Feedback is an essential part of any business. To employees, good constructive feedback can help them to grow and become more efficient. On the other hand, feedback can help leaders to become better at managing teams and creating a better work environment. However, when you ask your employees to give you feedback on the company or someone else’s work, they might be nervous to say what they really think. After all, while good feedback can make you happy, you might find it difficult to deal with criticism. If business leaders and managers want to make a difference and make the company thrive, they need to learn how to give and receive feedback to make employees more confident. Here are strategies to build a better company culture and encourage employees to provide honest feedback.
Give Your Employees Opportunities To Be Vocal
If you want your employees to provide you with regular feedback, you need to give them opportunities and platforms to do so. One of the things you can do is send out a periodic survey. That way, employees can give feedback to the managers and company leadership. However, you can also take advantage of tools that will help you see the feedback in real-time. For instance, the live polling app from Vevox will allow your employees to submit their opinions straight away. Such a platform can be useful when you introduce a new policy, service or product in the company. After some time, you can create a poll and ask your employees to vote. It will help you to see if there are any problems or if there is anything that you could do differently. Then, you’ll be able to take immediate steps to rectify any issues or improve the situation.
Integrate Open Communication Into The Company Culture
To make the feedback as effective as possible, integrate open communication into the company culture. Opinions from other employees and colleagues can help you to improve and create a better working environment. However, you need to promote the feedback culture across all levels of the company. That way, even the more senior employees and company leadership will have a constant learning resource that can help to transform the company’s performance and success. Make feedback and honest and clear communication a part of your company values. Then, even the newest employees will be ready to step up from day one.
Be Careful With Your Reactions
As a business leader or a manager, you need to know how to accept feedback. No one can be perfect, and once in a while, you might need to face criticism. And even though you think you’re doing well and don’t identify with the feedback, you need to be careful about how you react. When you don’t like what you hear or read from your employees, you need to be clinical about it. Don’t get defensive or angry. If you let your emotions rule over you, then you might scare your employees, and they might stop being open with you. And despite not agreeing with the feedback, you should take time to think it over. Perhaps you have overlooked some issues and need to work on your attitude towards others. While it might be an unpleasant experience, you should take it as a learning opportunity to become a better leader.
Take Actions Based On The Feedback You Receive
No matter what the feedback you receive from your employees is, you need to let them know that you’re grateful for their input. And the best way to do that is to take action based on the feedback you received. Perhaps your employees were concerned about the lack of tools to finish their tasks successfully. Or they might have a problem with their manager who doesn’t treat them fairly. On other occasions, they might be unsure about their future progression in the company or would like to get access to more learning resources. Then, it would be best if you met with your employees to discuss the feedback and any issues they have pointed out. They might have some ideas on how to improve the situation and make the company a better workplace. If you are met with any accusations, don’t follow them blindly. Instead, take time to talk to others and investigate the issue thoroughly.
Support Others To Adopt A Growth Mindset
Usually, people who want to make it far and progress in their careers need to embrace learning and a growth mindset. To make feedback a part of the company culture, help your employees to follow their ambitions. Find out what they want to do and where they would like to get one day. Then, you can come up with a plan that will help them to reach the goal within your company. Feedback is a necessary part of learning. So, if all of your employees want to grow and improve, they’ll need to learn how to give and receive feedback effectively and graciously.
