Today’s business leaders, managers and supervisors should take all employee complaints seriously.
While no one expects managers to walk around with a boldfaced “Bring all complaints to me” sign on their foreheads, it is critically important that employees feel comfortable going to their supervisors.
Beyond that, supervisors and managers should also recognize when it is time to contact human resources (HR) anytime during a complaint incident—or, when to request that employees contact HR, as well.
Simply put: It’s in an employer’s best interest to minimize potential liabilities that can result from unresolved employee-complaint issues.
For sure, employers want employees to feel safe and empowered to bring up complaint issues, particularly before problems get seriously out of control and/or before potential legal actions ensue.
How can supervisors make the employee complaints’ process work out smoothly in the workplace?
From an HR perspective, any successful business or employer must strive to minimize risk. And for this reason, as initially stated, employee complaints should always be taken seriously.
As such, HR professionals specialize in helping employers construct preventive measures so that legal liability exposures can be minimized, especially those that can result from unresolved employee complaints.
For example, as a way to better resolve employee complaints, the following preventive measures are provided as a general aid and can be adapted to meet the needs of most employers. (For more definitive guidance, employers are encouraged to seek legal counsel.)
- Include a complaint resolution procedure in the employee handbook. This employee-handbook procedure should provide employees with ‘who-to-go-to’ instructions. It should also give employees additional instructions for how they can escalate complaints to a higher level should the original attempt not go well or meet their satisfaction.
- Take any complaint seriously. Managers and supervisors should always take the time to listen to what an employee has to say. Furthermore, supervisors should take notes and, under no circumstances, should supervisors be dismissive or brush employees off. Incidentally, taking notes and documenting sensitive or delicate employee sessions is a wise practice or habit to get into. Certainly, it is a bad idea for a supervisor to say things such as, “You’re making a mountain out of a mole hill;” or, “You’re just exaggerating;” or, “You’re just having a bad day,” and so on. A supervisor must take every complaint seriously, because to the employee, it is serious.
- Evaluate the need to conduct further research. After a supervisor discusses the complaint with the employee (the one making the complaint); and the supervisor has listened to the employee and taken notes, the supervisor may then want to conduct further research. This research may entail contacting other employees who may have been involved in the situation. This initiative might also include contacting others who saw or heard what was going on—especially if they were directly involved—after which a supervisor will want to circle back to the individual making the original complaint.
- Close the loop with the employee. Lastly, while it’s not always necessary to elaborate about what you did to resolve the situation—unless it’s something you’re comfortable doing—you will want to close the loop with the employee who has made the complaint. In a timely manner, as well, you will want to let the employee know that you have addressed the issue. You will also want to express appreciation that the matter was brought to your attention. Finally, you want to reassure the employee that he or she is welcome to come back should anything else happen.
The above follow-up responses serve to give the employee some peace of mind and to reassure him or her that your door is always open.