Why Employee Feedback Is The Tool You Need In Your Well-Being Toolbox

Think about your handy toolbox.

Maybe it’s shiny and well-organized. Maybe it’s lived in, a little dusty, but full of options. Either way, it’s filled with tools designed for specific problems — and you know that the key to getting the job done is picking the right one.

Your employee well-being strategy should work the same way.

Most organizations offer some mix of mental health supports, team-building programs, personal development, and leadership training. Those are all tools at your disposal. But the question isn’t what’s in the toolbox — it’s whether you’re using the right tool for the job.

The Best Tool is the One That Fits

Pairing the right tool with the right problem is Being Handy 101. Let's say you need to remove a door handle. Every tool has its own level of utility in this situation. You have your pliers and your wrench. They might get you there, but it won't be pretty. You have your hammer, but you might take some of the door in the process. But that Phillips head screwdriver? It's probably a perfect fit. Four quick twists and that handle will come off no problem.

That’s the critical point, isn’t it? Every tool can likely contribute something to many problems, but the best tool is the one that directly addressed the actual challenge.

Let’s say your team is dealing with burnout, and your instinct is to offer more social events. That might help a little — but what if the real issue is poor communication from leadership, or unclear role expectations?

That’s the equivalent of grabbing a wrench when what you actually need is a Phillips screwdriver. You might make progress, but it’ll be inefficient at best — and damaging at worst.

The best tool is the one that fits. If you approach every problem with the same tool, you might succeed from time to time, but you’ll find yourself falling short far more often than not. 

The Hidden Challenge: Most Needs Are Invisible

One of the major benefits of home renovations is that the problem is often well-defined. If you see a screw, odds are you know what screwdriver you'll need.

And that's where things get a little trickier in the workplace. Unlike home repairs, employee well-being problems aren't as clear-cut. Leaders are often flying blind — not because they don’t care, but because they simply don’t know what their people need.

Why? Well..

Employee don't always speak up.

Our team at YMCA WorkWell has an intimate knowledge of this world. I wrote an article in the Journal of Business Ethics about how employees often remain silent about these challenges due to fear of repercussions or feeling like their voice won’t be heard. Kate Toth, our Director of Coaching & Partner Success, published an article in the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation discussing how and why employees are often so hesitant to disclose their most significant well-being challenges at work.

It speaks to a common issue for leaders: You don’t know what you don’t know, and employees often stay silent out of fear — fear of being judged, ignored, or penalized for sharing honestly.

Every organization faces unique challenges.

Even during COVID-19 — a global event that affected every workplace — our team at YMCA WorkWell saw that different organizations, teams, and departments had very different needs.

For example, across 40+ organizations and 16,000+ employees during the pandemic, we found that the top needs varied widely. Our Needs Assessment is an important piece of our WorkWell Insights Survey. Respondents are asked: "Of the following, what do you need more of to feel like you are able to be at your best at work? (Please select all that apply)"  and then provided with a detailed list of options to choose from. 

We examined the results of every WorkWell Insights Assessment that we collected from every partner during COVID-19 and recorded their top need; that is, what is the one thing that most employees' reported they needed more of to feel healthier at work in each report. We then combined this data to see which needs were most prevalent as the top needs overall. There were six different needs that emerged as top needs across these results - Figure 1 illustrates the percentage of WorkWell Insights Assessments showing each need as their top need.

Feedback Is Your Best Diagnostic Tool

So how do you identify your employees' most pressing needs? You go straight to the source. If you collect and utilize employee feedback in the right way, it helps you:

• See what’s really going on

• Understand differences across teams or groups

• Prioritize limited resources where they’ll make the biggest impact

As an added bonus, if done properly, the anonymity of an effective feedback channel can also help alleviate employees' concerns around speaking up.

With the right feedback approach, you move from assumptions to actionable insight — and from surface-level fixes to systemic change.

The WorkWell Way: Making Feedback Meaningful

At YMCA WorkWell, we’ve designed our WorkWell Insights Survey to do exactly that. We capture:

• Overall engagement, culture, well-being, and performance scores
• A clear breakdown of your organization’s most pressing needs
• Disaggregated data by team, tenure, role, and more (with full confidentiality)

We then work with you, using the voices of your own employees, to create the best strategy for your own unique needs – so when you open up your toolbox, you’re not only using the right screwdriver, but you’re using the best screwdriver.

Oh, and did we mention that it only takes employees 3-5 minutes to complete? Getting you the best data in the least painful and time-consuming process is our goal. 

The Bottom Line

Every organization has a toolbox. The real question is:

Are you using the tools your people actually need?

Employee feedback isn’t just another checkbox. It’s the foundation of an effective well-being strategy — one that’s rooted in listening, responsiveness, and real change.

Are you ready to collect the right data to make a difference? Let's find the right tools for your team.