bosses use anonymous networks to learn what workers really think - wsj

On the Internet, its a given that anonymity often leads to the worst kinds ofbehavior. Anonymous chats and message boards are legendary for turning intocesspools of disturbing and illegal content.

So it might seem crazy to hand your companys workers the same sorts of toolsfor anonymous communication that have proved to be so damaging on the openInternet. But human behavior is a funny and context-dependent thing.

Take Earls, a Canadian chain of 65 casual-dining restaurants whose workforcetotals as many as 8,000 people at its seasonal peak. Earls used to do annualsurveys, says Brenda Rigney, the chains head of people operations.

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/bosses-use-anonymous-networks-to-learn-what-workers-really-think-1434930794

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Companies are using social networks to get anonymous feedback from workers

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Employers are using apps and other tools like Waggl to find out what workers really think. PHOTO: WAGGL

June 21, 2015 7:53 p.m. ET

By CHRISTOPHER MIMS

Bosses Use Anonymous Networks to Learn What Workers Really Think - WSJ http://www.wsj.com/articles/bosses-use-anonymous-networks-to-learn-w...

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But it now sends short surveys to employees mobile devices at least every threemonths. The software that powers these surveys attaches no identifyinginformation to them. Employers couldnt de-anonymize them if they tried.

Thats how Earls discovered that one of the most important groups in itskitchensthe prep teams that ready every ingredient that goes into itsfoodwere unhappy about the social isolation they felt when coming in at 5 a.m.every morning, well before the rest of the staff.

No specific remedy could be found, but at Earls, management has become soobsessed with the engagement of its staff that it now places more importanceon it than sales numbers, says Ms. Rigney. The reason is simple: the leaders ofEarls have concluded that the components of engagementemployee happinessand commitment to the businessare exactly what drive sales, and therefore thebottom line.

Something similar is happening at Fair Issac Corp., the San Jose, Calif., creator ofthe FICO score, a yardstick U.S. lenders use to evaluate peoplescreditworthiness. When executives there consider promoting someone, theylook at the engagement of that persons team, a measurement the companyupdates quarterly, through anonymous surveys.

Ive watched the process of people being selected for expanded roles, andsomeone will say, This individual has really struggled with team engagement.Are we sure we want to double the size of the team he or she manages? saysRichard Deal, Fair Issacs head of human resources.

Both Earls and FICO are arriving at these insights because they are cultivating aculture of listening to their employees. But its apparent from talking to theirleaders and less senior staffers that this culture is being driven as much by thetools they are using. It appears to be a classic case of a technology reshapinghuman behavior, even leading workers to feel freer to update their supervisorsdaily, and in person, one head chef at Earls told me.

Earls uses Culture Amp, a tool that makes it easier to push short pulse surveysto an app on its workers mobile devices, whenever its leaders want. Fair Issac isusing Glint, which bills itself as Culture Amps more-sophisticated,business-grade cousin. But all these tools accomplish the same thing. They allowcompanies to quickly and anonymously poll their workers.

Little things happen at work that get to you, and you dont notice it, and pretty


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soon you just get cranky, says Josh Bersin, who studies these systems forfinancial consulting and audit firm Deloitte. Then you ask yourself, Doesnt themanagement care? And the problem is, they do care, but the managementdoesnt know.

Mr. Bersin adds that the key to this new breed of internal-communicationstoolsand this was emphasized again and again by everyone I interviewed isthat they are anonymous.

Anonymity is a tool for honesty, after all. On the wider Internet, it encouragesperhaps too much honesty. But, within a companywhere most people just wantto do their jobs, and not get fired for speaking upit helps people raise problemsand solutions that they might otherwise be reluctant to bring up.

These systems dont have to be one-way, as in the case of surveys. Waggl, whichlets companies make their internal polls public, while keeping the responsesanonymous, allows employees to vote on which issues raised by their peers aremost pressing. Its kind of like Reddit for your suggestion box, and its an app.

Every two weeks during an all-hands meeting at Glassdoor, a Mill Valley, Calif.,software company whose service lets employees rate employers, the chiefexecutive answers questions from his own employees that bubble up throughWaggl.

If youre sitting around all your peers in a meeting and your CEO says, Anybodygot a question? its pretty darn intimidating, says Samantha Zupan, Glassdoorshead of communications.

But being able to stay anonymous, through an app, helps employees overcometheir reluctance to ask the tough questions, she adds.

Glassdoor is a prime example of how anonymity is changing corporate culture.With eight million anonymous evaluations of more than 400,000 companies, itallows job seekers to find out what its like to work at a company before sayingyes to a job. Thats forcing companies to deal with problems internally, beforethey become fodder for public discussion, says Ms. Zupan.

For the workplace, the future of anonymous social networks looks somethingvery much like the apps already popular with young people.

Deloittes Mr. Bersin predicts something like the anonymous social network YikYak, but for work. Yik Yak, used on college campuses, is controversial: some


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critics say its anonymity encourages cyberbullying. But it is valued at between$300 and $400 million.

Some startups are already exploring similar models. I think this technology hasthe potential to be transformational, because otherwise people go to Glassdoor orFacebook, says Mr. Bersin. All this noise is going to go somewhere.

Write to Christopher Mims at [email protected]

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bosses use anonymous networks to learn what workers really think - wsj

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