10 Reasons Your Employees Need Feedback Right Now

Leaders define corporate culture.
 
They create policies, structures and systems, shape communication and behaviour and build a community. The problem emerges when executives and leaders start doing and saying one thing and praising another behaviour.
 
Listening is one of the most important qualities of good leaders, thus, feedback is fundamentally an important tool for fostering better communication and collaboration and for shaping community behaviour.
 
Leaders, managers and executives of tomorrow have come to realize why and how giving and receiving feedback is often the key for businesses development.  
However, most managers and executives still believe giving feedback is ineffective which result in bringing fear and anxiety after “Can I give you some feedback?” question.  
 
To help employees, a great leader would always choose to give a feedback.
 
Nevertheless, managers and executive are not the only ones who need to give and receive feedback to be able to track progress and workflow. Employees need to know what they could do to be better and more efficient and to be a part of the team and community (because feedback works on emotions as well).
 
The Gallup organization did some research and this is what they found out:
 
#1  65% of employees say they want more feedback.
 
#2  39% of employees feel they are not appreciated at work.
 
#3  When managers ignore their employees, they are twice as likely to be actively disengaged at work.
 
#4  Companies that implement regular feedback have 14.9% lower turnover rates.
 
#5  When managers focus on employees’ strength and skills, they are 30 times more likely to be actively engaged at work.
 
#6  Highly engaged employees receive feedback twice a week (43%)
 
#7 Four out of ten employees are actively disengaged when they don’t receive feedback.
 
#8  98% employees will fail to engage at work if they don’t receive feedback from their managers (or receive very little).
 
#9  69% would work harder if they had known they were valued as workers and that their efforts were better recognized.
 
#10 78% said that when they are recognized, they are motivated to work.
 
In their Workforce Mood Tracker study, GloboForce looked at what aspects of technology work in modern bussinesses, and got some very interesting results. This is what the report highlighted:
 

• Whether at work or home, recognition makes employees happier.
• Gamification (badges and leader board, for instance) is not appropriate for use in recognition.
• For today’s modern workforce, traditional service programs are not delivering results.
• Managers can engage employees through recognition of their work.
• A “Thank You” that comes with a reward or a gift is the most powerful form of recognition (eThanks, on the other hand, are unsatisfying). 

 
What can you do?
 
 
#1 Ask questions
 
To get the answers you need, don’t ask Yes or No questions, but rather the questions that bring conversation and create an atmosphere in which an employee can explore alternatives and find the best approach. For instance, “What do you think worked, and what could have gone better?“
 
#2 Make it a habit
 
The best way to get used to giving feedback it to understand it as a regular conversation (sometimes even informal chat), this way you can make it a habit. Feedbacks get the best results when they are a part of a continuous process. Praise good results and performance right away.
 
#3 Don’t be afraid of negative feedback
 
Negative feedback is sometimes the best, although you need to know when and how to give it. When delivered in the right way, negative feedback could have more benefits than previously thought, and be very effective at improving workflow and performance.
 
Honest, straightforward feedback gives employees a way to make the good work better, to work harder, be more effective, and to align their goals with company’s goals and vision.