Combating Employee Gripes

The big firm sent out the internal memo on Friday: As of the first of the month, the overwhelming majority of employees would be required to work at the office five days a week. Then the firm posted the memo on its internal employee website. Within hours, so many employees denounced the new policy that the company shut down the comments feature.

The episode, experts say, isn’t just an example of the ongoing debate between some executives and their employees about in-office versus at-home workdays. More broadly, it demonstrates how empowered employees today aren’t just criticizing management’s decisions, but doing so in a very public fashion. Whether the issue is compensation, layoffs, business strategy, or anything else, employees are asking tough questions of leaders, complaining about the answers, and often sharing it all on social media. And any management misstep can create havoc.

“The moment you sneeze, somebody knows about it,” says Ellie Filler, managing partner of Korn Ferry’s EMEA Human Resources practice. 

This can put leaders in a tough spot. Companies create internal forums so employees can provide feedback about policies. But leaders often get upset if the feedback is not what they want to hear, says Roger Philby, a Korn Ferry senior client partner and global lead for its People Strategy and Performance business. “Employers have sort of asked for it,” he says. 

Shutting down comments in these circumstances can further antagonize employees. “It could be considered retaliatory,” says Dennis Deans, Korn Ferry’s vice president of global human resources. But disabling comments on an internal forum likely won’t stop the criticism, experts say. Disgruntled employees will turn to websites such as Glassdoor or TikTok and air their complaints publicly. “If there are complaints, I’d rather keep them in-house,” says Paul Fogel, sector leader for Korn Ferry’s Professional Search practice.

Leaders should expect employees to continue expressing themselves in this way. Even if they can’t command the high salaries and flexible schedules of the Great Resignation era, many workers are willing to risk leaving for a new job. The average job tenure for millennials and Gen Xers is three years; for younger employees, it’s even less. At the same time, sharing opinions about their firm’s decision-making—often directly in front of their bosses—is just something younger employees now feel comfortable doing. “This is just how opinions are exchanged,” says Alina Polonskaia, senior client partner in Korn Ferry’s CEO Succession and Enterprise Leadership business. 

The best way to handle empowered employees is to be direct, experts say. Workers tend to respond positively when they feel authenticity from their leadership. “You don’t have to be nicey-nicey or sweetie-sweetie; you just have to be real,” says Filler. Accepting criticism, rather than shutting it down, is important as well. Leaders are smart enough to tell the difference between valid criticism and a personal attack, Philby says. 

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Employee Experience capabilities. 

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