The Wrong Way to Handle Employee Complaints
By VICKY BROWN
Why Complaints Are Not the Enemy
For many small business owners, employee complaints feel like personal attacks. That discomfort often leads to defensiveness, dismissal, or silence. But what if – instead of reacting – you reframed complaints as constructive feedback? Complaints aren’t insults. They’re data points – reflections of how someone is experiencing your culture, leadership, or the systems you’ve built.
When you start treating complaints as information, you shift from a posture of defense to one of curiosity. This simple mindset change can open up a path to trust, clarity, and growth.
The Cost of Mishandling Complaints
Treating complaints poorly incurs real costs. When you take complaints personally, your ego gets in the way – and the person’s experience disappears. When you downplay complaints thinking “It’s no big deal,” you signal that feedback isn’t welcome. When you gossip or vent about issues instead of addressing them professionally, you erode trust across the team.
And perhaps the biggest danger: rushing to fix the visible symptoms without digging deeper. That might patch one issue, but it often leaves the root unaddressed – leaving space for resentment, confusion, or repeated problems.
Worst of all, when complaints go unaddressed or unresolved, good people leave. Teams fracture. Toxic dynamics seep in. And as a leader, you end up managing HR headaches instead of building a thriving culture.
A Better Way: Listening, Learning, Acting
So, what does handling feedback the right way look like in a small business? It starts with listening. Not defensively. Not to explain. But to understand. Pause when feedback comes. Breathe. Ask: “What am I being invited to learn?”
Then stay curious. Ask clarifying questions: What exactly happened? What is the impact? What does the person hope changes? That’s where you often find the root cause – not in the words they used, but in what they’re trying to communicate about your culture, clarity, or processes.
Don’t rush to fix – but don’t delay either. Once you have a handle on what’s happening, commit to investigating. Maybe that means talking to other people, reviewing systems, or consulting HR or legal help when needed. And once you act, close the loop. Thank the person for speaking up, let them know what you found, and be transparent about any steps you’re taking (to the extent you can, without breaching privacy or confidentiality).
Closing the Loop Builds Trust
Silence is the killer here. Often, after a complaint is addressed – or even just inspected – leaders move on without checking back in. From the team member’s perspective: nothing happened. They risked speaking up, and… nothing changed. That feels like avoidance. That feels like being ignored.
Closing the loop, on the other hand, shows you heard them. It builds trust. It validates that feedback matters. And it encourages others to speak up next time. Over time, this builds a culture where feedback is part of how you grow – not something to hide from.
“… Let complaints be the mirrors that show you where growth is needed“
Complaints as Culture Signals, Not Isolated Events
Here’s the big shift: treat complaints not as distractions – but as signals. If someone complains about one thing, it may point to deeper issues. Maybe your communication is unclear. Maybe expectations are inconsistent. Maybe there’s a lack of process. Or maybe people don’t feel psychologically safe enough to speak up until things build up.
When you see complaints as clues, you start asking bigger questions: What does this say about how people experience leadership here? Are there systems or behaviors making people feel undervalued or unheard? What needs to be fixed so the next complaint doesn’t happen – not just temporarily, but structurally?
What This Approach Does for You as a Leader
Embracing complaints as feedback isn’t just good for team harmony – it’s good for your leadership growth. You shift from reactive problem‑solver to intentional leader. You build credibility. You build trust. You create a workplace where honesty is valued, where people feel safe bringing up hard stuff, and where feedback becomes a tool for growth – not fear.
That kind of culture doesn’t just reduce HR risk. It strengthens stability. It fosters accountability. And it allows your business to grow, knowing that issues will be addressed – not hidden.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur jumping into a leadership role, a seasoned business pro with new HR responsibilities, or just starting your HR career – we’ve got the right path to guide you through your HR hurdles.
Check out the Leaders Journey Experience. This online education platform holds the LJE Masterclass, HR SimpleStart Academy and HR FuturePro Academy.
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Where to Start
Begin by changing how you think of complaints. The next time someone comes to you with something – slow down. Listen. Stay curious. Ask questions. Investigate thoughtfully. Close the loop. And then, take a moment to reflect: What does this feedback tell me about how my team experiences me and this business? What needs to shift so we don’t end up in the same place again?
If you commit to that approach consistently, you’ll not only handle employee complaints better – you’ll build a culture where feedback is welcome, trust is deep, and your team feels seen.
Let complaints be the mirrors that show you where growth is needed. Because as a leader, the real win isn’t fixing a problem once – it’s building a culture where problems don’t fester, because everything’s already working the way you want it to.