As organsations are prioritising employees’ well-being, concepts like gratitude, self-care, and mindfulness have become common topics of discussion. Employers, managers, staff, and team members are talking openly about mental health and wellness. Companies are taking initiatives to improve wellbeing in the workplace, offering flexible working hours, healthy snacks, fun activities, and more.
One of the best ways to achieve this is by creating a culture of feedback so that people feel valued and appreciated. This seemingly small step can have a significant impact on wellbeing, leading to happier and healthier employees.
what is a feedback-rich culture?
Recognition is critical to engaging and retaining employees but organisations must also provide regular feedback to employees. It can be about recognising their accomplishments, improving their performance, or enhancing team efforts.
A feedback-rich culture promotes consistent and helpful feedback to employees from supervisors. Also, workers are encouraged to provide meaningful feedback to their leaders and colleagues. It ensures that employees feedback, recognition, and praise are an integral part of the communication process.
why is a feedback culture important?
Without proper feedback, you can’t expect employees to grow into their roles. Also, there would be no way for organisations to determine and address issues that hamper success. Feedback is a primary source of information for managers to gauge cultural alignment.
The key importance of feedback in the workplace is that it boosts employee engagement by building trust between team leaders and members and creating a secure environment. In a feedback-rich culture, employees feel that their views are valued and play a vital role in decision-making.
Lack of helpful feedback can disengage workers, leading to a high turnover rate. This can even cost billions to companies annually and lead to immeasurable damage.
benefits of creating a culture of feedback
Feedback helps people identify their strengths and weaknesses. They feel appreciated and even get to know where they need to improve. It shows that they are cared for, which is essential for employee wellbeing and get clarity about their career prospects.
feeling valued and responsible
Your staff is spending 8-9 hours a day in the office, so make them feel that their time and efforts are valued. Whether it’s for daily operations or a grand scheme, feedback ensures that every contribution of employees is recognised. Also, when they are asked to give feedback, it instills a sense of ownership in them and they feel involved.
ensuring employee development and retention
Listening to employees and making efforts to give them useful feedback is a sign that the company is investing in its workers. When they believe that their work is important to the organisations, they prioritise self-growth and development.
encouraging team communication
A feedback culture creates a collaborative environment where co-workers have the opportunity to have open dialog and regular interactions with managers, team leads, and colleagues. Sharing honest feedback with team members and top management lead to more productive meetings and transparency about company objectives, targets, and deadlines.
paving the way for new ideas
When employees are acknowledged and get feedback, be it positive or negative, they challenge themselves to try something new and tap into their true potential. They come out of their comfort zone and put forth creative ideas to achieve better results.
ways to provide valuable feedback
1. be specific about the issue
Employees are often aware of the problem but they might not understand the context or background of the issue. Therefore, be clear while specifying the actual problem, and give them a sense of how it can affect the business, and hamper their growth.
2. focus on the situation, not the individual
Employers often wonder how to give constructive feedback. The answer is to talk more about outcomes and situations than personal attributes. If your feedback centers around an individual, then it can hurt their personal feelings. So, discuss the issue and how to fix it and not criticise the person.
3. Give appreciation where it is due
Acknowledge employees’ efforts while addressing negatives to assure a positive impact. This will show that you are not blaming their performance but highlighting certain areas that need attention.
4. prioritise one-to-one conversations
Avoid using email, message, or phone to give feedback as it increases the chances of misinterpretation. Also, it reduces the authenticity and importance of feedback. Always opt for in-person, straightforward, and honest conversations with employees.
5. listen to employees’ perspectives
Feedback is a two-way communication process where not only supervisors talk, but employees also get an equal chance to put their point forward. Listen to their concerns and interpretation of the situation.
6. provide timely feedback
Whether it’s praise or negative feedback, timeliness is always crucial. If it’s a sensitive situation, then wait for the things to cool off, think of the wisest way to address it, and then talk to the concerned person.
Employers can also take input from employees rather than just giving feedback to enhance employee engagement.
Feedback can be given in a variety of ways.
1. Annual Surveys
2. Pulse Surveys
Annual Surveys: An annual survey is one that is conducted once a year and is the most extensively employed by businesses in every industry. Almost every organisation’s HR department regards this survey as the most crucial tool. It is a dependable way for gaining an in-depth understanding of employees’ behavior about the company. It consists of at least 50 questions regarding how an employee feels about various areas of his or her job.
Pulse surveys: A pulse survey is a brief and focused questionnaire that focuses on a certain component of work or an organisation and is carried out at more regular intervals. They don’t take long to complete because they just include 1-10 questions. Pulse Surveys might be about everything from company policy changes to the seats they sit in.
Annual surveys produce comparatively inaccurate data since they are based on the employees’ state of mind at the time of the poll, not on how they felt throughout the year. Furthermore, because the questionnaires are difficult and lengthy, employees may fill them out only for the sake of filling them out, which defeats the objective of doing a survey.
Pulse surveys enable HR to receive fast input on any policy changes or organisational changes. This survey can be done once a week or once a month. They aid in obtaining real-time insights since they are concise and consistent.
A comprehensive annual survey, combined with three to four pulse surveys through the year, would be appropriate for any organisation’s growth and behavior measurement.
conclusion
Employee well-being, satisfaction, and happiness are not just about offering free snacks, rewards, and exciting gifts. You need to create a healthier work environment that promotes open communication and regular feedback. Start by encouraging supportive relationships between co-workers where they can share honest opinions.
Author: Kelly Barcelos – Digital Marketing Manager, Jobsoid
Photo credit: Patrick Perkins on Unsplash
that's a very good suggestion, thanks for the tips.