Hello! I’m Allison and I’m an evaluation and organizational learning consultant. I’m also a PhD student studying evaluation, with a focus on helping non-profits learn about their work to do even more good.

This month we’re focusing on our relationships with staff. Last week, I talked about the importance of asking staff about thier wants and needs. But I didn’t give you the whole story. Because if you’re only asking people to share information with you, you might be doing more harm than good.

I’ve done a lot of surveys and interviews in my day, and I often consider staff an ideal starting point. I can usually find ways to engage folks, and of course some groups are more of a challenge than others. The organizations I work with sometimes call it ‘survey fatigue’. But when you look below the hood, there’s often something else going on.

It’s true, we ask people for their opinions and feedback pretty often. And sometimes they get tired of giving that feedback. But usually it’s only when they don’t see it’s value. Researchers know this. People are far more likely to participate in surveys and interviews if they know why they’re being invited, what they’re being asked, and how you plan to use what they share. Want to avoid that survey fatigue? Follow up with them afterward and tell them how their feedback made a difference. It’s not just respectful, it’s good science.

One point of resistance that I find with organizations, especially around staff feedback, is that you might not always be able to act on what they shared. Maybe they want a change that would contradict your funding agreements. Or perhaps it’s just not in the budget. Explaining why you can’t act on something may be equally if not more important than checking off a list of superficial items. It’s also another opportunity for engagement. If there’s a problem with the system, explaining that to staff gives you the chance to engage them in a dialogue about what your organization can do to change it.

This week, a LinkedIn post by Louise Adongo tuned me into a recent journal article. The author used UK survey data to investigate how common wellbeing interventions like resilience training, mindfullness, and volunteering affected actual wellbeing. They found that most of these interventions, which were focused at the individual level, weren’t effective at improving wellbeing. Fleming agrees with past researchers that perhaps working to change individual wellbeing, in the absence of broader organizational changes, isn’t sufficient. Teaching people to manage an unsustainable level of stress isn’t really what we’re going for, is it?

It’s not easy or quick to change workplace systems and cultures. But it’s the kind of work that, when done with intention and compassion, can lead to long-term benefits for your staff, your organization, and the communities you support.

What organizational change have you made that’s had the biggest impact on staff wellbeing? How do you engage staff when their feedback is harder to action?

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