How to build a feedback-rich culture at your organization

To become more effective and fulfilled at work, people usually need a clear understanding of their impact on others and the extent to which they are achieving their goals in their working relationships. Direct feedback is the most effective way to gather this information and learn from it.

People who feel appreciated at work tend to have a greater sense of emotional wellbeing, and feedback is important to helping people feel appreciated. Indeed, one of the best ways to raise employee morale and create a more positive and happy workplace environment is with a “feedback culture”. A feedback culture is, essentially, a workplace culture that is focused on honest feedback between employees, between employees and managers, and between managers and executives. A feedback culture is a culture where every employee feels they have the right to give feedback to another person in the organization — no matter where they may fall on your organizational chart. If employees feel free to always share what they think about the organization, management, and other employees, they are more likely to be happy and engaged with the organization.

By creating a culture where feedback and honesty are valued, you can increase employee morale, build a better company, and increase job performance — all in one fell swoop.

The form most feedback take should be seen as a product of the surrounding organizational culture, not just the relationship between two people. When the organization promotes a feedback — rich environment, people who are not interested in or skilled at giving or receiving feedback will participate in the process (and improve). In fact, some people could quit if the organization or team environment does not support their feedback efforts.

There are dozens of reasons why a healthy feedback culture is important for organizations and businesses. A healthy feedback culture:

• Boosts employee engagement
• Creates a more positive workplace
• Decreases turnover
• Increases corporate communication
• Improves overall organizational wellbeing

Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

So, what does it take to build a feedback — rich environment? How can leaders encourage an ongoing commitment to interpersonal feedback?

Here are some essential elements:

People need to feel that the organizational culture is one of safety and trust to give and receive honest feedback. Staff will need to be highly aware of people’s readiness for a challenge and their emotional state in a given interaction.

To create a culture of safety and trust:

• Make an effort to understand colleges as individuals
• Talk about emotions. When we can freely discuss our embarrassment, disappointments, failures, frustrations and anger, it means that the culture is sufficiently safe, robust and able to handle feedback
• Encourage colleagues to say “no” when they are not ready to receive feedback. This will ensure that they will be willing to participate when feedback does take place

2.

Understand that positive feedback promotes self-development. Good feedback is not just honest criticism; it is also truly meaningful positive feedback, which is usually absent in some organizations. Admittedly, there are some obstacles that could prevent us from offering and accepting positive feedback (such as worrying about being and sounding insincere), but creating a balance between honest criticisms and positive feedback goes a long way in creating a feedback-rich culture.

To create this balance:

• Do not use positive feedback to deliver criticism. Offer the positive feedback and stop there
• Start small. When you see any behaviour you want to encourage, acknowledge it and express some appreciation
• Praise effort, even in failed attempts. This helps build resilience and determination

3.

When you incorporate feedback behaviours into your daily routines, you normalize those behaviours within the organization’s culture. Feedback has to be part of the everyday office life — on a walk down the hallway, at the end of a meeting, over a cup of coffee. This way, it becomes part of the organizational culture.

To establish a normal environment for feedback:

• Do not turn it into a complicated process; take a few moments and make it happen
• Make the process public, especially when sufficient balance and safety exist in the organization. This allows people learn how to give and receive feedback more effectively

4.

To effectively create a feedback-rich culture, leaders also need to take personal accountability. Teams will take cues from leaders as to what is acceptable. Leaders need to take some meaningful risk, and if there are mistakes, view these mistakes as important learning opportunities. Leaders should also ensure that they let those around them know that they are trying to get better at giving and receiving feedback, and ask for input on how they are doing.

Taking personal accountability involves:

• Being transparent
• Explicitly asking for feedback

The benefits of a positive feedback culture are too great to ignore. With a healthy feedback culture, you can more clearly outline your organizational objectives, improve the performance of all your employees, and ensure that your workers feel loyal, engaged and satisfied.

Whether you are already beginning to implement a feedback-based culture at your workplace, or you are just dipping your toes into the world of feedback culture, PAT Consulting can help. We offer trainings and workshops in effective team collaboration and communication. We also provide robust solutions in the area of mental health and wellbeing. Contact us at info@patnigeria.com or 0907 870 6967 for more information.