60% of employees have recently reported wanting to receive regular feedback from within the organisation, indicating the importance of a company making it part of their day-to-day operation. Feedback goes a long way towards employees feeling valued by a business and their overall welfare and satisfaction.
A culture of feedback can be incredibly beneficial for all within a company, as highlighted by Dominic Fitch, Head of Creative Change Impact, the world’s leading experiential learning company.
“Providing and receiving honest feedback is crucial for any business. Managers and employees can both benefit from it, whether positive or negative and use it to build on and learn from moving forward. For management, feedback from the workforce can be very useful for their leadership development, ensuring they are performing optimally for the benefit of the team and the overall business.”
Feedback for Development and Growth
Implementing a culture of continuous feedback can provide employees and leaders with insight into their strengths and weaknesses and things they can use as a platform to build on. Building in regular times within the working week means employees can take on board comments in a timely manner and act upon suggestions that have been made, enhancing their skills and growing to unlock their full potential.
Feedback for Recognition
As well as learning from feedback, even if it may be deemed as negative or pointing out areas for improvement, positive feedback can transform an organisation and its employees, no matter the industry.
Giving positive feedback not only makes an employee feel good, but it can have knock-on benefits too. Firstly, positive feedback after something has been done well helps to uphold business standards and ensure everyone knows what they should be aiming towards.
Positive feedback is also important when it comes to talent retention. Giving recognition for a job well done isn’t just empty words; it can result in employees being less likely to leave a job, in turn meaning the company holds onto the best talent available, helping performance and saving costs on new recruitment and training.
Feedback for Communication and Engagement
Feedback ultimately is a form of communication, and communication is quite simply an integral part of a business. Two-way feedback is important, as within an organisation, everyone can learn from each other. We’ve seen how employees can take feedback on board and learn from it, and a manager is no different.
Morale and job satisfaction improved by positive feedback are great, but seeing your feedback being acted on can have a similar impact. It gives the feeling that, as an employee, you are listened to and valued, particularly if you are giving feedback on management or the business generally.
It opens up communication channels and also creates a culture of trust and openness where people feel free to share their thoughts in a constructive manner. Feedback can also enhance collaboration, with more communication between team members and cross-organization happening.
Ultimately, feedback is crucial for many aspects of business, from finding gaps in your development and improving yourself to giving out feedback on management and feeling like you are in a business that values your thoughts. Fair pay and good working conditions go without saying, but a culture of continuous feedback goes a long way towards strong business performance and helping to retain the best talent possible.
Sources
Positive Feedback: Why It’s Important and How to Give It | Indeed.com UK
