How to Get More Information from Employees — and from People in General

 

For many companies, especially in our information age, it seems important to gather as much information as possible about employees and customers. We have so-called Big Data. Social media companies collect enormous amounts of information about our preferences, behavior, and attitudes. Many organizations believe they need to do the same.

Why?

That is a good question.

Let us start there. Are you collecting information because company leadership requires it? If so, do you understand the real reason, or are you simply following orders? And is that reason logical and morally acceptable to you?

Many things depend on the answer.

Do we want to know more about employees in order to control them better? To manipulate them more effectively? Or do we have more humanistic motives? Do we want to improve the workplace, find a better fit for employees within the organization, or gain insights that help improve the company as a whole?

And how do we typically approach the task of gathering information?

Do we approach it like private detectives? Like government surveillance agencies? Like a small company-state in which employees are constantly being monitored?

Not least because of current and upcoming regulations in the European Union (and elsewhere), such an approach may become increasingly difficult. But even more importantly: is it really beneficial for the company in the long term?

Do you think employees will not eventually find out?

And if they do, how will this affect their performance?

Many managers, especially in former socialist countries, believe that fear is the best motivator. This may be true—or may once have been true—in professions involving repetitive and relatively simple tasks. However, research suggests that as workplaces become more complex and diverse, fear increasingly acts as an inhibitor of productivity rather than a driver of it.

As a result, the company's bottom line may actually suffer when employees work in an atmosphere of anxiety and suspicion, feeling that they are constantly being watched.

Since most modern workplaces require employees to make decisions, solve problems, and generate ideas, we should strive to create an environment of psychological safety—not our own small surveillance state.

So what are the alternatives?

How can we obtain valuable information from employees without relying on control and surveillance?

First, we need to respect basic human principles, such as reciprocity.

If a company openly shares information with its employees—for example, by keeping them informed about future developments, strategic plans, or discussions taking place at higher levels of the organization—the likelihood that employees will reciprocate by sharing their own insights increases significantly.

Unfortunately, many organizations treat communication as a one-way street. Employees are expected to provide feedback, ideas, and information upward, while management feels little obligation to communicate openly downward.

Reciprocity does not work that way.

We also need to recognize that different employees are motivated by different factors. In fact, the same person can be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.

The real question is: what motivates people to share information?

Extrinsic motivators may include rewards, recognition, appreciation, or career opportunities.

Intrinsic motivators may include the satisfaction of contributing to a better team, improving one's own work environment, helping colleagues, or making a meaningful impact on the organization.

Perhaps the most important insight is that the quality of information rarely improves through technological solutions alone. Forcing employees to complete endless surveys or click through feedback forms does not automatically create better communication.

Instead, organizations should deliberately create natural and human settings for information exchange.

People need opportunities to talk.

Ironically, the more organizations eliminate seemingly "unproductive" moments from the workday, the more they may damage information sharing. Those informal conversations around the coffee machine, short debriefings after meetings, team lunches, training sessions, recreational activities, or simple coffee breaks are often where the most valuable qualitative information emerges.

What appears to be wasted time may actually be one of the most effective communication tools a company possesses.

If you want better information, focus less on surveillance and more on trust.

People generally share more when they feel respected than when they feel watched.

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Communication Psychology and HR: in small and practical lessons once a week.

With a focus on international and multilingual business conversations.

Gerhard Ohrband is a psychologist from Hamburg/Germany, specialized in Communication Psychology and HR. He consults individuals and companies worldwide (in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian) on how to avoid costly misunderstandings and handle conflicts with employees and clients.