The Right Way to Get Eye-Opening Feedback From Employees

There’s a reason why getting feedback from employees is a secret tool for increased productivity. Think about it: when you receive constructive and honest employee feedback, it’s easier for you to retain your workforce and improve the employee experience. After all, who else can provide better guidance other than your own employees?

The employees are the greatest asset to the organization. And it is only right to let their voices be heard by their manager as well as the whole organization. In this way, you’ll be able to build a strong, collaborative team that thrives with respect and trust.

If you rarely ask for feedback from employees, you might want to start doing it now. We’ll show you the right way to get employees’ feedback so that you can take employee retention to the next level.

1. Know who to ask.

Some organizations are new to this whole feedback thing. If your organization is one of them, you might want to start with a close, trusted employee. Ask for their opinion on something minor. If you ask them for a request, you can use that to build momentum until you feel comfortable enough to ask other employees. 

It doesn’t matter what the employee’s role in the company is. By asking for feedback, it shows that you respect them enough to value their opinion regarding company matters.

Once getting employee feedback feels more natural for you, you can start asking for it during group meetings as well as one-on-one meetings.

Read: 10 Modern HR Responsibilities: Guide for Employers

2. Find the perfect time to get feedback from employees.

But before you ask the employee, you must take into account the time you can approach the employee. Generally, here are some good times to ask for your employee’s opinion.

• Before or after major meetings. These times are the perfect opportunity to gather constructive feedback. Since experiences and challenges are fresh in their mind, it will be easier for them to partake, collaborate, and learn from the situation. Once the meeting is over, you can ask them their thoughts about the meeting. Then, you can build to a full interview by asking what worked well, what didn’t, and how you can improve it.
• During performance reviews. Your organization likely has a formal process for employee evaluation. You can use that time to engage in a reverse review. Ask them to evaluate your leadership, but be careful not to make it too formal. Make the setting casual, like in a coffee shop or a restaurant, so you can get candid feedback from them. 
• During day-to-day activities. Some opportunities often pop up during simple interactions in the workplace. You can utilize such moments to ask for feedback that can lead to potential growth.

3. Find the most suitable method to ask for feedback from employees.

There are different ways to collect valuable insights from your employees. You can review these methods and find the most suitable one for your workplace:

• New employee surveys.  After a new employee’s first 90 days at the company, you can send them a new employee survey to learn more about their overall engagement and satisfaction. Ask them questions about how they feel around their new team, how they’re settling in, and if the company’s goals match with theirs. 
• Pulse survey. This kind of survey is shorter compared to other types of surveys. Usually, the company will ask 1-3 questions weekly to get a regular pulse on employees’ satisfaction. This also works best if you want to hear timely feedback.
• Stay interviews. This is a great way to solicit feedback from your top talent to help you retain them. Their managers should do the part of sitting down with them to talk about what they like about their job — and what they don’t like as well. Using these accumulated opinions, you can customize your plan to retain your top performers.
• Employee suggestion box. Who says you can’t do this the old fashion way? Some employees fear sharing honest feedback through other means, and the next best thing to do is to place suggestion boxes in the work station. Feel free to place a box somewhere easily accessible, like the front desk.

Read: Everything You Need to Know About Employee Development Planning

4. Some things you need to do to get helpful feedback:

Make your employees feel at ease while being honest and direct. Here are some tips to help you coach them through this:

• Ask future-centered questions. There’s a higher chance you’ll get honest answers when you ask questions with concern for the future. Rather than asking them about what they did wrong in the past, it’s much better to ask them what they can improve as they go forward.
• Be candid. Tell them not to hold back. After all, their honest feedback plays an important role in your organization’s performance. Let them know that they’re doing you a huge favor by being honest. 
• Give them time. Some employees need more time to process your questions. Let them do so. Give them time to think your questions through, and meet with them later to discuss their feedback.

5. Know how to respond appropriately

Here’s the thing: how you respond to their feedback can make or break your organization’s culture. Remember that it’s better not to get feedback from your employee in the first place rather than responding to them poorly. 

For the record, here are some tips that can help you respond professionally to your employees’ feedback:

• Ask follow-up questions. Show that you’re really listening to them by asking open, probing questions. The goal of doing this is to understand your employee’s opinions rather than changing their mind.
• Don’t defend. This practice is not made to initiate any debate or argument. Prepare yourself not to give off a defensive vibe. 
• Thank them and let them know that you will think things through. Show appreciation for their courage to share their opinions with you. After that, let them know you’ll think through what they’ve shared with you. But don’t make any commitments yet.
• Make notes. It’s essential to take notes especially when you’re collecting feedback from different employees at different times.

Read: The Complete and Epic Guide to Successful Employee Management in 2020

Having a feedback culture is a healthy way to end complaints and gossips around the workplace. Soon, you will notice that your employees are asking each other for advice. Complaints and defensiveness will be replaced by teamwork and collaboration.

Remember that a healthy culture starts with you, and you can make it possible using these guidelines.