Feedback culture
A healthy and vibrant feedback culture promotes innovation, learning and development. Here are some tips to help you succeed.
What is a living feedback culture
Feedback has long been a well-used word in the leadership literature And it’s easy to understand why. Feedback is the basis of all behavioral change and an important tool for organizations and employees to grow and develop.
A living feedback culture means just that. To create a climate in the workplace where constructive feedback and learning are in focus in daily work. Organizations that succeed grow and develop from within. It promotes innovation and provides satisfied employees who feel involved, perform better and contribute to the development of the business.
Feedback is described in the Swedish Academy's dictionary as follows:
feedback [fi:ʹdbæk], process control feedback; response: get feedback on their work
What defines a constructive feedback culture?
It is easy to say that you work with feedback in the workplace. The trick is to do it the right way. Here are some good and less good examples of how to work with feedback.
Less good
GOOD
The feedback focuses on what is bad, without striving for a positive change.
The feedback focuses on what can be improved through constructive, solution-oriented feedback and improvement suggestions.
Feedback is captured once or twice a year. It may then have lost its relevance and led to unnecessary sourdoughs and dissatisfaction.
Feedback takes place as a natural part of daily work, not just as a point in the annual employee interview.
The person who gives feedback receives no feedback. It creates dissatisfaction and is often the killing blow for a feedback culture.
The feedback is taken seriously and the person who gives feedback receives feedback. It creates participation and commitment in the workplace and promotes innovation.
Why feedback?
• Leads to development and motivation
By receiving constructive feedback, we develop toward our goals. You get to know what works well and what can be improved.
• Increases performance and productivity
Several studies show that a vibrant culture of feedback increases employee performance and productivity in the workplace. Studies show, for example, that feedback can lead to up to 50 percent improvement in group performance.
NEW FEEDBACK:
I really appreciate having you in the group, you are always so positive!
NEW FEEDBACK:
It was good that you sent out the meeting invitation with such good foresight.
NEW FEEDBACK:
What a rewarding workshop, it gave me lots of ideas! 💪 🙏
• Promotes innovation
The best ideas often lie with the employees. Listening leadership where employees feel involved and encouraged to contribute promotes innovation and idea creation.
• Increases work morale
Uncertainty and unclear expectations are one of the biggest sources of stress in working life. Through continuous feedback, it becomes clear what is expected of one and when it has been fulfilled. Clear expectations reduce stress and increase job satisfaction.
How to create a living feedback culture?
The agile way of working is based on the team and fast decision-making processes far out in the organization. But you as a leader have a crucial role to play in providing the right conditions for the team to succeed. So, how do you do that?
- Talk to the team about what feedback means to you. Set common ground rules for how you want to use feedback.
- Ensure that there is an anonymous forum, which is not face-2-face with you as a manager, where employees can give feedback on what concerns the organization, your work and your leadership. For many employees, the anonymous forum is an important step in starting their feedback journey.
- Make continuous feedback collections. Take the driver's seat and do not wait for the employees themselves to take the initiative for feedback. Create a common forum where employees are encouraged to provide feedback, quickly and easily.
- Look at the frequency and quality of the collection of feedback, ie how often it happens and what questions are asked. Focus on questions about the daily work and areas where it is possible to make an improvement. Complex questions about visions and goals should, in most cases, be avoided.
- Always try to respond to the feedback that comes to you. The fact that employees receive a response on their feedback is an important signal to show that it is valued.
- Keep in mind that even small changes, especially rapid ones, are very important. “Receiving your insights is only half the battle – responding in the right way is key”.
Frequently asked questions about feedback
Yes. Feedback is the basis of all behavioral change and an important tool for organizations and employees to grow and develop. For the feedback to lead to positive change, it needs to be constructive, let the focus be on solutions – what can be better?
Flourish is a simple and intuitive feedback tool that helps you collect concrete and actionable feedback. With Flourish, you get access to a research-based question catalog with 100+ different chat conversations in focus areas that cover the entire work environment spectrum. Our questions are based on Swedish and international research and developed with the help of leading HR experts. Through Flourish you get a forum where the whole team can make their voice heard.
Yes, there are a number of different feedback techniques you can use. The purpose of all of them is that your feedback should be presented in a way that is well received by the recipient – and thus gives the greatest effect. If the feedback is perceived as an attack, the recipient instead risks going into a defensive position.
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