How can employee feedback be improved?

Smart leaders know that a strong company culture and good workplace relationships are founded on open, honest input from everyone in the organization. The higher up you are, the more important it becomes to stay in touch with the day-to-day environment by communicating with the staff that are doing the work. Giving them the opportunity to provide transparent, direct feedback can strengthen your company and help you succeed.

Honest feedback starts at the top

In most cases, your employees don’t waltz into your office once a quarter to give their opinions about your company and their experiences working there. That’s why you should encourage your employees to share their perspectives and ideas.

Making employee feedback part of your everyday operations takes some effort, and it starts at the top. It requires you to create a company culture in which sharing feedback feels natural for employees.

“Management must clearly spell it out as a company goal,” said David Hassell, CEO of employee engagement software 15Five. “Find quick and painless ways to check in with employees on a regular basis and ask questions that spark valuable conversation. Like any habit, implementing an employee feedback system may take a bit of time to get used to. But the payoff is big – empowered employees, increased productivity and extraordinary innovation.”

Start by scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports, and offer the floor to them for at least a portion of these meetings. Additionally, set regular intervals for more in-depth performance reviews, and include opportunities for employees to give feedback on the company and their managers as part of these reviews. Establishing these practices sets the stage for a company culture rooted in 360-degree feedback and collaboration.

How employee feedback benefits a business

Establishing a culture of feedback may take some effort, and sometimes receiving critical feedback may be uncomfortable. Still, the benefits outweigh the growing pains. When you have a healthy culture of employee-employer feedback, expect the following benefits.

Improves the ability to detect and resolve issues early

Employee feedback is good for more than getting an overview of how your company is running. It can also help identify potential problems among your staff before they occur.

“Employees are positioned to see things that are oftentimes not readily visible to the manager,” Hassell said. “They have an inside perspective on what’s working and what’s not. Gathering employees’ honest feedback is critical for tuning in to the myriad of internal and external details that essentially keep the company running.”

Managers are charged not only with setting schedules and keeping employees on task, but also with seeing the bigger picture and planning for pitfalls before they occur. But the only effective way to do so is to have an open channel of communication with team members who can provide an array of perspectives about what’s going on in the trenches.

Makes employees feel valued

Employees who are given the opportunity to provide feedback to their employers feel valued. According to Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workforce Report, only 21% of employees feel their managers care about their opinions and recognize their work.

“It [stems from] a basic human need for recognition. People on the frontlines are closest to the problems [in an organization], and asking for feedback [shows that] management cares and will do something about it,” said David Niu, vice president of innovation at Limeade. 

Asking for feedback shows employees that management respects their insights and wants to act on their experiences. Gathering feedback can boost company morale and lead to higher employee engagement, which leads to improved productivity and reduced employee turnover.

Helps managers improve their skills

Too often, employers focus on performance from bottom to top. However, managers need feedback just as much as any other employee. Managers rely on a range of soft skills to do their jobs, including communication, planning, and strategizing. Sometimes managers have blind spots to areas in which they’re deficient, which could hinder the team in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. Feedback can help illuminate these blind spots.

For example, employee feedback may identify that certain managers are poor communicators or lack particular leadership skills needed to do their jobs properly. This gives managers the opportunity to improve in their roles and develop the skills they need to better lead a team.

Prevents conflict among employees

Another important benefit of employee feedback is workplace conflict prevention. If employees are encouraged to give their opinions freely on a regular basis, problems can be identified early on. Small annoyances quickly transform into major issues if they aren’t addressed swiftly, but feedback can help managers ameliorate the issue before it comes to a head.

If staff know they are allowed to speak up without fear of retribution, disagreements can be resolved before they become major problems. All workers should feel confident that managers have an open-door policy regarding issues with clients and colleagues.

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