Introducing: Letters to Leaders
Having local data from your own workforce is powerful.
Before you roll out another survey, find out what's really worth measuring with a radical act of trust. Move beyond numerical engagement scores to find out what really matters to your people. Our diagnostic tool Letters to Leaders begins by inviting employees at every level of your organization to submit anonymous letters to the leader of their choice. Only our research team reads the letters to ensure confidentiality.
A letter is personal and relational.
The letters are rigorously analyzed and common themes emerge organically. You may be surprised by what the process reveals. In our experience, most employee concerns are paired with practical suggestions. The data is actionable and can be mapped directly to business outcomes and internal culture metrics.
People know what they need.
The detailed Letters to Leaders report not only enables senior leaders to make more informed decisions; it also serves as a catalyst for ongoing dialogue and collaborative growth within teams and division partnerships.
Curious to learn more?
Please reach out to us for a sample report.
If engagement surveys were interviews
Have you ever participated in an employee engagement survey? This is our playful dramatization of what those surveys might look like if they were conducted as live interviews. While surveys may have their place, they also have their limits. Letters to Leaders connects leadership and followership in a more authentic way to produce fine-grain diagnostics and guide measurable growth and change.
Letters to Leaders is a transformative intervention for companies in the process of acquisition or merger, or for sectors suffering high turnover due to chronic stress, such as healthcare. For organizations struggling with communication and distrust, it expands opportunity for all voices to be heard and guides organizations toward greater equity, inclusion and belonging. Being a place where people want to work is hands-down the greatest competitive advantage there is going to be for the foreseeable future. We are here to help you get there.
Organizational Impact
Increased Retention
Turnover is one of the greatest losses in any industry, and competition for talent is high. Letters measures what really matters to employees so that leaders can make changes that inspire people to stay.
Inclusion & Belonging
Letters increases the level psychological safety, particularly for individuals at the highest risk of retaliation. Crucial information becomes available to leaders so that they can improve employee experience in tangible ways.
Talent Development
The fastest way to become a company that attracts talent easily is to ask people what they need in a way they are able to tell you. Leaders act with confidence when they know their choices will be fully supported by followers.
The Process
Letters Collection
After a question design process with executive leaders, employees are invited to submit anonymous letters through a secure web portal. Different from a survey, an invitation to write a letter is a value statement that honors the followership perspective. The process reveals what leaders may not think to ask, or what employees may not otherwise share.
Qualitative Analysis
Our research team analyzes the letters for common themes, concerns, and suggestions. The 10-15 page qualitative report you receive is detailed and nuanced. It provides insights and concrete suggestions for improvement and innovation that don’t show up on any survey, but which map directly to a wide variety of critical business outcomes.
Strategic Planning
Multi-level conversations integrate followership insights into strategic plans or learning and development programs. We help you turn research data to action plans and specific policy choices for both the short and long term. We also provide guidance for communication strategies to ensure transparency and tracking.