policies and whistleblower hotlines. But are those methods effective?
Open Door Policies
Knock knock. Who’s there? An incomplete feedback approach. With an open door policy, a manager’s door is “always open” so employees should feel free to drop in whenever they want to talk about what’s on their mind. According to our recent report, most employees see an open door policy as being used for reporting day-to-day issues and inconveniences, like coworker disagreements, minor safety issues, and general workload concerns — not for larger grievances or concerns.
Do open door policies work, and are employees dropping in to share feedback? Not necessarily. We’ve found that only 63% of employees say their workplace even has an open door policy. The remaining 37% either don’t have an open-door policy, or they do and it’s not being upheld. In other words, the door is supposedly open, but employees find it shut when they need it.
Open door policies also assume that every employee is comfortable giving feedback in person. It’s challenging enough that nearly half of employees say they don’t feel free to speak their minds to their bosses. Yet workplaces that insist on face-to-face feedback aren’t taking into account the reality of workplace dynamics, where those who have less power or status at the company may fear retaliation for giving honest feedback to a more powerful manager in person. Also, what if the person you need to give feedback about is your manager — the one you’re supposed to go talk to in person?
Open door policies either need to be just one option in a full menu of ways to report, or need to be discarded in favor of other ways of gathering feedback.
Whistleblower Hotlines
Another long-time practice of organizations is the use of a whistleblower hotline. The origins of protected whistleblowing go back to the False Claims Act of the Civil War, and in 2002, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act was passed requiring public companies to provide their employees a way to report wrongdoing. This method, known as a whistleblower hotline (because in 2002 the only way to report was through a phone), gives employees a phone number or tip line they can call to give their feedback.
Also according to our recent report, employees see the purpose of a whistleblower hotline as a way to report mid-level issues and incidents, like a few instances of microaggressions, bias, unfairness, or unresolved safety issues.
However, like the open door policy above, whistleblower hotlines aren’t seeing much use. Worldwide, hotlines or helplines are only used by 6% of employees, ranking fourth as the most-used method to report. Even if the company does have a whistleblower hotline available, only 44% of employees said that they were aware of it, and an additional 20% weren’t sure if there was. Finally, more than half–54% of employees–do not believe whistleblower hotlines are truly anonymous.
With the two long-standing methods of gathering feedback failing to be utilized by employees to gather the feedback they were intended to, what options should HR be looking at to really serve their employees?
Better Methods for Feedback
Employees want to share honest feedback, but they may find limited channels through which to do so that feel comfortable to them. However, there are plenty of options that HR leaders have today in order to lower the barriers to feedback.
Offer multiple channels through which to report.
Each employee is different — different personalities, different communication styles, and different comfort levels — so don’t expect a one-size-fits-all approach to work. HR leaders need to provide varied feedback channels — in addition to face-to-face reporting — such as pulse surveys, form submissions, chat feedback, and even a suggestion box.
Focus on anonymous channels first.
Make sure you’re offering anonymous channels to your employees. If you’re looking for more frequent and more honest feedback, our research shows that employees are much more likely to give feedback if they can do so through anonymous methods. Anonymity also takes out the risk employees may feel they’re taking by giving feedback in person, and can give voice to everyone, not just a vocal few.
Communicate to employees that you want feedback.
Finally, make sure that employees know you want their feedback on any and all issues in the workplace — because we’ve found that only 63% of employees believe their workplace wants them to report. Talk about it in newsletters, at all-staff meetings, and include a link to your feedback platform in your email signature. The more you normalize the act of giving feedback, the more comfortable employees will be giving it.
Leaving Drop-Ins and Phone Calls Behind
The future of feedback likely won’t be open door policies and whistleblower hotlines. It will be through the channels that your employees will actually use to report issues in the workplace to you. The future of feedback will be anonymous, digital, easy to use, and will open up ways to improve the workplace culture and employee engagement.
Authored by Claire Schmidt
Claire is CEO and Founder of AllVoices, an employee feedback management platform that helps company leaders ask for, and act on, employee feedback of all kinds through a secure, truly anonymous communication channel. The platform provides real-time insights that help company leadership build and sustain healthy cultures.