Employee feedback is powerful, but it is often easy to forget about. When done properly, receiving employee feedback can lead to greater loyalty, improved retention rates, and better employee engagement. Tools like VoiceSifter make it easier than ever to receive feedback, react, and improve communication within your company.
Receiving Employee Feedback
There are a variety of mechanisms which you can use to receive employee feedback. Rather than relying on one method, try several of them to see what works best for you and your employee base.
1. Face to Face Communication
One way to receive employee feedback is via face-to-face communication. You want employees to be open and honest with you. If they feel comfortable with their manager and other leaders of the company, meeting with employees and asking for their feedback is a great starting point. It can get to the root of a lot of their potential concerns, as it allows companies to dig deeper into problem areas.
2. Surveys
Surveys are another powerful tool you can use when asking for employee feedback. You'll have to construct the survey in a way that will help you get the attention of all employees, and address any points you are concerned about as a company. Common areas to focus on when using surveys include their overall happiness with the company, their level of engagement, the relationship with their manager, the relationships with coworkers, etc. Questions to ask your employees on surveys.
3. Anonymous Feedback
Anonymous feedback is a wonderful tool as well, as it provides employees a vehicle to give feedback instantly without linking their name to it. Anonymous feedback brings out the true thoughts of employees as there is no fear of backlash after it is submitted. However, sometimes it restricts how much depth or follow-up you can have. You can't reply to someone who sends in anonymous feedback because, well...it's anonymous.
That's where VoiceSifter comes in. VoiceSifter allows the person receiving the feedback to reply to the anonymous individual. The person responding can also be anonymous, so you can have a good conversation without having the identity of either person out in the open.
Benefits of Effective Feedback
Effective feedback provides some amazing benefits to your team. If you can receive it positively and constructively that's where most of the improvements come from.
1. Performance and Engagement Improvements
Performance improvements can generally be expected with quality employee feedback. Employee engagement is directly related to how they feel they are contributing to the company. If you have someone answering customer service phone calls all day long, or working in accounting, how do they help the company meet its strategic objectives throughout the course of the year?
Employees (generally) want to know what they are doing well and also what they can improve. When you can link their work to the business objectives and the company's mission, the feedback will be better, performance will improve and, most importantly, they'll feel more engaged.
2. Employee Loyalty and Retention Improvements
You want employees to feel like they have a voice. You want them to enjoy coming to work every day. A positive attitude is contagious. Not only can it help with employee retention, but it can also attract some of the best and brightest recruits. Include employees in the decision-making process, be honest with them about their status in the organization, and be open about the direction the company is heading. This goes a long way towards increasing loyalty, and it will ultimately help you retain the employees you want to have around.
3. Career Developments
The main benefits to individual team members are personal development and career advancement. Allowing them to provide effective feedback, and then reciprocating with quality guidance, can assist them in their potential advancement over time. When employees know they are a valuable asset, they are likely to stay at the company longer and they'll be more ready to invest in their own future.
Using Feedback for the Future
The importance of receiving employee feedback cannot be overstated. VoiceSifter is a great communication strategy that allows feedback to be sent and received anonymously. Asking for feedback, reviewing it constructively and taking immediate action can have great benefits for employee retention, loyalty, and engagement. By taking the time to ask and respond, the better the relationship will be between your employee base, their managers, and the organization as a whole. Curious to learn more about VoiceSifter? Request a demo today.
