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How to Listen to Employees

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How to Listen to Employees

Get closer to the truth with these foundational reads on qualitative research.

Benjamin Jackson
Jul 18, 2023
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How to Listen to Employees

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Illustration of a woman speaking to a man through a tin-can phone. Both are wearing a black t-shirt and white pants, and are set against a light blue background.
There are many ways to listen, but some are more helpful than others.

July and August offer a unique window to focus on team culture. With a fraction of the team in the office (and a fraction of the meetings), there’s plenty of time to reflect on what’s working and refine your strategy.

But like every kind of strategy, culture strategy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It hinges on nuanced insight into the challenges, risks, and opportunities employees face every day. That’s harder than it might seem.

Luckily, Hear Me Out’s reading list on Bookshop.org has you covered. Below, you’ll find the references that shaped our approach to internal culture research.


Want to build a culture where everyone feels valued? Subscribe for free below.


Cover of the book Just Enough Research

Learn to focus on facts over opinions

Just Enough Research

Erika Hall teaches empirical research with humor and style. She opens by defining research as “systematic inquiry” versus “asking people what they like.”

Early chapters explain and contrast organizational, user, competitive, and evaluative research. By the end, you’ll know how to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback and look at both kinds of data with a critical eye.

Buy Just Enough Research on Bookshop.org


Cover of the book Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights

Learn to uncover compelling insights

Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights

People struggle to articulate their feelings. Anyone looking for insight, whether from customers or employees, should read Steve Portigal’s guide to 1:1 interviews.

The book starts by teaching how to suspend judgment and embrace alternate perspectives. But you’ll also find plenty of useful tactics, such as how to let insights emerge from silence, or how to avoid bias by paying attention to nonverbal cues.

Buy Interviewing Users on Bookshop.org


Cover of the Ethics & Human Research journal

Learn to maintain trust with employees

Employees as Research Participants: Ethical and Policy Issues

Doing respectful, ethical research is hard enough when you’re dealing with customers. When the participants are employees, it’s even harder.

David B. Resnik’s report for Ethics & Human Research explains how to interview employees while respecting their autonomy and protecting them from retaliation. At Hear Me Out, we consider it required reading for anyone doing employee research.

Download Full PDF on ResearchGate


Research is a skill like any other, and internal research is a skill worth leaders’ time. When leaders understand employees’ real needs with detail and nuance, they can take responsibility for shaping their own team’s culture.

If you lead a team, no matter the industry, consider bringing these on your next trip. Read them, apply the lessons to conversations with employees, and by the end of the fall, your team will already start feeling more heard.


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You’re reading the newsletter of Hear Me Out, a workplace culture strategy firm. We help leaders get the full story from employees, then collaborate on a process that makes everyone feel motivated and heard. Learn how we help create space for open dialogue.

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