***NEW*** To create opportunities for direct feedback, the Virtual CO's Suggestion Box is now available.  Suggestion Box information is confidential to the unit and not monitored, the system deletes all submission data every 90 days.  To request a Virtual CO's Suggestion Box, a member of the Command Triad can create a UIC specific account by signing-up at this link.

Why is Sailor Listening Important?

When people feel they matter and that their concerns are taken seriously, they feel empowered to perform to the best of their ability, increasing productivity and reinforcing commitment to the organization.
 

Why should leaders be concerned about listening?

• Head off any problems: listening to your people is the best way to identify potential issues and act to address them before they can become major problems.
• Get to know your Sailors: listening and engaging with your people is the best to make them feel valued and engaged
• Better knowledge sharing: listening promotes a collaborative work environment where people can share ideas, identify best practices, and find more effective ways to accomplish the mission

Listening Strategies: So How do we listen

• DEOCS: All commands must complete the climate survey and while it is a requirement, it is also an opportunity to hear from your Sailors.  The DEOCS collects command climate metrics and provides your personnel with an opportunity to tell you in their own words how they are feeling and what they are concerned about.
• Pulse Surveys: These are quick, anonymous surveys that can be used to identify optimal solutions to a problem, evaluate progress after a change has been made, or follow-up on an issue that emerged during a DEOCS. Feedback is critical to effectively utilizing pulse surveys. If you ask your personnel to participate, you need to be prepared to share results with them and act on the feedback that you’ve received.
• Command Suggestion Box: This gives sailors an opportunity to anonymously share their thoughts and opinions on any topic that concerns them. It can be a good way to identify potential problems or solutions to problems but most importantly it is another way for personnel to feel their opinions are valued. These can be high tech with a QR code that links to an online suggestion box or low tech with an actual physical box that people can put their suggestions in.

What to do with the Survey results?

Surveys provide valuable Fleet insight regarding culture and climate, program and training effectiveness, and a wide array of additional topics. However, they also can become a significant drain on Sailor time and patience when results of surveys do not generate action or change. Over time, by leveraging these listening tools you’ll be able to look at how your unit is doing compared to previous years. Additionally, many of these metrics are included in the Navy’s annual Health of the Force survey so you can look at how your unit compares to the Navy overall.