Navigating Employee Feedback

There are many places a manager can turn to when looking to grow and improve their company. They can survey their customers to see what's working and what's not. They can look at their competitors to see what benchmarks they're not quite hitting yet. But perhaps the most valuable insights can be found right inside their own office.

Every employee has their own ideas and innovations for how things can be improved. Unfortunately, without a proper feedback process in place, often times the best ideas will go untapped. This not only means you are missing out on potential opportunities to grow your company, but you may also be leaving your employees feeling unheard or undervalued.

That's why I've broken down the 3 most important steps in creating a productive employee feedback process, starting with...

1. Receiving Feedback

The first question you need to ask yourself is if your employees have a place to provide their suggestions. You need to ensure that there is a clear channel or platform where your employees can easily and comfortably share their feedback with you. This could be a regular survey that gets emailed to the staff, a suggestion box set up in the office, a dedicated feedback chat group, or even a monthly feedback meeting. The key is to make it accessible, regular, and possibly even anonymous.

But it's not enough to just put a colorful suggestion box in the break room and call it a day. To ensure top results, you need to make sure that your employees feel comfortable sharing honest, constructive, and specific feedback. Regularly prompt your employees to speak their minds with you. If they come to you with suggestions, always make it clear that you are interested and grateful to hear them. This will help ensure your employees feel valued and comfortable sharing their thoughts.

2. Utilizing Feedback

Now that the suggestions are pouring in, the next step is to simply listen. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude to each suggestion that comes your way. You should not interrupt, judge, or dismiss any ideas outright. Instead, ask any questions their suggestions might raise, clarify doubts, and show interest. Whether you use their suggestions or not, make sure you always thank your employees for their feedback and let them know that you value their input.

After that, it's finally time to start taking action. Take a look at the suggestions you've received and try to determine how each one might improve and streamline your operations. You should analyze each piece of feedback, identify the strengths and weaknesses, and make the necessary changes. As you put these changes into action and monitor the results, you might even consider delegating execution to the employee who offered the suggestion to help them take ownership of the project and encourage future innovation.

3. Following-Up on Feedback

The reality is that not every suggestion that comes your way will be something you can or should act on. But no matter what, it's always important to follow up with your employees after you receive their feedback. You should let them know what actions you have taken or plan to take based on their feedback or explain why their suggestions may not be feasible or suitable at the moment. This will not only ensure that your employees feel heard and trusted, but it will motivate them to keep seeking new avenues for improvement.

After successfully implementing a piece of feedback into action, take the time to reward your employee for their work. This can be something big like a bonus or promotion, but even simply publicly recognizing their work and achievements can go a long way in further motivating them and other employees.

Conclusion

Listening to employee feedback and making employees feel heard is crucial for any company that wants to grow and improve. Not only will this help you continue to foster innovation at your company, but it will also boost your employee morale, engagement, and loyalty. By creating a productive feedback process that encourages employees along each of the three steps, you can tap into the potential and insights that originally led you to hire each of your employees in the first place.