Quick Shots for #HR and #Business Pros – Employee Feedback Edition
Recently I was having a conversation with a group of new managers about feedback. It was enlightening because the discussion turned to the negative connotation of the word feedback. You know, that feeling when someone says, “I’d like to give you some feedback.” We’re just waiting for the bad news. Then when we want to deliver good feedback, we have a tendency to not even use the word feedback. We just say, “I think you do that really well.”
Feedback – both the positive and not-so positive – is important. Employees at every level of the organization need to know how to deliver good feedback on a regular basis. It might be worth adding a little bit of training into orientation or onboarding about how employees can deliver good feedback. A skill an employee will need for their entire career. Here are a couple of articles that could help:
5 Steps to Giving Good Feedback
6 Guidelines for Giving Powerful Employee Feedback
There’s one other thing we need to learn when it comes to feedback – how to ask for it. Dan Negroni in “Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage, and Maximize Next-Generation Leaders in the Workplace” talks about asking for feedback instead of getting frustrated by the lack of it. I think it’s a valuable tip for employees of any age.
Another valuable tip, this time for organizations, is to constantly monitor employee feedback. Don’t dismiss feedback as simply employee venting. Or assume that all anonymous feedback is negative. Ratedly is a service that will monitor employee feedback websites so companies don’t have to. So if you’re looking for a way to manage your brand by indexing sites like Glassdoor, Indeed Reviews, Twitter, CareerBliss, etc. then Ratedly might be worth exploring.
Speaking of technology monitoring services, I’m reminded that the HR Technology Conference & Expo is coming up soon. I’m really looking forward to attending. HR Tech is becoming very much like the Society for Human Resources (SHRM) Annual Conference. It’s a place to see old friends and make new ones. It’s exceptionally wonderful when I get to combine the two. I was honored to be interviewed by Mary Kaylor, public affairs manager for SHRM about my views in today’s HR technology space. You can check out the interview on the HRTech Insiders blog.
Feedback is a key component of our professional lives. We need to give good feedback and learn how to accept it. Organizations have to monitor and respond appropriately to feedback from customers, candidates, and employees. Feedback is everywhere. It’s time to get comfortable with it.
Image taken by Sharlyn Lauby after leaving her comfort zone in Washington, DC
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