CIO of Direct Energy shares insights on how to get feedback from new staffers...directly. Want to find out what new employees think of your IT department? Just ask them, says Direct Energy CIO Kumud Kalia. Related on CIO.com End Users Are Not Your Customers How to Turn Your Employees Into Leaders Kalia takes 20 minutes to meet with all the people he’s hired in the past 90 days to ask them for their observations while they’re still fresh. It’s a trick he picked up from executives at a previous company and implemented once he entered the C suite. Kalia likes to use this informal group meeting to get real-time feedback on the company’s on-boarding process, to find out what the newest employees think of the work environment, and ask them how they’ve interacted thus far with colleagues, business partners and customers. He also likes to pick their brains about how Direct Energy compares to other companies. “This is good for breaking down old myths that support grass-is-greener kind of views [that can crop up],” says Kalia. “We can also get some insight into best practices we haven’t considered.” This kind of information has a short shelf life; employees forget their early experiences once they’re settled. New employees obviously won’t want to be too harsh, “but it is possible to get at the truth without overt criticism of coworkers [or] the company,” says Kalia. He’s let the practice slide as his time has become tight, but he intends to reintroduce it this year. “I’ve noticed a few new faces around and think it’s a little sad that I don’t recognize everyone,” he says. “This will help connect me to new staff. It’s important that employees have met with their department head and feel like they have a relationship.” Related content feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe