Survey Application Mediating Manager-Employee Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack the ability for managers to receive and respond to employee survey feedback in real-time while maintaining employee confidentiality and allowing employees to control interactions, which hinders timely issue resolution and feedback utilization.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where employees and managers use dedicated devices to execute survey applications, enabling real-time comment transmission and contact requests without revealing identities, allowing employees to choose how to respond to manager contact requests and maintaining anonymity, while generating manager ratings based on employee interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If managers receive and respond to employee survey feedback in real-time, then feedback utilization and issue resolution improve, but employee confidentiality and control over interactions are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a survey application as an intermediary system that mediates communication between employees and managers. The application transmits survey responses and contact requests through a server without revealing employee identities to managers, and without preventing managers from initiating contact. This intermediary mechanism enables real-time feedback utilization while preserving employee confidentiality and control over whether to engage with managers directly.
2Loss of information
If employees provide anonymous survey responses, then honesty and transparency improve, but manager ability to address specific employee concerns deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic communication system where anonymity is not fixed but can be selectively changed by employees. Employees start with anonymous survey responses, but can dynamically choose to reveal their identity and contact the manager directly through the application if they wish to discuss specific concerns. This dynamic approach maintains initial transparency while enabling targeted issue resolution when desired by the employee.
3Ease of operation
If managers can directly contact employees about survey responses, then personalized support improves, but employee comfort and control over interaction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional initiation of contact by giving employees control over whether managers can reach them. Instead of managers directly contacting employees, the system allows employees to review contact requests from managers and selectively accept or decline them. This inversion empowers employees with control while still enabling personalized support when employees choose to engage.
4Measurement precision
If employee identities are revealed to managers, then direct accountability improves, but employee safety and psychological comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by allowing employees to submit survey responses anonymously before any manager contact occurs. This preliminary anonymous submission enables employees to provide honest feedback without immediate accountability pressure. The system then allows employees to selectively choose whether to reveal their identity and contact managers, providing accountability only when employees feel safe and comfortable doing so.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, the invention can be a method for manager-to-employee communication, the method including receiving comment data from employee devices of employees of an organization, the comment data indicating employee comments to a survey topic; receiving contact-me data from a manager device indicating contact-me requests, the contact-me requests indicating that the manager desires the employees to contact the manager directly regarding the employee comments to the survey topic; receiving contact-me response data from the employee devices indicating whether the employees will contact the manager directly; and generating a manager rating based on the saved contact-me response data.