Occasionally it feels to us that some IC teams follow the old lawyer’s adage of: “Never ask a witness a question you don’t already know the answer to.”

If they know their intranet is desperately in need of an upgrade, they’re only too happy to ask for their colleagues’ opinions. But where the answer may be unpredictable or even unpalatable, there’s less enthusiasm for giving employees a voice. Worse, if the feedback isn’t something they agree with, it gets swept under the carpet and isn’t mentioned again.

Which creates a new issue of “I told you what I think and you ignored me; I’m not going to waste my time again.”

This is a theme that is explored in a recent Trends Report and reinforced by the IoIC’s IC Index, which found that less than half of people  say their employer clearly shows how feedback is used to inform action.

And while not every idea from an employee is going to be gold standard, you can go back to explain why it isn’t moving forward (too expensive, not enough resources, not the right time) and they’ll usually appreciate that you at least considered the idea.

All of this gets to the core value of measurement: building a 3D picture of what’s working well and what can be improved. If you don’t know, have the data, or acknowledge where the problems are, how can you begin to fix them?

Luckily there are some great time savers out there that give you access to what your employees are thinking. Social platforms like Viva Engage can give you a direct window into their souls, provided you encourage an open and honest culture. As well as manually browsing and searching your platform, you can also use premium features within Viva Engage to bring trends to the surface.

And there are lot of other ways to get employee feedback, from focus groups, short sharp pulse surveys, to employee networks or employee forums.

Whichever method(s) you use, just make sure that you really do listen to what your colleagues are saying – and let them know you heard. Otherwise, the next time you ask for feedback, the only thing you’ll hear is the sound of silence.

Here are some suggested actions to get you started:

1. Shape the culture you need. Work with senior leaders to develop a culture where people are encouraged to speak up.
2. Develop your line manager community. Support line managers to help them have effective conversations with their people.
3. Report back to build trust. ‘You said, we did’ is a simple format, but very effective.