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Improve Employee Feedback with Feedback Loops

January 6, 2022
a woman coming out of a screen talking to another person coming out of a screen
By Kenna Lewis

Feedback in the workplace is important. However, most people dread an annual performance review–the feedback is no longer timely, useful, or meaningful. And while most managers agree that regular feedback is a best practice, only 7% of employees receive daily feedback,19% receive it a few times a week, and 27% a few times a month.  A Workhuman study found that 85% of employees who have weekly check-ins with their managers report higher levels of engagement. Considering the positive impact of frequent feedback, it’s surprising these numbers aren’t higher. Managers can’t “watch” team members work all day to provide feedback. Moreover, managers aren’t the only ones interacting with team members or seeing their work product. Improve employee feedback with feedback loops. Establishing feedback loops helps managers gain a better view of team members’ work and interactions.

Creating a feedback loop for the workplace

Managers can establish feedback loops in a variety of ways. One example includes frequently checking in with employees to provide feedback to them, while also asking for their positive and constructive feedback about other employees.

In annual performance reviews, an employee receives feedback from one person, their manager, but feedback loops are multi-directional. You collect feedback regularly from everyone on the team. You could even include partners, clients, or volunteer leaders with whom the employee works closely throughout the year. Feedback loops are based on a broader perspective than just one person (the manager) and paint a fuller, more accurate picture of the employee’s contributions.

A feedback loop also builds a sense of external accountability on a team. If an employee knows their peers will evaluate them on their project performance, they (and their teammates) will feel more accountable to each other.

Circling back helps everyone move ahead

Feedback loops give managers a more holistic understanding and greater context for how an employee gets their work done. Regular feedback from the employee, manager, and colleagues provides a window into the behavior that helps an employee achieve results and holds them back from success. The manager learns how the employee performs as a team member. The team’s feedback allows a manager to see an employee from different angles and provides them with concrete examples. With this broader perspective, there’s less of a chance for unintentional bias to creep into the process.

This expanded understanding helps managers plan, reassign tasks, and make any pivots needed for the team on current and upcoming projects. For an employee, this timely feedback allows them to make small adjustments and improve performance throughout the year, instead of receiving a lengthy list of recommendations after an annual performance review. It also allows managers to get feedback from those who work closest with the people they manage, which may not be them!

Feedback loops give managers the information they need to

  • Coach employees
  • Help them identify and leverage their strengths
  • Motivate them to achieve their goals

Cementing bonds between team members

When everyone is responsible for everyone’s feedback, you take notice. Team members  note and appreciate each other’s strengths. They also observe weaknesses, miscommunications, or missed tasks. An ecosystem of accountability develops among team members and those they work with closely. Expectations become clear. Taken together, these actions elevate each other’s, as well as the team’s, performance.

Shaping a better workplace

Feedback is critical but it doesn’t have to cause dread. Workplaces can improve employee feedback with feedback loops. These incorporate team members, partners, colleagues’ experiences, observations, and interactions with each other. Managers use these real-time observations in their check-ins with team members so feedback can be acted on while it’s still fresh. When managers have a fuller picture of everyone’s contributions they can continually develop and coach employees, address issues right away, and recognize achievements and progress throughout the year. This creates a more fulfilling work experience for everyone.

Posted in Blog, Business Strategy, Communications, Remote Employees, Thought Leadership, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Teams
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