Why is a Feedback Culture Important?

Having feedback built into your company’s culture has proven to increase employee engagement which in turn increases productivity, morale and success. With 86% of highly engaged companies using employee to management one to ones; it indicates a strong relationship between the two. So, with such a clear link between feedback and success, why isn’t everyone doing it all the time?

Well, it’s not easy to introduce a feedback culture into an organisation from scratch. Giving constructive feedback can be taken poorly when it’s not handled appropriately and not everyone is accustomed to the idea. That being said, just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean we should be ignoring the process. So how can you make sure that bringing in feedback is going to go down as well as you need it to?

Firstly, start with getting buy-in from the top. In order to truly have a successful feedback culture you need the real buy in from senior management and executives. Having your executives and management on board with feedback demonstrates a trust and openness within your business that allows people to thrive. Once your team understands that everyone is fully dedicated to the idea of feedback they get the natural buy-in as a team and also the understanding that feedback is a really good thing. It can alleviate any misconceptions they may have had and gives them clarity that feedback is not just to do with underperforming, but something they can use to develop themselves in their careers and really excel to where they want to be.

Next after the buy-in you want to start getting your people to view feedback as the norm for everyone. With feedback becoming a part of normal proceedings your people will get the understanding that your business encourages development and ownership, making them feel valued and important in their role. Employees who understand and believe in feedback know they can grow and develop themselves with their own hard work combined with the unique insight into their strengths and areas for development they gain through it. Now, there are a number of ways to make feedback a part of normal working life, for example recruiting those who are already working in a feedback culture, this way you are bringing in promoters who will spread the word and get people excited through their past experiences! By making it a part of your recruiting process through personality assessments such as Korn Ferry’s Dimensions or CEB’s OPQ32 you can determine the right traits in the candidates including whether they are resilient, achievement oriented or conscientious. Make it known you’re investing in your people- let them know the resources they have available to them from the very beginning. By making feedback a part of everyone’s routine progression path, that they will have the chance to look back on as they develop within their careers and witness feedback working in action. All the while you are gaining some real feedback advocates.

The next step is to create a feedback safe environment for everyone. Opening up the culture to feedback is one thing but opening it to trust and honesty may be another. Feedback means nothing and will not make a difference if it is not honest and constructive as well as being there for acknowledging strengths and successes. People need to understand that they are under no pressure to give feedback if they are not comfortable doing so, but if they do that they won’t face any negative repercussions as a result. With this safe understanding will come golden feedback that highlights strengths but also the areas for development that may be holding you back, giving you the understanding and the opportunity to target these areas and develop yourself and your team further as a result.

Lastly you are going to need to set your team up with effective tools. 360 degree feedback provides your team and yourself with a really unique opportunity to gain an insight into what has made you successful over the previous years and also what could be developed into successes for the future. The surveys allows for a certain element of anonymity whist still getting constructive and helpful feedback from peers and managers thus allowing a really easy gateway into the world of feedback and making it a culture in your business.

Getfeedback have created a seamless process over the last 12 years, with expertise in designing and running 360 degree feedback surveys the process has never been simpler. The reports are designed to give clear and concise results for each individual’s strengths and development areas.

We run and manage surveys for all levels over a wide range of industries; we can deliver the feedback for you or train you directly. If you want to find out more details about our off the shelf and bespoke 360 degree feedback surveys email info@getfeedback.net or call us on 01491 845 536.