Ask the expert: Feedback systems need to be based on mutual trust

How do you deal with communication surveys at your workplace? DR MARIE WILSON, head of management and employment relations at the University of Auckland Business School, who has 20 years' experience in corporate management and small business, answers this question and has advice for consultants dealing with job-searchers.

Q: My chief executive is always telling us what a great communicator he is, and has been circulating these surveys which ask all staff, anonymously, to rank the quality of interpersonal communication between themselves and the individual to whom they report. However, most of us feel that we can't say anything honest for fear of identification and retribution. How do we handle this?


A: Multiple sources of feedback, or 360-degree appraisal, can be very good, but needs a well-thought-out approach.

Research suggests that wide-scale feedback and appraisal systems are effective only if they apply to senior management as well.

Is your Great Communicator getting feedback from his subordinates? If not, chances are this initiative will fail.

Feedback systems also depend on some degree of trust.

A better approach might be a less threatening system, such as asking staff members to list the best and the worst things about their boss' interpersonal communication, and then having a neutral third party collect and summarise this feedback and discuss it with the manager.

Some moderation might be necessary or an alternative process used in smaller working groups, where people may feel identifiable.

The manager could then present his or her own summary and work with staff members to find ways to build on strengths and address problems.

A system of checking back to make sure progress is occurring is another positive step.

Q: How do you rate a consultant who sends an e-mail saying they are willing to talk over my application for a position advertised, gives a likely time when it would take place, never calls, and on being approached after couple of days, the secretary informs me: "Sorry, the consultant was very busy and I was about to send you a letter informing you that you were unsuccessful?" A formal letter is received the next day with no mention of or regret about the call that disappeared into thin air.


A: How would I rate them? Certainly not well on this interaction. While the primary focus of the consultant is matching applicants to jobs, there are a number of other activities going on as well.

Firstly, they are representing two companies - their own and the one they are conducting the search for.

The image and reputation of both depend on professional interactions. Good systems in place to manage job-seekers are part of the reason companies contract out the search process.

Secondly, they are building and maintaining their own network and knowledge on the qualifications of job-seekers, and not handling the process well makes you less likely to put yourself forward to their clients in future.

All companies need to be aware that job applicants are another customer for information and services. Long-term impressions of the company as a good employer rest on effective management of the recruiting and selection process, whether it is done in-house or through a search firm.