Tips for Creating Effective Employee Feedback Programs
Employee feedback is an extremely important part of running a successful business. Feedback from employees to supervisors and vice versa make for a collaborative atmosphere, and ensure that your team is on the same page about their performance, goals and value to the company. The question remains, however, what is the best way to give and receive feedback? It can be vulnerable to talk about one’s performance, or to give feedback to a supervisor, and it’s something that should be considered with care and empathy from management.
Implementing feedback into your management practice can take many forms from anonymous feedback to regular one on one meetings where performance is discussed. The bottom line is that it must be a concerted effort on the part of management to both encourage and initiate feedback solutions. Let’s hear from some top level managers, business leaders and CEO’s on how to create effective employee feedback programs.
Make it Regular
The most important part of implementing your feedback program is to implement it into your monthly, weekly and daily routines. “The best way to create effective feedback avenues for employees is to make sure you fold it into your monthly operations. Give your team an opportunity every month to give their feelings on what’s working and what isn’t. This way you can make working with your team a collaborative experience,” said Patrick Samy, CEO of Span Health.
Like anything else, practice makes perfect! This also creates ongoing accountability for your employees and their goals at your company. “Make feedback a regular part of your work day all year round. This is important for employees to understand how to improve and what their goals should be in relation to the company. This creates a culture of upward motion and holds accountability for both employees and management,” Remon Aziz, Chief Operating Officer of Advantage.
Managers should be having one on one meetings with their teams regardless, and these are great times to catch up on any changes that need to be made to that employee’s work routine. “Take advantage of quick, short meetings throughout the week to meet with your employees and make feedback a weekly goal for you and your team,” said Dan Lewis of Convoy. “This regulates the practice of giving positive feedback and constructive criticism to your team on a regular basis.”
Initiate the Exchange
As employees of your company, it’s unlikely that your team members will be forthcoming about giving feedback if they don’t see an example showing them that it’s ok. Initiate the process to gain an understanding of what your employees want and need from management. “Employees will feel more comfortable to give their feedback if their supervisors initiate the exchange more often. If you ask your team for feedback, they’ll be more likely to give it. Make sure as a leader you give your team opportunities to voice their opinions,” said Maegan Griffin, Founder, CEO and Nurse Practitioner of Skin Pharm. Initiation from management shows that this is a valued practice at your company, and it’s a sign that the company wants their employees to do better. “Initiating feedback eases the stress that can be associated with hearing a performance review,” said Daniel Lehoczsky of Hiya.
In order to initiate and give effective feedback, you’ll need to fully understand what your employees goals are going forward at the company. Your feedback should be tailored to help them meet those goals. “Make sure you understand fully the goals your employee has. This way you can tailor your feedback to meet their specific goals and needs and how you manage that employee in the future,” said Jake Langley, CEO of Luma Nutrition.
Offer and Anonymous or Virtual Option For Employee to Employer Feedback
To encourage employees to give feedback to their companies, sometimes anonymous channels can be the best way to go. This allows employees to feel more comfortable saying things they might not in a meeting for fear of speaking out of line. “Anonymous feedback is always a great option for employees who feel they need to express something, but don’t feel comfortable saying it publicly. This gives a safe option in the event that someone has a problem with another employee or supervisor,” said Seb Evans, Co-Founder of Banquist.
Surveys and communication tools are a great way to give and set up anonymous feedback at your company. This is sometimes a better option depending on how well your team deals with person to person review. “Consider whether using an app or communication tool might be a better way to give and receive feedback from your team. Some teams may respond more to one-on-one in person meetings while others may respond best to an anonymous or private chat service,” said Mike Clare, CEO of Mood Health.
Give Both Positive and Negative Feedback
We tend to think of feedback as a scary word, one associated with a mistake being made. This is exactly the kind of conversation we need to change! Positive feedback is one of the most effective ways to help employees reach their goals at work. “Often the word ‘feedback’ is associated with negative analysis. Feedback can mean addressing something positive that has happened as well. Positive feedback is just as effective to give often and enthusiastically to show your employees you notice every aspect of their work, not just what they can improve on,” said Trisha Bantigue, CEO of Queenly.
Act on Change
Not all employee feedback will be suggestions you act on, but when you do find that a change is necessary on management’s end make sure you enact the change quickly and effectively. Your team will not value your feedback as much if you don’t act on theirs. “If you are receiving feedback from your employees, make sure you act on it accordingly. Listening is just one step, action is the behavior that will show commitment and understanding of what they’ve said. Take action with care after receiving feedback from your team,” said David A. DiLorenzo, President of Valentino Beauty Pure.
Be Honest About Your Mistakes!
Transparency and honesty are always the best practices when it comes to receiving and giving feedback in any form. As an employer, you need to be willing to admit when you’ve made a mistake or when something needs to be changed about the day to day operations of your company. “Making your employees feel comfortable to give feedback means that they will be more receptive to receiving it as well,” said Jeff Meeks VP of Sales and Marketing of Energy Fit. “It’s important to create a feeling of trust that goes both ways so you both know that offering feedback is a part of working together.”
This is important because as leaders, you need to show the most positive example you can for giving and receiving feedback. If your managers and supervisors aren’t open to suggestions, it can create a toxic and unsafe space for your team members. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to implement effectively. “Make sure as managers, your leaders show a positive example by being honest and transparent themselves. Showing an example of accountability creates a responsibility for the rest of your team to follow suit,” said Jason Wong, CEO of Doe Lashes.
It’s simple, if you show accountability yourself you will show your team that this is the expectation of everyone at your company. Providing feedback creates an energy of upward motion on all accounts, not just the employees. This is often where the responsibility falls, and ultimately it is up to management to organize and, well, manage the situation of employee feedback. How to give it, how to receive it and securing multiple channels of feedback options are essential for any leader to implement.
Feedback Options
Feedback programs can take the form of anonymous surveys, in person meetings or team meetings to get everyone on the same page about what is going well, and what needs to be improved on. Make sure that with every criticism you provide, you also provide positive feedback. This is a common technique, to first give the bad news and then lighten the blow. This tried and true method helps employees keep their goals on track and also helps them feel like they are still a valuable part of the company, even if there is something to improve on.
This is also true for employers receiving feedback from their team. Make sure you listen, and you are honest about the possible solutions and transparent if the change requested is not possible. Even if you can’t accommodate your team with every piece of feedback you receive, your team will trust you more in the long run if you are transparent about why they can’t make the change. Whether it’s a salary increase, shift change or complaint, be sure to hear your employee all the way through and offer transparent and empathic responses to what they might be going through. Patience, honesty and transparency are the key to creating effective feedback strategies at your company.