Regular communication from leadership helps build trust and alignment across the organization. When leaders share updates and respond directly to employee questions, it strengthens the connection to the organization’s vision and enhances understanding of strategic decisions. An anonymous submission form, combined with a dedicated news channel for CEO replies, gives employees a simple, accessible way to raise their questions or concerns. When the CEO responds openly, it builds trust, encourages transparency, and shows employees that their voices are heard and valued.

In this article:

Key Facts | Steps | Measure Success | Best Practices | How Ask the CEO Looks for Users | Additional Resources

Problem Statement: Employees often feel disconnected from leadership and lack a safe, accessible channel to share questions or concerns. This results in reduced trust and engagement.

Business Objective: Establish a transparent dialogue between employees and leadership that builds trust, fosters engagement, and ensures employees feel their voices are valued.

Staffbase Features:

• Forms: Create a form with anonymous submissions with a simple text box for employee questions or concerns.
• News: Provide a dedicated space for CEOs to respond, ensuring visibility and user access.
• Pages: Create a centralized hub to gather all Ask the CEO content.
• Plugin Widget: Place the form within pages or news posts to maximize participation.

Audience: All employees across the company, as sharing answers with the entire company encourages transparency and trust.

Outcome: Employees feel heard and valued, while leadership gains direct insight into workforce concerns. This fosters trust, transparency, and alignment with company goals.

You can use this step-by-step guide to set up this use case in Staffbase.

Create a Form

1. In the Studio, go to Content > Forms.
2. Configure the form settings.
3. Click Add form.
4. In the Form Fields tab, add your desired fields.
5. In the Settings tab, define the settings of the form.
6. Click Save Form and Publish Form.

Learn more about adding fields to a form and defining the settings of a form.

Create a News Channel

1. In the Studio, navigate to Content > News.
2. Click Add channel.
3. Provide a name for your channel, such as Ask the CEO.
4. Under Channel type, select Updates.
5. Click Save.
6. Under the Contributors dropdown, select users or user groups allowed to post.
7. Click Save.
8. Create a post to introduce the channel and publish it.
9. Click Publish Channel.

Learn more about creating a channel and news channel types.

Create an Ask the CEO Page

1. In the Studio, navigate to Content > Pages.
2. Click Add Page.
3. Provide a title and set visibility for the page.
4. Click Add page.
5. In the content editor, provide information about the Ask the CEO concept.
6. Click the + icon to open the widget dialog and select the Plugin widget.
7. From the Plugin dropdown, select Forms.
8. From the Forms dropdown, select the form you’ve just created.
9. Click OK.
10. Add the News Feed widget to the page to showcase all the answers.
11. Click Save Draft.
12. Click Publish.

Maintain Momentum and Follow-Ups

1. Establish a regular publishing rhythm for answering the submitted questions, for example, monthly. 
   This builds trust that submissions are regularly reviewed and encourages more participation.
2. Create a campaign around leadership transparency to assign the relevant news posts and track alignment over time. 
   Creating organizational goals aligned with the Ask the CEO concept creates an internal understanding of its importance.
3. Follow up on concerns and actively make visible improvements. 
   Acting on specific topics makes employees feel their voice is seen and heard.

These are different ways you can track the success of this use case.

Track Form Submissions

• Regularly export the Form submissions via CSV to review and answer.
• Update the Form to create a new version, and track the answers over time.

Monitor News Analytics

• Use the News tab in the Analytics dashboard to monitor relevant metrics on the posts.
• Sort the Comments overview by the CEO News channel to view comments relevant to those posts.

Trust & Transparency Indicators

• Include a short pulse survey to check employee understanding of the posts.
• Assess recurring employee themes and whether leadership responses address them.

Staffbase has a few recommendations to ensure the best experience for your users.

Schedule Communication Cadence

• Establish a consistent rhythm for leadership communications, such as monthly updates or Q&A sessions, to create consistency and predictability.
• Use the Editorial Calendar to align leadership content with company milestones or announcements.

Promote Visibility Across Multiple Channels

• Cross-promote leadership communications through Email, start page banners, and push notifications.
• Use visual elements like photos or Hero images to draw attention to messages.

Involve Leadership in Various Departments

• Encourage senior leaders to participate in similar Q&A formats or share regular updates.
• Rotate communication features among departments to showcase a range of leadership voices.
• Create themed content to keep the format fresh and engaging. 

• Master CEO Communications: 3 Steps to Lead Effectively

Additional Helpful Information

• Overview of Forms
• Adding Fields to a Form
• Overview of News
• Creating a Channel
• Creating a Page