How Managers Can Improve Employee Satisfaction With Feedback

How Feedback Affects Employee Satisfaction

Receiving feedback, whether positive or negative, can be a challenging experience for both the giver and the receiver. However, providing feedback is a necessary part of growth and development, so learning how to both give and receive feedback is an essential part of employee growth.

Your employees work hard and want to be recognized for all they accomplish for your organization. Without any feedback, employees can start to feel as if they’re working for nothing. Providing feedback—both good and bad—plays an important role in maintaining employee satisfaction.

8 Ways Managers Can Improve the Feedback Process

#1 Ask How Employees Prefer Feedback

Receiving feedback can be challenging for some people, even if the feedback is positive. Take the time to get to know your direct reports and ask them how they prefer to receive their feedback. Here are a few questions you can use to get an understanding of how someone prefers feedback:

• Do you like to be acknowledged for your efforts in front of a crowd?
• Would you like us to discuss challenging feedback in person or in a written format?
• Is there a time when you feel you are most receptive to feedback?

#2 Set Clear Expectations Upfront

Your employees should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them when it comes to their role, responsibilities, and success metrics. Clear communication of expectations leaves little room for expectations to be misconstrued, and sets a clear understanding if an employee is succeeding in their role.

Be sure these expectations and goals are accessible to both the manager and the employee. This gives an opportunity for employees to express their concerns if they’re not able to reach their goals, and for managers to address any issues if they feel an employee’s performance is trending downward.

#3 Provide Timely and Specific Feedback

Providing consistent and regular feedback is important. If there is feedback or recognition that needs to happen, you don’t have to wait for formal reviews. Give regular feedback close to the feedback-related event, and highlight positive behaviors or constructive areas for improvement.

The best way to give timely feedback is for managers to connect with their direct reports on a consistent basis. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings are a good way to provide your employee with feedback on how they performed the previous week, so they can adapt and change for the upcoming week.

#4 Listen Actively and Ask Questions

Feedback should be an open dialogue, not a lecture. Be sure to provide opportunities for your employees to ask questions, and be sure to seek to understand certain situations from your employee’s perspective.

Managers should be a source of trust for employees. Ensure that managers are empathetic and responsive if employees come to them for concerns. Employees want to know that they have someone to advocate for them, and without that, employees can feel isolated and defenseless. This can ultimately decrease employee satisfaction and engagement.

#5 Balance Praise and Criticism

According to research conducted by Barbara L. Fredrickson for her book, Positive: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life, it takes three positive statements to balance out one critique. As humans, we have a heavy bias towards the negative as a way of protecting us from potential danger.

Knowing this, it’s crucial to balance any potentially negative criticism with positive reinforcement. Be sure to recognize achievements, progress, and strengths when making any form of criticism. Recognition helps build confidence while reinforcing positive behaviors, and helps to move away from our negative bias.

#6 Offer Examples and Practical Tips

Vague and nonspecific feedback lacks impact. If you are providing a critique, be sure to include tangible examples of any specific behaviors, interactions, or work samples. Help develop an improvement plan for your employee and create specific actions on how they can better achieve their goals.

Addressing problems constructively instead of punishing them can help improve employee satisfaction. By helping address any major concerns, you’re helping your employee build new skills instead of punishing them for something they may not yet have the skills for.

#7 Connect Feedback to Business Results

Employees want to know how their work makes an impact. When developing goals and metrics, clearly identify how their performance makes an impact on key business metrics. This helps employees understand how their work helps fit into the bigger picture of your organization.

If an employee feels as if they’re doing work for work’s sake, they may become disengaged and feel bored at work. Managers can help by connecting an employee’s day-to-day work with key business metrics to prove to them that their work makes an impact.

#8 Reinforce Development Opportunities

If your employee voices a desire to grow or shift anywhere in their career, it’s important to encourage them towards this growth. Identify areas in the organization they could grow into or find other mentors to help them transition. Supporting your employee’s desire for growth is essential for retaining high-achieving employees.

By improving the quality and frequency of feedback, managers can significantly boost employee satisfaction and retention.

Employee Feedback FAQs

What is employee feedback?

Employee feedback is information given to an employee, often from a manager or higher-up, that assesses the employee’s skills and performance within their role. This can range from the performance in their role, specific work skills, behavior in the workplace, and more.

What is an example of positive employee feedback?

An example of positive employee feedback is specific, timely, and complimentary. For example, positive feedback can sound like, “Your presentation to the board was concise and entertaining, and helped us close a new round of funding for the company.”

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