What is a Positive Feedback Loop?

Managers are responsible for monitoring performance and providing feedback. One way to increase engagement and elicit better employee performance is to use positive feedback loops. This guide defines a positive feedback loop and outlines its importance in the workplace.

Feedback plays a key role in a business environment. When managers provide feedback to their teams, each employee has an opportunity to improve their performance. Regular feedback also helps employees feel more engaged and motivated to do a good job.

Any manager responsible for giving feedback can benefit from understanding a positive feedback loop and how it works. This guide defines positive feedback loops and provides several examples to guide managers in using feedback appropriately.

What is a Positive Feedback Loop?

A positive feedback loop occurs when a manager provides positive feedback to reinforce a desirable behavior exhibited by an employee.

In the workplace, positive behaviors make it possible for companies to succeed. Negative behaviors harm other employees and make it more difficult for businesses to achieve their goals. One of the many responsibilities of a manager is to encourage positive behaviors and eliminate negative behaviors.?

Positive feedback loops are essential for motivating and retaining talented employees. Amy Miller , a senior technical recruiter for Amazon, explains what happened when she thanked a team of developers for their work:

"At the end of the call, I thanked them, told them how a couple of recent key changes helped tremendously and just expressed my gratitude that they were taking the feedback seriously and making the improvements quickly."

That feedback helps managers build rapport with team members, keeps employees committed to their jobs and enhances job performance.

Positive Feedback Loop Examples

Here are a few examples of positive feedback loops in the workplace:

• A manager notices when an employee delivers excellent service to one of the company's most important customers. Instead of waiting until the employee's next performance review, the manager praises the employee right away . The employee, buoyed by the praise, commits to delivering the same level of service to every customer.
• An employee in the accounting department notices a significant error in a company's general ledger. Their manager provides positive feedback, explaining that the employee's attention to detail helps the company continue operating. Inspired by the feedback, the employee works on every assignment with the same level of attention to detail.
• A nurse is thinking about leaving their job in the ICU. The hours are long, and the ICU team works with the sickest patients in the hospital. Unexpectedly, the department head provides positive feedback about the nurse's ability to perform care on patients with diabetic ulcers. The nurse begins to feel appreciated and decides to stay in the ICU instead of searching for another job.

Positive vs. Negative Feedback Loop

Positive feedback loops involve employees, while negative feedback loops involve customers. When using a positive feedback loop, a manager focuses on what employees can do to improve their performance and help the business reach its goals.

In contrast, negative feedback loops focus on using negative feedback from customers to improve the business in some way. Writing for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute blog, Jeanne Hedden Gallagher explains that negative customer feedback presents a strategic opportunity to address issues in a way that builds trust between a business and its customers.

Here are some examples of how negative feedback loops in action:

• Several customers complain that they cut themselves while using a company's product. The company responds to the feedback by having its design team develop a safer design.
• A customer submits a complaint about the service received during a recent store visit. After reading the complaint, the manager realizes that the employee involved in the encounter needs additional training. The company provides the necessary training, giving employees the tools to deliver better service.
• Seeking feedback on a new product, a company decides to hold a focus group. The participants provide feedback, much of it negative, on the product's design and functionality. Based on this feedback, executives decide not to move forward with the product launch, saving the company a significant sum in manufacturing and marketing costs.

Final Thoughts on Positive Feedback Loops

Businesses benefit from providing feedback to employees and getting feedback from customers. Positive feedback loops focus on reinforcing desired behaviors. Negative feedback loops focus on taking negative customer feedback and improving the business with it.

To influence appropriate behavior, managers in every industry should use positive feedback loops to keep their employees engaged, committed and excited about the work.

Top Takeaways

• Positive feedback loops increase engagement and motivate employees to do their best work.
• Managers use positive feedback loops to encourage employees to display desirable behaviors.
• Positive feedback helps managers build rapport with their teams.

(Reporting by NPD)