CEO Calls Employees for Insights

Nicholas Svensson, the CEO of Smart Technologies, started calling employees individually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He wanted to know how they were doing and what they thought about the company.

These calls helped him learn that the company wasn't communicating well with its employees.

For example, employees didn't remember what was said in town halls, and they felt management wasn't listening to them.

Based on this feedback, the company made changes, like reducing the number of town halls and focusing more on finishing projects before starting new ones.

Now, Svensson spends about 10% of his time each year calling employees, which helps him understand what's happening in the company and make better decisions.