Gretchen Miller

Handling Employee Complaints – How to Make it Better, Not Worse!
April 30, 2007

Is there anything worse than listening to someone else complain? If you are a supervisor, manager, senior executive or just in charge for the day – you’ve probably been faced with employee complaints.

Believe it or not - there’s only one thing you need to do – LISTEN!

Long used in conflict resolution and some counseling situations – active listening is also helpful in business situations because it provides a framework for handling difficult conversations or conflict riddled situations.

The next time one of your employees approaches you with a complaint give active listening a try. Here is a step- by- step approach.

1. Stop and focus.
   Stop what you are doing and turn your attention towards your employee. If they’ve approached you at a bad time and the need is not urgent – schedule an appointment sometime in the near future. If you must have the conversation immediately, hold your calls, put down the blackberry and turn away from email in order to give full attention to your employee.

2. Listen for content and feelings.
   It’s not only about the problem that has prompted your employee to approach you. It’s also about how the situation is making them feel. If an employee bursts into your office and screams, “You have to do something about Chris! He’s done it again- he rang up my customer. That commission was mine!”You may say, “Whoa – Chris, you really sound angry. Have a seat and tell me what happened.” Take note of the feelings your employee expresses, this indicates you have really heard them. The feeling is as important as the content.

3. Paraphrase and check for understanding.
   Once your employee has explained the situation, repeat it back using his or her own words. It is OK if you flatly disagree, for now all you need to do is be certain you have heard what was said. Ask questions to clarify. If you have uncovered a contradiction, call it out and ask the employee to explain then paraphrase once again.

4. Summarize.
   Once you are certain you have heard and understood all your employee has to say. Summarize what they have told you and the way it makes them feel.

5. Explore options.
   The employee may be looking to you to solve their problem and in some cases that may be necessary. If you are in a senior level position and have a certain level of authority to set goals or approve hiring decisions then you may be the only person who can provide a “solution”.When engaged in active listening you must resist the temptation to offer a solution. Instead, ask your employee what he or she sees as options for dealing with the situation.For example, a sales associate has come to you to complain about the holiday work schedule. You say, “ Susan, you seem frustrated by the extra hours in your schedule next week. And it sounds like you are worried you will not be able to manage the changes. Do I have that right?” You may be able to think of several things Susan can do in this situation. Instead you say, “I understand you’ve come to me to help you solve this. Did you have a solution in mind?” Allow her to answer then ask, “What other options do you think you have?” If you allow Susan to solve her own problem you empower her. If you solve the problem for her she may come to you more often than necessary.

6. Conclude.
   Wrap up the conversation by restating the course of action your employee has agreed to take. Remember – you don’t necessarily have to agree but hopefully you have settled on a workable solution.
   It might sound easy but like any skill it requires practice. You might try practicing with you a friend, partner, parent or co-worker. The more you practice the better you will be and the better prepared for your next employee complaint.

Posted by Gretchen Miller on April 30, 2007 | Comments (0)