“What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.”
- As a new manager, addressing employee complaints can be tricky.
- Often, during the first few months on the job, the new manager will not have enough information to determine the validity of complaints and/or provide effective solutions to valid complaints. An effective early approach is to:
– Let the employee know they have been heard,
– Get their “reasoning” for the complaint, and
– Let them know it will be looked into.
- This gives the new manager time to assess and separate the invalid gripes from the valid complaints, and to gather enough information to have an effective conversation about the issue.
- Separating petty gripes from legitimate issues that hamper productivity is an important responsibility for managers. A good way to begin dealing with the complaint is to consider the following questions:
– Is the complaint valid? How will business results be affected if the complaint is considered?
– Can an adjustment be made to accommodate the worker without being unfair to and/or have negative effects on other employees?
– Is the complaint a legitimate complaint about the work area, or is the problem a result of personal issues or conditions relating only to the one who is complaining.
– Have recent changes been made that are causing the complaint? If so, was that change made with valid business reasons in mind?
- What are the other consequences – positive and negative – as a result of the recent change?
- Simultaneously, the manager needs to learn company rules and policies and understand the rationale behind them. Understanding the rationale is a key factor in effectively handling employee complaints, since the more a manager can relate the issue, policy or rule to business results, the more effective his/her response will be.
- In the case where a manager does not agree with company policies or rules, the accepted approach is to avoid criticizing them in front of direct reports. As a member of management, it is the manager’s obligation to uphold the rules and be able to articulate the reasons for the policy.
The most ineffective responses to complaints regarding policy or rules are:
- Because I said so.
- It’s just the policy.
- Rules are rules – there’s nothing I can do about it.