...

August 3, 2016


Feedback is the New Black

Your employees possess more talent than you realize. All that untapped talent could be fueling your company's growth. However, there are several reasons why your employees might not be performing at their best. Are they in the right positions that align with their skills? Do you know how to effectively communicate with them? Are they willing to share their concerns with you? Do you understand their perception of you? Are you capable of guiding them with your feedback on their work? In essence, it's often a matter of inadequate communication. But don't worry, feedback is here to help.
 
With "Feedback is the new black," we aren't talking about fashion trends or pop culture. Instead, we want to emphasize a new approach that's gaining momentum within organizations, and it's set to become much more than a passing trend; it's an unstoppable movement.
 
Feedback is the information we receive from our managers, colleagues, and subordinates, intended to provide us with data that helps us learn, enhance our job performance, and even redefine how we manage our organization.
 
It's something that we, as consumers, have been doing for years. After making a purchase, it's common for us to receive a brief survey to assess the ease of the transaction, the quality of customer service, and whether the product met our expectations. In many stores, we're now beginning to encounter simple feedback kiosks that use happy or sad faces to measure our satisfaction right after a purchase. Real-time feedback – how convenient!
 
For those who haven't participated in a feedback process before, it might initially raise some concerns or uncertainty. However, if the organization is well-informed about the shared goal we're pursuing, as employees, we'll understand that feedback is a positive tool. It allows us to assess ourselves through self-evaluation and to see how others perceive us, giving us a more comprehensive view of ourselves.
 
There are various evaluation methods, ranging from the 90-degree approach, where our manager offers an opinion on our professional development, to the 180-degree method that includes input from colleagues. Then there's the 270-degree evaluation, where we assess our supervisor, and finally, the 360-degree evaluation, which also involves feedback from external or internal clients. This comprehensive approach allows us to uncover nuances in our performance that we might not have recognized on our own, enabling us to enhance our professional abilities. Pretty cool, isn't it?
 
Commitment and talent retention are among the top priorities for any organization aspiring to maintain its status, regardless of its type or workforce size. When you have exceptional employees, it becomes essential to work on keeping them. Offering a competitive salary is not sufficient; organizations must also create an environment that emphasizes continuous learning and development.
 
Participatory processes in talent management are potent and transformative, and they are reshaping how we handle talent in our organizations.
 
The advent of the millennial generation is driving a faster transition toward more agile, straightforward, and constructive performance evaluation procedures. Millennials seek collaborative work environments and expect genuine dedication from their employers to maintain their motivation through consistent actions. Only by doing this can companies secure their commitment.

Research has shown that when employees do not receive regular feedback in their work, they tend to work more anxiously and with less confidence, leading to reduced productivity. In contrast, providing employees with feedback can elicit their best efforts. When employees can express their concerns, organizations can enhance their performance and retain their talents.

The ability to give and receive feedback is a fundamental skill for good leadership. To carry out a 360º performance evaluation and feedback process, it is as easy as creating it to measure through intuitive software such as HRider, where we can design forms according to our priorities and carry out all the evaluations and surveys we need.

Although it may seem intimidating when employees express their opinions whenever they want, they are already doing so continuously on their social networks. It's far more advantageous for them to share their thoughts in a constructive manner, feeling like integral members of the team and finding fulfillment in their work.
 
All that's required is choosing the right, agile, and accessible means to provide employees with a voice, listen to them, and act based on their input.