How To Get Feedback From Your Thai Employees

[AndersB]

Dear reader,

I would be happy to have your comment on how to get most possible feedback from your thai employees?

I had a talk with my friend from Latvia the other day. She has her own business there with 7 employees.

Her experience is that when managing her staff she has to be very careful not to get too friendly with them, not signal that they are on the same level. This because it confuses them - she wasn’t more specific as to in which way it confuses them.

However, I think I know what she is talking about, as I had the same experience when being manager in a small company in Bangkok a couple of years ago. Being Danish, I am used to thinking that we are all equals as persons. Difference in social status or title doesn’t make one more worth than another. Working in Denmark it’s natural that my boss at work can be my friend after work. Being "professional" I do as my boss tells me, but both he and I know that we are equals as persons. The nice thing about this is that you are never afraid to approach your boss to let him/her know if you disagree with something.

In Thailand it’s all smiles and you don’t really hear about problems until its too late and the problems have grown big. Trying to deal with this issue, I at first tried to level with my staff in order to make them more comfortable to put forward new ideas and voice their disagreement.

This didn’t really work out. I trying to level with them seemed to unease them. Learning from this, I chose to enact my role as a boss differently. I kept the distance and tried to be their "general" and "protector" at the same time. This seemed to work better. Only problem was though, that I still didn’t get any feedback from my staff and they seemed to think that I automatically would know everything going on.

As time went by I again and again told my staff that I would appreciate their thoughts, ideas and suggestions. And after almost a year, some of them started to voice their disagreement on some topics.

Have any of you had similar experiences? And do you in some way manage to retrieve information about problems before they get too big?

[StreetCowboy]

Speaking as an expert on the subject, as I have a couple of friends who went there once, I am told that in Japan they all go out and get pissed together, so that the staff can pretend it was the beer talking,

It also depends, though, on the nature of your organisation and the people about whom you are talking - are you talking about your juniors (i.e. people who aspire to your position) or your 'inferiors' (i.e. people who's career path could never take them to your position?

You also need to be mindful of the feelings of any supervisory staff between you and the minions...

Oh, and probably, in Thailand, best to avoid terms like 'minion' or 'grunt'

SC

[onnut]

I normaly manage all my staff in a way that they know I am the boss, but I do it in a friendly way so as not to upset any. the staff who do a good job and are trustworthy are the ones you need to talk with in private or over a beer. but its hard just to get them to open up but with some effort it does happen.

you have to let them know you are a listener, and always listen to them when they want to talk with you. you have to always have an open mind and heart when dealing with your staff over here.

if one staff likes telling you what other staff are doing then that can be bad because it makes for an uncomfortable work place with the other staff, so you have to listen but also give the other staff a chance to voice there mind. it takes months and really depends on what sort of person you are.

another way to build up trust is to stick by them when there is a problem and lead them out of it, dont shout at them if they mess up but speak politely and calmly.

Try to make the workplace a fun place for them to be, if they are happy they will perform there duties very well.

I have worked here in management for 8 years and now run my own place, and I am still learning.

[shalimar]

Having managed in Thailand for 4 years now and in the middle east for 5 years before I have some simple rules

Have daily meetings/briefings/training where you encourage staff to get involved and talk up. (takes a while but does eventually happen)

Have frequent informal 1 on 1 chats with each of your staff.

Keep your distance, do not socialize regularly with them, but let them see you with your guard down occasionally at staff parties and the like.

Listen to your them and when they do tell you something act on it so they can see it is worth talking to you.

If they have an idea let them rum with it if it is viable if not explain to them exactly why you cannot and make sure they understand or amend it so that it can work

I am by no means an expert and learn something everyday; like i would working anywhere else in the world.