by Steve Adubato, PhD

The workplace is filled with employees that are unhappy and have complaints. Sometimes, you are not sure where these complaints are coming from or what the employee's real motivation is. Yet, regardless of their origin, the feelings of team members matter a great deal. With this in mind, consider some tips and tools for managers dealing with employee gripes:

Have a genuine open-door policy. A lot of people talk about having it, but few actually do. Your employees/team members really need to know that they can approach you openly and honestly and tell you how they feel. If they are afraid to voice a complaint, their frustration will only fester and will ultimately impact on individual and organizational productivity. The easier it is to approach you, the more likely it is that your employees actually will.

  • Allow for anonymous complaints. Sometimes, people may have legitimate concerns, but they don't want to be identified as the person who expressed them. An organization needs to allow for people to maintain their confidentiality if the issue they raise is so sensitive that they feel no matter how open you or your door are, the risk is just too great.
  • Many organizations have standard operating procedures or rules for how to communicate complaints. Having an organized system makes sense, but sometimes there are so many barriers and obstacles that get in the way (in order to follow the rules) that employees say to themselves, "It is not worth the trouble." Make sure your organization is not using standard operating procedures as a mechanism to stifle employee concerns and create unnecessary layers of bureaucracy.
  • One of the hardest things to do as a manager is to be patient with and open-minded to an employee complaint when you think it makes absolutely no sense. (I know I've been in that situation.) But remember, as rational as you think you may be, you are only seeing the situation from your point of view. If you don't empathize and try to gain the employee's perspective, your frustration will show.
  • Listening to an employee complaint doesn't mean you need to make an immediate decision about the situation. Resist the temptation to "solve the problem" right on the spot unless it is absolutely clear to you what the solution is. Try to be patient. Listen and then tell the employee you want to get some additional information and think about it.
  • Ask the employee what they would like to see done about the situation. Very often employees are good at communicating what is bothering them, but have a hard time identifying a potential solution. Your job is to get them to think about how to turn the situation around. The conversation would go like this, "John, you have made it clear that you really don't like working with Jane. But given that the two of you are key members of our team, what would you like to see done?" In certain instances, John might say, "Get rid of Jane." Again, if this happens, practice patience and respond with a follow-up question. "Frankly, John, that's not a realistic option. So given that, what exactly would make things better for you so that you can be more productive?"

Finally, close the loop. Whatever is agreed upon, make sure it is communicated and a follow-up procedure is put in place. More specifically; "Great, John, so we have agreed that you and Jane would only work together on projects A, B and C. Please send me a weekly update on how things are going with those projects. In three months, we will revisit the situation and decide where to go from there."

How have you dealt with employee complaints? Write to me.