{"id":24644,"date":"2021-02-23T10:15:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T10:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/?p=24644"},"modified":"2021-02-23T10:15:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T10:15:07","slug":"encouraging-candid-employee-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/encouraging-candid-employee-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Encouraging Candid Employee Feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div>

Encouraging Candid Employee Feedback<\/span><\/h1>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Obtaining <\/span>candid<\/span> feedback from employees is<\/span> not <\/span>always an easy task<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>E<\/span>mployees may be reticent to<\/span> give negative feedback<\/span>, and l<\/span>eaders<\/span> may be disinclined to <\/span>expose themselves to criticism and <\/span>put themselves in a position of <\/span>potential <\/span>v<\/span>ulnerability<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

However, <\/span>feedback can<\/span> be hugely valuable<\/span> to organisations.<\/span> <\/span>Gallup\u2019s study<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>469 business units<\/span><\/b>, found that units with managers who received <\/span>strengths<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>feedback<\/span><\/b> exhibited a <\/span>higher profitability<\/span><\/b> of<\/span> 8.9% <\/span><\/b>following <\/span><\/b>intervention. <\/span><\/b>Additionally<\/span>,<\/span> encouraging feedback could <\/span>s<\/span><\/b>trengthen<\/span><\/b> the<\/span><\/b> employee voice<\/span><\/b>,<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>w<\/span>hich<\/span> <\/span>research <\/span>has <\/span>link<\/span>ed<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> greater<\/span> <\/span>organisational<\/span><\/b> employee<\/span><\/b> engagement.<\/span><\/b><\/a> So, how can organisations build impactful feedback processes and the type of cultures that encourage honest feedback?<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

First, <\/span>it is important to cultivate<\/span> <\/span>psychological safety and trust.<\/span><\/b> If the culture and leadership does not actively encourage constructive feedback, employees could worry that expressing negative opinions could lead to backlash<\/span>, thus deterring them from expressing t<\/span>heir <\/span>thoughts<\/span> frankly<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Alternatively, <\/span>if a positive culture is established, employees may feel more inclined to <\/span>proactively<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>raise concerns or suggest improvements.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

One way of <\/span>gathering feedback<\/span> that could benefit teams and organisations<\/span> is t<\/span>hrough<\/span> <\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/b>S<\/span><\/b>kip<\/span><\/b>–<\/span><\/b>L<\/span><\/b>evel <\/span><\/b>M<\/span><\/b>eetings,\u2019<\/span><\/b> which involve leaders sitting down with employees without management responsibilities to listen to their thoughts, <\/span>suggestions<\/span> or concerns. <\/span>This can be a great way <\/span>for senior management to<\/span> understand how <\/span>high-level decisions impact the workforc<\/span><\/b>e<\/span><\/b> as well as<\/span> how things are going <\/span>on a divisional level.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

It is <\/span>also <\/span>important to <\/span>gather feedback that is<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span><\/b>ctionable<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>as this <\/span>helps to achieve<\/span> concrete change<\/span>s,<\/span> <\/span>improvements<\/span>, <\/span>and organisational impact.<\/span> <\/span>Utilising effective question framing techniques can be a good way of ensuring that leaders <\/span>come away with feedback they can act upon<\/span>, such<\/span> <\/span>as <\/span>the <\/span>SKS method: <\/span><\/b>Stop (S), Keep (K), and Start (S)<\/span><\/b>. <\/span>According to <\/span>Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/a>, this involves<\/span> <\/span>the person <\/span>think<\/span>ing<\/span> of<\/span> 3 points<\/span> <\/span>they <\/span>would like the<\/span> other to <\/span>stop <\/span><\/b>doing, <\/span>keep<\/span><\/b> doing, and <\/span>start<\/span><\/b> doing.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Equally important <\/span>as<\/span> how the leader invites feedback is <\/span>their <\/span>external <\/span><\/b>response and listening<\/a> skills.<\/span><\/b> The way they <\/span>react<\/span> <\/span>– <\/span>including <\/span>spoken responses and body language<\/span> <\/span>–<\/span> <\/span>can affect <\/span>whethe<\/span>r the <\/span>exchange<\/span> <\/span>ends up being <\/span>a <\/span>productive <\/span>experience <\/span>or not.<\/span> <\/span>For instance, r<\/span>eassuring employees that their feedback is <\/span>welcomed<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>appreciated<\/span><\/b>, and a matter of organisational priority<\/span><\/b> may go a long way<\/span> <\/span>in encouraging employees to be honest and open.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

It is<\/span> <\/span>fundamental<\/span> that feedback <\/span>is <\/span>followed through with action<\/span> where<\/span> and when<\/span> possible<\/span>, as employees will want to see that their feedback <\/span>has been taken seriously<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>I<\/span>f employees feel it <\/span>is <\/span>merely <\/span>a <\/span>\u2018<\/span>tick-box<\/span>\u2019<\/span> exercise, and that their <\/span>feedback i<\/span>s <\/span>not being truly <\/span>considered<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>th<\/span><\/b>is can damage trust and <\/span><\/b>disincentivise future engagement with <\/span><\/b>formal and informal <\/span><\/b>feedback processes.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>By contrast, if employees have a positive experience with <\/span>feedback at work<\/span>, <\/span>this can help<\/span> <\/span>motivate and engage<\/span><\/b> <\/span>them.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, <\/span>it is important to create<\/span> <\/span>regular<\/span><\/b> feedback opportunities<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>This can help to ensure constructive feedback is <\/span>acted upon in time<\/span><\/b> <\/span>and help to build a culture <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>encourages employees to give<\/span> candid<\/span> feedback.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

References: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Why Senior Managers Should Hold Skip-Level Meetings, May 2018, <\/span>SHRM.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. 4 Ways to Get Truly Honest Feedback <\/span>From<\/span> Employees, May 2015, <\/span>Entrepreneur Europe.<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Obtaining candid feedback from employees is not always an easy task. Employees may be reticent to give negative feedback, and leaders may be disinclined to expose themselves to criticism and put themselves in a position of potential vulnerability.  However, feedback can be hugely valuable to organisations. Gallup\u2019s study of 469 business units, found that units with managers who received strengths feedback exhibited a higher profitability of 8.9% following intervention. Additionally, encouraging feedback could strengthen the employee voice, which research has linked with greater organisational employee engagement. So, how can organisations build impactful feedback processes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","myguten_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24644"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24663,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24644\/revisions\/24663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}